America, I Honor You!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT

In America, we are celebrating the declaration of our Independence from England in 1776. It’s a national holiday with BBQ picnics, river, lake and ocean outings, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, homemade ice cream and too much partying with alcohol…even now I am stopping and pleading God to protect those who are traveling late at night…no car accidents taking the lives of loved ones.

We live in a great country with lots and lots of freedoms. Those freedoms reflect the Bible’s statement that with Jesus it is for freedom that He has set us free. Thanksgiving and honor are two of the ways to engage in freedoms.

To honor is to esteem, value or give great respect. God is the ultimate one who deserves all glory and honor. He is also the one who has established governments, leaders, those in authority, including our parents, mom and dad. 

We can easily see why God is able to receive honor, because He is holy and perfect, BUT what about all the rest of those in authority? How do we honor those in authority that we disagree with, those who make decisions which harm us, those who wound us? Does God want us to give honor to them? Yes!

I know, you are asking me how in the world is this possible? Wouldn’t it be wrong to honor those who are not godly, lose their temper, hurt people (that’s all of us by the way)? How can you tell us to honor things that are not in agreement with holy living? HOW? – Look beyond the authority. Look past their shortcomings, their failures, their hardness of hearts. Look past to the throne of God in your honor. Give esteem to the one who is over all things. Don’t worship them – look past them to God who is worthy of all praise.

For example, it is right to honor your mom and dad because they brought you into this world. God chose your parents to be yours. If they are destructive, then you have the privilege to pray for them to know Jesus as their Savior. Who else would know how to pray for your parents like you would? 

My dad and mom divorced when I was small and I never really lived with my Dad again. My mom was wonderful to give us access to him. I learned how to ride motorcycles, fish, shoot guns, be adventurous, and tell good stories. One of the sounds I cherish to this day, is the baying of hound dogs chasing a rabbit or fox at dusk. Those are wonderful memories for which I am grateful.

Gratefulness and honor are closely related. I don’t know if you can truly honor without leaning into gratefulness.

Our country has had its struggles. Those who love our country and honor it, have experiences and memories for which they are grateful. We can learn, we can grow, we can raise families, enjoy state and national parks, celebrate with friends and families, enjoy sports teams and so much more. Gratefulness is a directional action to look for the goodness of things.

If you are struggling with honor, ask God to help you with finding things in which to be grateful. 

So today, I honor America!!! I am so thankful to God for allowing me to be born in this nation. I am thankful for little country churches and the mega churches. I am thankful that we can read God’s word freely. I am so blessed with wonderful family and friends. I am blessed to have traveled to many of the beautiful states in our country. America, the Beautiful!

What do you appreciate about our country? Who are you thankful for? Have you told them of the respect and honor you have for them? 

King Solomon was the one who penned the opening verse…his heart was full of honor to God and for his country. Let’s model his love for both.

Blessings

Love Y’all