In God We Trust

“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works.” Psalms 73:28

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:10

   “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States since 1956.  It has been used on some coins dating back to the end of the Civil War, and on all money since 1966.  According to a letter written by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania (as referenced on the www.treasury.gov website) the government was called on to reference the God in whom we have “personally claimed.”  Also his letter wanted historians after our nation is no more, to be able to look back and see that the United States was not a ‘heathen nation.’  Whether or not we are a ‘heathen nation’ I wanted to take a short look at why we would choose individually to claim “In God We Trust.”

   To believe in the God of the Bible, we believe in a God of omnipresence (everywhere), omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and having absolute sovereignty (control) over all areas of our life and the world around us.  Not only this, but we believe that God sent himself in the form of Jesus as the show of ultimate love.  The reasons to believe are great, if you believe; and that is the question we find ourselves defending in society today. 

   From the Supreme Court deciding whether a moral basis for a law is constitutional; to challenges to remove God from any national pledge or anthem.  Our society stands squarely where Israel found themselves before the captivity.  Both 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37 tell the story of Hezekiah being approached by the Assyrian empire, and the agent asked “has any one of the nations’ gods delivered them from the hand of the king of Assyria?”  The king and nation then had to choose to trust in God, or in themselves even when things turn bleak.  The rest of Isaiah describes how God would protect his people throughout their captivity.  God then brought Jesus to create a nation of people not defined by borders, but common belief.  Our challenge today is to do as Peter says and ‘give a reason for the hope that is within us.”