The Only Way Home
Mercy me, friend! It’s plum great to have you comin’ over this way today! Come on up, pull up an ol’ rocker, and settle yourself right here on this ol’ front porch. I’ve been sittin’ out here watchin’ a hefty ol’ bullfrog perched on top of a feed bucket like it was surveyin’ its kingdom. That ol’ bullfrog puffed itself up, croaked loud enough to scare a passin’ grasshopper, then tried to leap onto a nearby stump. It plum missed the stump entirely, landed in a pile of leaves, and sat there lookin’ sho’-nuff’ like it was offended at the laws of physics. And right then I thought, that’s us, too. We git to puffin’ ourselves up with pride, we leap toward things we think we can handle, and then, we end up sittin’ right in the leaves wonderin’ why in this ol’ world our joy feels so far away. Psalm 33:12 says, “What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord.” Our joy don’t come from our leaps. It plum comes from rememberin’ Who steadies us when we land in the leaves.
A few decades ago, Forbes magazine asked a question that still hangs in the air today. Why do we feel real bad when we have it so good. Editor James Michaels said our nation marched proudly into the twentieth century but got to slouchin’ sadly toward the next. He plum blamed the loss of values, absolutes, and meaning. Friend, that there sounds like an ol’ barn that’s lost its foundation. It might look real fine from the road, but one real strong wind and the whole thing leans like a tired ol’ mule.
Abraham Lincoln nailed it when he said, “We’ve forgotten about God. We’ve forgotten the gracious hand that preserved us, multiplied us, and strengthened us.” We’ve even imagined that our blessin’s came from our own brilliance. Psalm 33:12 tells us “joy belongs to the nation that remembers God.” The flip side is sho’-nuff’ real misery for the nation that forgets Him. And that there misery is exactly what we’re seein’ happenin’ today.
But Scripture don’t ever leave us hopeless. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If God’s people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, He will forgive their sins and heal their land.” Galatians 6:7 reminds us that “whatever a person or a nation sows, it will reap.” And Proverbs 14:34 adds a fresh layer of truth. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” God ain’t lookin’ for no perfect people. He’s sho’-nuff’ lookin’ for repentant ones, though.
Friend, our nation has two choices: judgment or awakenin’. And awakenin’ plum starts with one heart at a time. Yours. Mine. Ours. What can you do to remember God more often. Start real small. Start real sincere. Start right now, today.
Father, remind us of Your goodness. Forgive us for forgettin’ You. Turn our hearts back to Your truth. Heal our land and awaken our spirits. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Now friend, don’t you be lettin’ the size of America’s troubles start whisperin’ that God has gone and packed up His things and stepped off the porch. He plum hasn’t gone nowhere. He’s still right here, still listenin’, still movin’, still tendin’ to the hearts that call on Him. Just like a determined lil’ ol’ muskrat that keeps patchin’ its lodge no matter how many times the river rises, God keeps right on rebuildin’ hope in any soul that turns toward Him. And when the night air settles soft over the farmhouse, and the lil’ whippoorwills begin their late‑night commentary, His quiet work keeps right on goin’. He reminds you that nations surely rise and fall, but people who remember Him always find their way right on back to the safety of His care. It’s no wonder that Benjamin Franklin once told a room full of divided delegates, “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”
With joy,
Gwen
