Was America God Blessed Or Just Lucky
The history of the United States displays an uncanny pattern of receiving and reflecting God's blessings. Psalm 33:12 reads, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Our Creator has certainly blessed America in many marvelous ways: Abundant natural beauty is found all across our land, including timbered forests, lush green valleys, richly fertile farmlands, the bountiful Great Plains, snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and warm California beaches.
At exact moments of America's many crises and when disaster looked overwhelmingly imminent, and all likelihood was against success, then God's hands reached down for our betterment. His actions provided deliverance and protected our fledgling, God-fearing nation.
History shows our godly heritage. Most of the men who signed our Constitution were Christians. Our democracy was founded on Christian principles interwoven with biblical-centered interpretations of moral justice, God-given rights, and abundant opportunities.
He’s blessed us with tremendous natural resources. Just consider the blessings placed at our feet: coal, minerals, oil, forests, lakes, pastures, farmlands, and more. He’s provided all that we need and enough to help other countries around the world when they are overwhelmed by man-made entanglements like war and poverty or natural disasters.
The men and women that founded our great nation were seeking religious freedom and relief from tyrannical government leaders. We excel in inventions and new ideas because we’re at liberty to follow our dreams. U.S. households donate billions to charities each year. Our typical household’s annual gifts add up to about 2,500 dollars. Per Capita, Americans voluntarily donate about seven times as much as continental Europeans. In 2019, the figure was 449 billion dollars. Free enterprise and the bounties of capitalism we enjoy in America is a remarkable blessing. Still, we must remember all the blessings and gifts that flow through our hands to others come from our Father God.
Up to the present day, God has placed us in a free country. We should thank God for the election process and the freedom to personally impact the direction of this nation. It’s an amazing blessing that’s completely foreign in many parts of the world. We should pray that our citizenship's democratic voting process maintains its integrity, which has seen grave reversals in recent years.
But this essay is not only about natural resources and the freedoms provided by our Constitution. No, it's about examples where God intervened and lifted us out of very tenuous situations. Historians may categorize some of these incidents as blissful accidents or the product of an intervening fate, but the most notable leaders of the past four hundred years have identified many of these good fortunes as divine providence. In a demonstration of America's miracles, we will recount just a handful of the most significant events in America's rise to prosperity and power.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a notable German poet, said very early on in our history, right after America was launched, that there was something special, destined, different about America. That's what America's exceptionalism means. It doesn't mean American is perfect! But we are willing to improve. Goethe was a very spiritual philosopher. A small snippet of a portion of one of his famous quotes says, “The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities. But to know someone who thinks and feels with us, and who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.”
God has been with us before we were a nation. From the writing of the Constitution to the Civil War, His actions reveal a record of improbabilities and astonishing events. Which supported what the Founders initially believed, that this country grew and prospered according to a master plan and God's guiding hands. Then we were a nation of Christian and God-fearing people. Are we today? Unfortunately, I think not.
God's destiny for the United States certainly plays an unmistakable role among the stirring, illogical episodes that will be described herein.
A ship filled with adventurous but desperate religious pilgrims were blown hopelessly off course, only to be deposited on a wild shoreline reasonably suited for their survival.
Decades later, during the Revolutionary War, George Washington's cold, downtrodden, and famished army surrounded by ruthless foes was on the threshold of obliteration. Yet, by the grace of God, they managed an impossible escape due to an unpredicted weather change.
Napoleon Bonaparte had made a secret deal with Spain, and France gained control of the Louisiana Territory in exchange for several duchies in northern Italy. As the first emperor of France, he had visions of expanding his empire to the North American continent, where vast resources could be used to supply France’s colonies in the French Caribbean. He recognizing an early 1800s power vacuum on the Continent. England recently ended the war against the Americans, as well as the Spanish, while the other European powers with settlements in the fledgling United States were deemed too weak to pose any real threat to France. Yes, Napoleon felt there was little to fear from the United States army or navy, which were in no position to challenge the military might of France after expending so many lives and so much wealth in the Revolutionary War.
Napoleon, though famous for conquering and seizing territory, was frustrated by a Santo Domingo slave rebellion, which required a diversion of Bonaparte's force of 25,000 soldiers and more than 60 ships originally dispatched towards New Orleans. Their mission had been to occupy the city and present their newly strengthened power as a foregone conclusion of control, leaving no options for the young United States government.
