Saturday, June 23, 2012
God bless our native land!
Firm may she ever stand
Thro' storm and night!
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave
Do Thou our country save
By Thy great might.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 577)
GOD BLESS OUR NATIVE LAND
It's an election year! As you know, that means during the whole year (and more!) leading up to November the airwaves and various media will be filled with debates, politicking, arm-twisting, and not a little dirt-digging, mud-slinging, and name-calling. The unfortunate result of the political hype is that we can often get tired of it all. We can get disenchanted. We are often turned off with all the money and the corruption that seem to go hand in hand with modern-day politics.
And on top of that, we often see the promises made by our leaders remaining unfulfilled. Or we see the top elected officials of our country getting involved in morally compromising situations. We see that many in our country don't seem to care.
Where does it all lead you? To despair? To worry? Why not to prayer?
As we celebrate our nation's birth this month, why not storm the gates of heaven with words like those of our hymn? "God bless our native land! . . . For her our prayer shall rise To God above the skies. . . ."
God has given us a country in which we are free to worship the one true God and to share His Good News of salvation. There is no question that God would be quick to shower our land with blessings so that His kingdom would continue to come through us both here and around the globe!
So no matter who wins the election, for His Gospel's sake may we pray that God would continue to be "ever nigh, Guarding with watchful eye"--and save our country by His great might!
-- Abridged from the "Lutheran Spokesman," July 2000
