Psalm 44:3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.

In reading this I can’t help but get a strong image of America. America is second only to Israel as a nation that has proclaimed allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but America has done it by choice, rather than being the physical descendants of the Patriarchs. In historic terms, America has had a meteoric rise on the world stage, faults and all, and I am convinced this verse is the reason. However, most Americans have lost sight of this, and many are actively denying it. They attribute American success to “American genius,” or some such humanistic thing. However, we forget God to our peril. Freedom of conscience was one of the founding principles of the nation, yet today government seems to smile on every belief system except a Biblical one. As Israel discovered well over 2000 years ago, that is the most dangerous course a nation could possibly take. There are calls for national repentance, but they are still few, and precious few are coming from anyone in government. I believe America is faced with the choice of repent or perish, as unthinkable as that might seem. That is certainly not a trivial matter.

I have been increasingly caught up with America’s national direction over the past 10 years or so, and it seems to me now that I was slow to get in on the game. America’s deviance from her founding principles goes back much further than that. It is most shocking in government, but that is not the origin. As has been said, people get the government they deserve. Since the ’60s – and yes, I am a boomer – America has been focused on sensuality, hedonism and license, and she is certainly bearing the fruit of that right now. I was not so actively involved in that decline, but then I was not an innocent bystander either. I, too, need to repent! I need to be active in prayer, as well as proclaiming the truth in love. Preachers who never mention sin are doing no one any favors! I can only pray that America is not the Babylon mentioned in so many Biblical prophecies, though that increasingly looks to be the case. I am to keep my eyes on God, and on Jesus Christ the only Savior, and walk in personal faithfulness as well as encouraging others to do the same. Living in Japan as I do, that might seem to have little effect on America, but I do have influence on some, and there is no limit to the the power and scope of prayer.

Father, thank You for this Word. Thank You that we’ll be able to visit the US next month, for the first time in four years. I pray that our time there would be useful to You in Your kingdom, influencing as many as possible to consider their daily lives and choose to walk in genuine repentance and obedience to You, for their own sake and for the sake of the nation, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!