To gather the money required to solidify his Caribbean and European conquests, Bonaparte impulsively offered to sell President Thomas Jefferson a tract of land that doubled the size of our embryonic nation. Jefferson had initially offered only to purchase the high traffic Port of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico, but he had the god-given sense to make the 11,000,000 dollar purchase in spite of negative comments from Congress.
During the deliberations, some congressional members questioned the constitutionality of increasing the size of the nation and Congress’s role in that process rather than a sitting President. John Randolph of Virginia, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, asked rhetorically, “Does not the President submit this subject to Congress for their sanction? Does Jefferson not recognize the principle that no treaty is binding until we pass the laws for executing it?” Still, the Louisiana Purchase Thomas Jefferson hammered out, without congressional input, added 828,000 square miles to the United States. An interesting side note is that President Jefferson is never reported to travel more than 50 miles from his home, Monticello.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804 when President Thomas Jefferson tasked his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, with exploring the newly purchased Louisiana Territory with the stated purpose of finding scientific discoveries, natural resource accounting, and routes to the west coast. Lewis selected William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The initial explorations were made along the westward rivers and tributaries. The expedition lasted over two years: Along the way, they confronted harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, and disease. both friendly and hostile Native Americans were encountered.
Along the way, the expedition encountered a northwestern trapper Toussaint Charbonneau and his 16-year-old wife, Sacagawea. When the 45 man party was surrounded by Indians, events unfolded like a scripted cinematic movie. Sacagawea stepped forward and began negotiations in a language none of the white man's party understood. She recognized the chief as her brother, Cameahwait. He and some other childhood friends made this a joyous reunion after both sister and brother had been captured by a Hidatsa hunting party some ten years earlier.
After she was sold off as a 12-year-old slave, the siblings had not known of each other’s whereabouts. These God-driven events resulted in the Indians befriending the expedition and even trading away 28 Shoshone horses for the continued, overland trek westward to the Pacific Ocean. The 8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological, and social information about previously uncharted areas of North America.
A Civil War, battle-tested 42-year-old corporal, named Barton K. Mitchell, picked up three cigars left behind in an open field. As he wearily unwrapped the precious stogies, a handwritten description of the Confederate Army's secret battle plan is disclosed. When President Lincoln receives this information, he takes it as a supernatural sign from God that he is to fight on and free the slaves.
Nine days prior to the assignation of President Lincoln, a near-fatal carriage accident forced Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William H. Seward, into a neck brace of steel and canvas. The night that Lincoln was murdered, one of John Booth's co-conspirators, Lewis Powell, talked his way into the Seward household pretending to be delivering medicine. Powell panicked, ran upstairs, dashed into the master bedroom and stabbed Seward multiple times, injured Seward's bodyguard and attacked Seward's sons on his way out, and retreated into the night, thinking he had mortally wounded the Secretary of State. It was only after Powell was captured the next day that he discovered that Seward was still alive, as the neck brace had protected him from the would-be assassin's knife thrusts. William Seward later acquired Alaska from the Russians for the United States. In 1867, after the Civil War, we, in a treaty with Russia, agreed to purchase Alaska for $7 million. Despite the bargain price being only about two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed by Congress. The newspapers ran headlines like, “Seward’s Folly,” “Seward’s icebox,” and President Andrew Johnson’s “polar bear garden.”
In 1881, a sudden tidal wave of Russian Jewish immigration coincided with America’s rise to world leadership, fulfilling a biblical promise that those blessing Abraham’s children would, themselves, be blessed.
In October 1912, at the Milwaukee Auditorium, while campaigning for re-election as president, Theodore Roosevelt was struck in the chest by a bullet, but a folded speech in his jacket pocket mitigated the force and saved his life. The horrified supporters gasped as the former president unbuttoned his vest t revealing his bloodstained shirt. Theodore stated, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose.” The wounded candidate then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bullet-riddled, 50-page speech. Holding up those folded, prepared remarks, he clearly revealed the two big bullet holes penetrating every single page.
Roosevelt continued. “Fortunately, I had my manuscript. You see, I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet—there is where the bullet went through these papers. Which probably saved me from it blowing into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.” For the next 90 minutes, the 53-year-old former president proved his dogged tenacity and grit. “I give you my word, I do not care a rap about being shot; not a rap,” he claimed. Few doubted him. Although his voice weakened and his breath shortened, Roosevelt glared at his nervous aides whenever they begged him to stop speaking or stationed themselves around the podium to catch him if he collapsed. Only when the scripted speech ended did he agree to visit the hospital!
