Blessed Is The Nation Whose God Is The Lord

"Today's Devotion" For February 20, 2006

Read: I Peter 2:13-17; Psalm 33

BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance." (Psalm 33:12)

Today is "Presidents' Day" in the United States. It's a national holiday, meaning that many schools, all banks, the Post Office, and the Federal Government is on a "holiday." Many states' offices will also be closed in honor of this day. Some of you may remember that we used to have Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday as separate, national observances, but now there's a national holiday which ostensibly is supposed to be in honor of them and, I suppose, every other President of the United States who has ever served in that highest office in the land.

The Presidency of the United States is a unique and individual office, found nowhere else in the world. Since the United States is the only true democratic republic on the earth, that would stand to reason. Our Presidents have been, are, and will be - God willing - people who truly understand that their primary and sole responsibility as President is to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." We seek, therefore, to have Presidents who are people of good character, moral conviction, and have a servant's heart to ensure that every citizen has access to the rights and privileges accorded them by the Constitution. That this is a difficult task our nation's history leaves no doubt. Therefore, it's a good thing for us to honor the memory of those who have held that high office and have done their best to fulfill their responsibilities. Every President, regardless of political conviction, has a difficult, often thankless task. No greater testament to the difficulty of their position can be made than that of Benjamin Franklin, who, when asked at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, "What have you wrought?" replied, "...a Republic, if you can keep it."

The world is a very different place than it was in 1787 when George Washington was President and the Constitution was ratified. It's a very different place than it was 1862 when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves and further dividing a nation already plunged into a horrific Civil War. Communications are instantaneous; travel is so swift you can leave New York City after breakfast and arrive in London or Paris in tmie for a luncheon meeting; the world is no longer "out there across the ocean" but is in our living rooms in living color every evening before we "sign off" for the night; our weapons are so powerful - and horrible - that entire cities can disappear, reduced to dust and ash in an instant; the economics of the world's nations are so intertwined that when a recession hits the United States its repercussions reverberate around the world.

With the power of Sin rampant in the world, with death and destruction always looming as imminent, it's not too hard to understand that people are living in fear. Terrorism is the "new" form of "ethnic" and "religious" cleansing of our day. We face a growing realization that Edmund Burke's famous words, "Evil triumphs only when good men do nothing," are truer than many people would like to admit. It's in such times and circumstances that we are drawn to look to God for deliverance and stability more than we ever have before. Sadly, it seems that only such times can get us to pay closer attention to our relationship with God and His salvation in Jesus Christ - and that's becoming ever more difficult all over the world, even here at home.

The Psalmist (Psalm 33) reminds us that God is the One who has created everything, including us, and that He is to be feared by the nations. He gives us encouragement as people and as a nation to turn to God and look to Him for deliverance out of all our troubles and to establish His peace in the earth. We are reminded that the nation which trusts in God is blessed, no matter the struggles, pitfalls, and troubles it endures. Thus, as our Presidents endeavor to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," we are reminded that without God's help and strength their task will be impossible. Nothing can be more critical for the nation in this time of history - as it has been in all other times - than for the President of the United States to walk humbly before God and kneel in prayer for His guidance and protection.

There is also no more critical need for our nation than for us to heed Peter's exhortation to "submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men...Live as free men (free from the slavery of Sin), but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect for everyone...fear God, honor the king" (I Peter 2: 13, 16, 17). We do these things as we lift up our governmental and military leaders in prayer before God. We do these things as we obey the laws of the land and seek the best for our neighbors. We do these things as we address the wrongs and ills of our society with the Word of God and His gracious love. We do this as we participate fully in our government and our communities, seeking to serve rather than to be served.

We receive encouragement in our nation's future in the world, but more especially before God, when we take a look at those who are serving the nation. Paying particular attention to the men and women of an all-volunteer military, we see the blessings of God upon us. This past weekend a young woman, 26-years old, a captain in the United States Marine Corps, came to Milwaukee to conduct training for people representing the Admissions Office of the United States Naval Academy. She was gracious, witty, kind, respectful, sharp, confident of her ability to lead, a good communicator, and she knew her stuff.. She went along on some high school visits this past Friday to answer guidance counselor's questions about what the Academy has to offer and did so in a winsome way. She's a year older than my oldest daughter, the second oldest in her family, and she knows Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Her greatest goal in life is to be a "stay at home mom."

This same wisp of a young woman is a United States Marine who has served two tours in Iraq making sure that all the troops received the supplies they needed, coordinating the logistical support over a vast area, and being responsible for tens of millions of dollars of equipment and supplies. As we look at people like her and her generation, we give thanks to God that people such as her are willing to serve and put themselves in "harm's way" in answer to Benjamin Franklin's answer to what he had "wrought." Some of them may one day be Presidents of the United States, charged with the very same responsibilities all of our Presidents have had. Today is a good time to pray that God would raise up godly men and women to fill that position of leadership so that the Psalmist's words, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord," might, in fact, truly apply to the United States of America until Jesus returns on the Last Day.

Prayer: Father, thank You for all those men who have served this nation faithfully as President. I believe that You have raised each of them to that position of responsibility and leadership because each of them was the person You wanted in that role. I pray that You would continue to raise up leaders for the nation, men and women, who are people of God, who seek to serve You and the nation in Your name. Raise up leaders among us who recognize the power of Sin and evil (Satan) in the world, and who will seek the power of Your Word and Spirit to overcome them so the nation and the world might be blessed by You. Help me to serve You faithfully in the role of a Christian citizen, fulfilling any responsibilities for leadership and service You might give me. Help me to see, each day, how You use my talents and abilities - Your gifts to me - for the furtherance of Your kingdom and the sharing of Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus. And, Father, lest I forget, be with and bless all those who are serving the nation, especially those who are Your children in Christ, that they may truly be Your servants and servants of the people so that Your Will might be done. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
*****************

--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.