INSIDE: May we, especially on this day of Thanksgiving, thank Him for His amazing hand of blessing on this nation.  May we continue to pray for our country and for our leaders. 

 With great effort, the little boy pedaled his bicycle to the top of the long, concrete driveway.  It was a tiring trip, but he was about to be rewarded with his favorite part… which was right about…  now!  He turned to point his trusty vehicle downhill for the thrilling ride!  This was one of his favorite activities – especially on days like today – the cars were not in the way, and the only thing in the driveway was that trailer way off down at the bottom of the hill.  He gave one, big, final push on the pedals to launch into his downhill run.  When he shoved the pedal forward for all he was worth, something gave way and the pedals now spun freely forward and back…  Oh no!  His bike’s chain came off – he had no way to stop!  He began to pick up speed, his training wheels whizzing on either side of him.  If only he could slow down – if only he could stop!

 A little over a month ago, just before election day, I published an article called A Prayer for our Great Nation, where I encouraged us all to pray for the election and for our country.  At the time, we were screaming down the hill toward our own destruction.  The chain was off our bike and bouncing along the concrete behind us.  Patriot’s Hope was not the only Christian organization calling for prayers– far from it.  Groups of Christians everywhere were encouraging us to pray.  Churches were bringing sermons on the Christian’s duty of prayer and voting and participation in our civil government processes.  In our article, we included a link to a sermon by Jack Hibbs called “When Christians Fail to Vote”.  We have good friends at a church in Texas where they hung a huge “Appeal to Heaven” flag.  We all knew we were headed for destruction.  We all knew we were gaining speed.  If only we could slow down…  if only we could stop…  We were crying out to God for His mercy on us. 

Stepping on the Brakes

 Now, a little over a month later, it is clear the Lord has intervened.  It almost feels like He stepped into the bicycle story, and suspended time for a moment.  He has given us a remarkable opportunity.  He paused the furious bicycle ride toward the impact with the trailer, and is giving us the opportunity to decide how we will go from here.  Will we accept His generous gift?  Will we get off the bicycle, get it repaired and headed in a different direction?  Or will we just stay in the same position, and once He resumes things, will we just continue to scream out of control to the inevitable impact?  

 I find it amazing that right in the middle of this miraculous demonstration of God’s mercy on us, we have a day – Thanksgiving Day – set apart for the sole purpose of thanking God for His remarkable blessings on our nation.  This day didn’t just happen to come along…  It has been the practice of this nation since our inception to thank God for His mercy and grace upon us.  (To read more about that, check out this WallBuilders post The Pilgrims Thanksgiving.) We have seen Him intervene time and time again throughout our history, and today we see it again.  On this Thanksgiving Day, how I pray we will pour out our thanks to God.  What an amazing blessing He has given us to pause our sprint towards destruction!  However, the pause will do little good if we just go back.  If we don’t take advantage of this remarkable blessing and change course, if we don’t repent and turn from our wicked ways, then we will soon continue our plunge toward that trailer just ahead at ever increasing speed. 

Take time to thank God

 I think most boys who have logged a lot of time playing outside have experienced something like the preceding (true) story about the bicycle.  This one was taken from the experience of our barefoot son who was probably about four years old at the time and had unfortunately picked that day to not heed his parents’ instructions to always wear shoes for bicycle riding!  When faced with the prospect of hitting the trailer, he chose to sacrifice his toes on the concrete to stop his forward motion – ouch!  Christians, we have been given an incredible blessing.  We have been given an opportunity to stop our free-fall, to call our nation to repentance and to return to God.  We don’t even have to grind our toes into the concrete to get it!  May we turn from the many forms of wickedness we have so thoroughly embraced and turn to God in repentance!  May we, especially on this day of Thanksgiving, thank Him for His amazing hand of blessing on this nation.  May we continue to pray for our country and for our leaders.  May we better learn the Biblical principles of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, and hold our leaders accountable to them!   

 From our family here at Patriot’s Hope to yours, we want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!  May we thank The Lord for the amazing mercy He bestowed upon us by giving us an opportunity to change, to repent, to turn away and change directions in this country.  May we once again embrace Him.  May we take this opportunity to re-establish our nation upon the sure footing of His law, and the firm principles of His Word. 

A thanksgiving prayer

Thank you, Lord God, for your wonderful gift to us with this election.  May we use this opportunity to refocus this country on you.  Thank you for your remarkable hand of mercy that has so consistently upheld us throughout our nation’s history.  Thank you for a national holiday in this country that is set apart for the sole purpose of giving thanks for your amazing blessings upon us.  May we humble ourselves, pray, seek your face, turn from our wicked ways and cry out to you in repentance, and may you hear us from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.  Amen. 

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14