During the first week of June 1942 U.S. planes got lost over a bland, bleak, and empty ocean and then miraculously arrived in the right place, over their targeted objectives at the Battle of Midway. Though low on fuel, they engaged with a few, brief minutes of dive-bombing that crippled Japan’s seagoing battle group. Our successful attack convinced enemy commanders that God's higher powers intervened against them.
In 1944, FDR was running for his fourth and final election. He was starting to age rapidly and gravely ill. He would be dead in just 82 days after being sworn into his fourth term. The progressive (some say, “Stalinist”) Henry Wallace had been FDR's third term vice president. It is notable that in this mid-1940s era both Lenin and Stalin were Progressives. At the 1944 Democratic Convention, FDR would be forced in the name of party unity to leave Wallace off the ticket and place Harry S. Truman on the ticket. By God's hand, Truman was the man needed to approve the plans and attacks that lead to Germany's surrender in World War II, on May 7, 1945, and Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945.
What had earned Truman such a great responsibility that he was the chosen VP candidate for a sickly President in a time of war? Even today, some wonder why a Junior Senator from backwater Missouri was chosen as Henry Wallace's replacement? Previously, Truman had been only a County Judge who wasn't even a college graduate.
The Bible tells us that after God had established Israel as a nation, He warned them about the blessings of obedience and His curses for a nation in disobedience. The same can be said of Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah, plus others. God warned them that if they rejected him, He would reject them and they eventually ended up destroyed or under the bondage of other nations. Refusal to listen to the warnings of prophets God sent and repent, caused them to face the judgment of God. God told Israel, “Now, if you will be careful to obey the Lord your God and follow all his commands that I tell you today, the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations on earth” (Deuteronomy 28). Anyone can see the blessings a nation might expect to receive are conditional. Obedience is a must and if there is, “all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
There will be blessings of livestock, agriculture, supplies, protection, prosperity, and health, but only “if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them.” Today, we would be very hard-pressed to find a single nation living in obedience to God.
Many of us who live in America and other nations are God’s own children, and they are living in obedience, but they too may suffer someday because of the depravity and sinfulness found in those nations. I fear we are headed for a “time of trouble” that many of us have never seen in our lifetime. “A time of trouble where even the nations will tremble and live in fear” (Matthew 24).
All the blessings in Deuteronomy 28 will be turned into curses, but only “if we refuse to obey the voice of the Lord your God. We should be careful to honor His commandments with our lives and good deeds, otherwise, we will face all the curses that will come upon us. Then, all the blessings the Lord has done for America as a nation will be undone because we have turned away from Him and forsaken Jesus Christ.
Why do I predict such dire events? Because today in our society, what used to be seen as good is now considered being shallow, and what was considered bad is now in vogue, permissible, and often held in high esteem. What is going on in America today is a reflection of Isaiah 5:20 declaring, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” To me, this is the most obvious clue, warning, if you will, of the impending demise of our great nation.
The way the word “woe” is used foretells judgment and condemnation. Not just a “woe is me,” but signifies the coming wrath of God. Read the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 28 and you’ll see that “All these curses shall come upon us and pursue us, to overtake us unto obliteration because we did not obey our God and follow His commandments and his statutes.
As a believer, you (and I) may also suffer because of someone else’s sin or national sins, where a nation turns its back on God. Daniel the Prophet was beloved by God, but he also was taken away into captivity because of the national sins of Judah. How often I’ve heard unbelievers say after a great natural disaster or accident, “Where was God?” I say, “Don’t you remember… you kicked Him out! You kicked God out of the government, the schools, and the public square, so where was God? You kicked Him out of your lives, remember?” If there was ever a good time for national repentance, it is now. May God sweep this land with His Spirit and create new hearts of flesh where there were hearts of stone… hearts soft and pliable and open to the Word of God. This could be God’s “last call” for the nation and people to repent.
May God’s Spirit bring a time of confession, humility, fasting, and repentance. This may be the way to save this nation, and the way catastrophes are increasing in the world, there may be less time than we think. If we fail to repent as a nation, God may “shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people” (2 Chronicles 7:13), however God also says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). May God grant us national repentance as only He can do, as read in Acts 16:14; and 2 Timothy 2:25.
