Why America Needs a Whole Lot More Than a New President
As I sit in my usual writing spot desperately trying to decide what topic I should focus on for my article this week, for the first time in almost three years of writing for this site I struggle to find the right topic. Do I write about the RNC? Should I trash the media for focusing on Mrs. Trump’s seemingly plagiarized speech? Seriously, how do they have time for that? Should I criticize President Obama’s manipulating every gun related death into an anti-gun speech opportunity? Should I herald police officers as heroes while demonizing the Black Lives Matter movement? What do I even begin to say to a nation that is reeling under the constant chaos caused by ISIS, the unending turmoil caused by racial tension that fills our streets, the relentless doom and gloom that overflows Washington, the consistent decline of our schools, the persistent economic unrest in our homes, etc., etc., etc.? What hope could I possibly offer?
The truth is people are distinctly aware of the problems we face as a nation: security, economy, morality. People are clear that we are divided in more ways than one on these very issues. America’s citizens understand too well how broken our nation is. What we can’t seem to agree upon is what to do about it or even what the source of the problem is. Naturally, election season magnifies these problems for us since all the candidates from the local dog catcher to the President are discussing the issues and how they personally intend to solve them. The problem is no one ever really seems to move things in the right direction despite the promises that are made year after year. So, what hope do we have? What is our problem; and, more importantly, what is our solution?
I believe I have the answer and the history to back it up. You’ll, of course, have to forgive me for my oversimplification of this answer, but with all my heart, I am convicted that it is true. America needs to step into a Third Great Awakening. America needs to experience repentance before the God of the Bible. America needs untold numbers of her citizens to experience the love and forgiveness of a Heavenly Father, namely Jesus. America will not see and cannot see the true cultural change everyone so desires, regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on (Let’s be real, everyone wants things to be better even though we don’t agree on what better looks like.), until massive numbers of American citizens encounter Jesus and surrender their lives to His rule.
If you look at our history, the First Great Awakening in the colonies birthed the American Revolution. When men tasted true freedom, freedom from the slavery of sin, internal freedom of the soul that is only found in a relationship with God himself, then the hunger for freedom on the inside inspires us to be free on the outside. When a wave of God’s freedom swept through the colonies, the freedom they experienced in their hearts inspired them to demand freedom in their daily lives. Their tongues had been wetted with the water of fresh freedom, and it made them thirsty for more. When God sets a man free, he begins to long for freedom in every scenario of his life and will do whatever it takes to have it. Thus, the American Revolution was born, the Declaration of Independence signed, and the Constitution ratified. And the string board that birthed the greatest nation and the greatest form of government the world has ever known was caused directly be a move of God.
Not long after the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening in this nation occurred. Once again, men got free in their hearts. Only this time they didn’t seek their own personal freedom, but they sought the freedom of others. Thus, the Abolitionist Movement was born. When a man experiences freedom in his own life, when he understands that God can set him free and he falls in love with that freedom, it becomes his greatest desire to see others experience that same freedom. He will take on the very nature and character of God and willingly sacrifice himself for the freedom of others. Again, the Second Great Awakening was directly responsible for birthing the movement that ended legal slavery in America.
So what does this nation need? What is the answer to the problems that so deeply divide us? With every fiber of my being, I believe that America is in need of a Third Great Awakening. The good news is that I am seeing hints and pockets of it already springing up in various states. There truly is hope for America; and when we find that Hope, Jesus, we will once again be a great nation. Men will once again be inspired to transform our economy, our security and our morality. Problem solved!
