A Time Of National Testing

I wouldn't be stating anything new if I said that we all face trials and tribulations along life's pathway.
From illness to financial problems, most folks have their share. It's just part of the experience of
inhabiting this wonderful planet.

However, I bet you know someone who just seems to have God's favor. Seemingly without effort this
person will usually have a bounce in his step and a smile on his face.

Typically in the right place at the right time, business success appears to come easy. He probably
has a great family life and is respected in the community.

All is not fun and games, but when faced with adversity this type of person usually manages to
successfully steer his boat through life's obstacles until the trip is finished.

As Christians it sometimes seems that there are times when these challenges are tests to see how
we react when the going gets tough. The Bible is filled with stories of individuals much like you and I
who had times of favor and times of testing.

The Bible also contains stories of nations, especially Israel, which were also challenged, tested and
sometimes punished based upon the collective behavior of her inhabitants. Does anyone remember
Sodom and Gomorrah?

Those who are paid the big bucks to study such things say that around eighty to eight-five percent of
Americans identify themselves as Christian. Many would say that the United States was founded as a
Christian nation, but that is an argument for another day.

However it has always amazed me that as Christians we believe in a supernatural God that operates in
our individual daily lives, but at the same time we ignore the fact that God did and still does bless and
judge nations. He also uses nations to accomplish his purposes here on earth.

Whether or not our nation was founded as a Christian nation, this land was colonized by Christians.
There were many proclamations issued by our first settlers claiming this soil for God's glory.

Over the centuries Americans have used their time and resources to spread the Gospel around the
world and I believe God has honored that commitment by richly blessing our nation.

Yes we struggled through our own vices such as slavery, but God doesn't require perfection in order to
receive his goodness. King David was a perfect example. All God asks is that we as a nation admit
our wrong doings, ask his forgiveness, and strive to do better.

As a teenager in the 1970's I remember thinking the U.S. had lost her way. From the resignation of
Richard Nixon, to the disaster that was the Jimmy Carter presidency, it was a bad decade.

Energy shortages, stagnant economic growth, the Cold War, massive numbers of citizens on
welfare… there was a sense that America was broken and despair had permeated her very soul.

Then in April of 1980 a crowd of Christians estimated by the National Park Service as being over
750,000 descended upon the Mall in Washington, DC for a two-day event called Washington For
Jesus.

Speaker after speaker implored the crowd to pray for America and ask God's forgiveness for her sins of
abortion, drug abuse, divorce, and other shortcomings.

I fully believe this was a turning point in our nation's history and that God cleansed the land of the
curses we had brought upon ourselves. Though still not perfect, the nation prospered greatly in the
years since.

But just like Israel of old, after receiving God's forgiveness our nation has slowly drifted away again…
increasingly becoming consumed with greed, lust, sexual immorality, and a spirit of selfishness. The
exploits of President Clinton seemed to underscore the magnitude of our nation's slide.

At that point it was as though God lifted his hedge of protection from our shores. We soon had the
stock market crash of early 2000. Then came the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the lengthy
quagmire of Iraq, Katrina, the energy crisis, and the housing crisis… and now America once again
seems to be drifting into a state of malaise similar to that we experienced in the 1970's.

However this time as I look around the national landscape I don't feel the sense of national attrition we
exhibited in 1980. Where are the leaders calling upon our nation to once again repent, turn to God,
and request his favor?

Over the almost thirty years since Washington For Jesus has our nation so fundamentally changed
that we have either forgotten past lessons or no longer care?

This great experiment in government we call the United States has lasted longer than many believed
possible. The situation in the world today is such that our lives could drastically change in the blink of
an eye.

Perhaps this is one of those times of national testing and we hold the future in our hands… and our
hearts.

June 15, 2008