I'm not of the mindset that America is the only nation from which God may be removing His blessings. There are several nations worse than the United States, and they are worse off for it. Many nations had long ago abandoned God, but some nations even went so far as to worship false gods. Will God leave undone for other nations what He has done to America? He will chastise them and us for having forsaken Him. God will not treat America differently from any other nation that forsakes Him. God is no respecter of immoral persons or evil nations. We know God is not finished with His chosen people, Israel. But even they, at this point, have turned their back on the One True and Living God. For more than 2,000 years, they have rejected Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. Their day is coming when every knee will bow the knee and submit to Him as their superlative King. Greater than King David, greater than king Solomon, greater than anyone that has ever ruled on earth. Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Unfortunately, many have taken God’s blessing for granted by forgetting to honor him, by not giving thanks to Him. Have American School Boards not removed prayer and the Word of God from our institutions of learning? Have America legalized the murder of our unborn children? Has America tolerated all types of sexual immorality from the general citizenry and elected officials? Has America allowed greed, sex, and violence to run rampant within our entertainment industries? Has America exported pornography to the world? Does not our government encourage and dole out welfare to illegal aliens and other non-citizens? How about claims based on depression, anxiety, or personality disorders by lazy, irresponsible drug addicts? The maximum possible SSI benefit (including the SSP) is $955 for an individual who claims depression or anxiety. Heck, I'm depressed and resentful over these types of claims. Maybe I can get on the dole too?
I've known of our hard-earned tax dollars being passed out by the pallet-full to bribe countries which then turned around and attacked our nation.
More than ever before, Americans live reckless Satan-pleasing lives, satisfying our desires in wicked ways. In essence, a vast number of Americans have declared, “God, your principles no longer matter! We don’t need You.” We continue to mistreat and abuse His abounding goodness. Is the Lord tiring of withholding His judgment on our Nation? Nations and cities have been wiped out before when His enduring patience ended.
He has mercifully shown us bounty after bounties of His kindness. But our nation cannot continue to stray away from the proper course and still expect God’s blessings. However, if we have enough godly believers crying out to Him and praying on behalf of our country, he may give us another chance. Or Not!
Scripture teaches, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” While this verse is specifically directed towards people, a similar generalization could also apply to nations. This law affirms that we reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.
Furthermore, But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:31)
The End.
Please feel free to contact me, Chaplain Dennis King, at DoJ@mail.com if you have questions, comments, corrections, or if you just wish to share your troubles or testimonies.
Novels by This Author
Betrayed by Soldiers is a novel about Marines and Army soldiers in wartime Afghanistan. The grit and intellectual capabilities of two Recon Marines and a female Army Corporal are pitted against a vast, interwoven network of traitorous Americans, corrupt allies, and foreign spies. Their destinies are interwoven during the clash of a terrorist ambush. At the start of this explosive firefight, two soldiers are saved and one killed. Of the two saved, one was a dirt-bag and one became a heroine. Later, the cowardly Army Sergeant First Class detonates a terrorist’s suicide vest. The Marine Lieutenant is injured so severely he becomes a double amputee. Even with both feet blown off, the officer struggles to make a courageous come back in life.
Deep Cover Shakedown is a stand-alone sequel to Betrayed by Soldiers. Each novel should appeal to past and present members of the U.S. military as well as any reader interested in espionage or detective stories. The lead female, Army Corporal Isabella DuLay, is portrayed as intelligent and strong, yet vulnerable, spunky, and lucky. The leading male characters are First Lieutenant Robert Steele and Sergeant Cassius Kelly, both Recon Marines.
In this novel, the criminal network is almost stamped out by the dangerous undercover work of Sergeant Kelly and Corporal DuLay. Lieutenant Steele, a double amputee, is released from Walter Reed Hospital. Will they and their fledgling Security and Private Investigating firm, BlackSteel, survive the hitmen dispatched by a foreign government?
Can our heroes bust up the networks selling black market explosives and distributing counterfeit bills? Tracking spies, traitors, and pushy politicians, they not only survive firefights but battle inter-agency turf struggles between the Department of Justice, NSA, and the Pentagon.
Being fact-based, this story has intriguing characters and lures the readers on to remember wisps of reported events where truths and conspiracies abound.
