Nation Under God… In the English language, the order of words in a sentence makes a difference. So it matters that in our pledge of allegiance, the phrase is “one nation under God.” It is not “one God, under our nation.” And in Psalm 33:12, a nation is blessed when they worship God. God isn’t like a child on the playground, hoping He will get picked by the winning team.
As the Civil War raged, according to one story, one of Abraham Lincoln’s mili-tary advisors remarked that he was grateful God was on their side. Lincoln supposedly responded, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
Our nation has indeed been blessed by the Lord. But if God continues to bless us, it will not be because we chose Him. It will be because “he hath chosen [us] for his own inheritance.’’ This week, as we celebrate our inde-pendence, let’s remember our total dependence on God.
Father, we often say, “God bless America.”
