Happy birthday!
Today is the 4th of July. Happy birthday, USA!
Thinking about the improbable set of circumstances that lead to the creation of the USA, I started thinking: Have you noticed that God loves the broken, the weak, the down-and-outers? He really does seem to like the underdog. Think about it:
God made a great nation out of a bunch of slaves whose ancestors, though they knew God, were guilty of some very questionable behavior. However, God did not forget these folks or their children, even when those folks dishonored and disrespected Him. From an unruly group of slaves, God established the nation of Israel and declared that Jesus, His own son, would be considered one of those often disobedient, stiff-necked people.
God probably laughed.
[And much, much later]--From various nations, some explorers, some exploiters, but mostly desperate people desiring a new life, came together to create the United States. Many of those courageous people came with the hope of the Gospel and the dream of religious freedom. No one in European or Asian society thought such a group could ever be much more than a colony that could serve the more advanced "cultures and societies".
God probably laughed.
From this motley group, whose misfits built railroads, invented machines, and explored vast regions of the continent, came a bold, independent people who often were too cocky and self-righteous for their own good, yet still sought God's face. These people would come together to be known as "Americans". Proud to be Westerners, Southerners, "Yankees", they often argued but became a nation whose light brought hope in the darkness to those still desperate and exploited.
God probably laughed.
It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter where you find yourself today--successful, depressed, rich, poor, in jail, or at sea--God knows where you are. He has a plan to take you places and release you into being far more than you can possibly imagine. BUT...we have to ask Him. He is listening; He is waiting; He has His angels on alert. BUT...He has given us the choice: to ignore God or ask Him into our lives.
The Hebrews cried out in their bondage.
The pilgrims, the immigrants, cried out for help.
He heard them; He will hear your cry. He will laugh with joy and sing over you [See Zephaniah 3:17]
Selah.
PS--There are times of "rough seas" when you may think He has forgotten you. There are times when I myself feel alone, overwhelmed. My life as a Christian has not been free of problems. There are days that seem dreary, yet I know that My Redeemer lives. Even when I cannot see His face, He is there, sustaining me, guiding me through to another day.