Romantic Poetry is a book of 20,000 words of original poetry delivered in more than 150 poems. Within this volume, you'll discover short and lengthy poems mainly about a real romance, decades in the making, and heartfelt feelings captured by nontraditional sonnets. Basically, the first 10,000 words were written to win the love of my sweetheart. Mostly romantic, some poems are witty, insightful, or downright crazy. Once you have downloaded your copy, please feel free to copy and personalize any poems you wish for your private or romantic use.
The Soul Searching Robot is a Sci-Fi story about a robot trying to find a soul so it could be saved. An intelligent robot becomes a Christian believer. Though he has faith, he concludes a soul is needed to be saved. He hooks up with a retired Space-tech who pumped plasma through Earth's ozone. It was an exhausting job. Then another devil-induced plague is about to envelop the earth. They must meet & beat Satan with the help of Lady Montague. Who wins? Who dies? Who is shackled in hell for all eternity? You? Hopefully not!
Children's Stories
The Soulful Robot is the same basic story as Soul Searching Robot above, except rated “G”
Tick, Tock, and Tink's Time Machine is about three mice who go back in time and have frolicking adventures. Mainly, this is an 'illustrated, flip the pages' story to be read to younger children. After a short while, your kids may surprise you and know the words attached to the drawings on the page.
Tick, Tock, and Tink's Second Adventure is about three mice who built their own time machine and overcame the situations they ran into while exploring a jungle in the ancient past.
The Strawberry Squirrel is a short story about two adventuresome squirrels. This story was written so a parent or guardian could read a portion to their children right before bedtime. The actual storytelling time, allowing for adult and child interaction is approximately fifteen to twenty minutes.
Magical Tales of Turtles and Treasure is about kids finding a magic turtle on a beach and going off on magical adventures. This delightful story is centered around a magical turtle and a pair of inquisitive kids. In the opening pages, a distressed Sea Turtle is crying out for help while stuck upside down in a seashore crevice. Enter our heroes, Dick and Jane, to tug and twist the helpless creature to freedom. But everybody needs to be careful. Mysterious islands are on the horizon, and volcanoes might erupt without notice.
Satan's Rummage Sale is a modern-day, short story fable suitable for teens and adults.
Christian Essays
Each essay's cover graphics and titles provide a glimpse of the subject matter within.
All of these and more can be found at SmashWords dot com and other great, online retailers. Search for DennisDKing.
Toss Christian Playing Cards
TOSS is an eight-suited deck of 'Christian' playing cards. Toss cards play all known card games like Spades, Hearts, Pinochle, Spoons, and Old Maid, but with more fun and excitement. Besides the 'normal' suits, the additional suits are the Cross, Angel, Shield, and Castle and their colors are gold and blue, respectively. If you wish to purchase these cards to support my ministry, please email me directly at HLS@USA.COM. Discounts are available for church group fundraisers.
Toss Double Deluxe Card Decks can be ordered from WWW.TOSS.iWARP.COM
Author's Notes
As an ordained Chaplain, I have led ministries in prisons, Senior Facilities, and in Baptist and non-denominational Bible Study groups. I am fortunate that on one internet site alone, SermonCentral, twenty-seven of my works have been viewed more than 70,000 times in over ninety countries. The average for my rated essays has been 4.25 out of five stars. By way of a transparent introduction, I have no theological degree. However, as you may gather, I do have a burning desire to do my small part to encourage spreading the Word of God by writing for the “common” men and women of the world.
Shoring up the weak in faith and helping unbelievers gain insight into salvation are two very rewarding endeavors. Every topic included within this brief writing has been discussed in volumes by believers and unbelievers alike in studies, books, videos, and a multitude of inerrant and errant opinions scattered all over the world and airwaves of the Internet. To that regard and for the salvation of souls, I have written this to be a simplistic, unadorned understanding of the topic at hand. I have incorporated material information from the Bible and traditional (non-biblical) sources. For clarity, I generally use the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Scriptures. To achieve more in-depth enlightenment, please refer to any King James Bible version. Or speak with any mainstream Christian Clergy.
There is a host of information offered freely at the BibleGateway internet site. Once there, you may choose any Biblical version(s) you prefer and compare any Bible verse against varying representations. That can be time very well spent.
Also, consider you do not have to join a church to visit on any given Sunday or to speak with a Minister! If you are searching, I wholeheartedly encourage you to visit more than one church to find the Pastor and congregation that are serving up the true Word of God.
