Has America moved out of God’s protective hand?
Although many factors may have led us to believe that America has been systematically moving away from God’s protective hand, there was always the reliable position on Israel, knowing that, to the extent that the Jewish homeland was supported, it would also go well for America, per the promise, “I will bless those who bless Israel.” Gen. 12:3
But that is no longer a given – and certainly not within the Democratic party of 2024 which includes a very pro-Palestinian base that has thrown in their support with the terrorist group, Hamas. Little by little, consideration for that constituency, who dubbed the president “Genocide Joe” has caused the Biden administration to quickly recalibrate, knowing that not to do so could easily cost him the upcoming election if he didn’t appear to be sympathetic towards Palestinians.
That may likely account for the U.S. abstention in the recent vote among the U.N. Security Council members who demanded a ceasefire with no condition of a hostage release. Just that singular act, alone, might be responsible for a shift in whether or not God continues to “shed His grace on thee” (per the words of “America the Beautiful”).
But couple that with the latest proclamation by the American president, stating, “I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility,” coincidentally being given that distinction on the most solemn Christian holiday of Easter or Resurrection Sunday, as it is sometimes called.
Commenting on the obvious sacrilege that it represents, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced his great disapproval by saying, “Banning sacred truth and tradition – while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’ is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.” Other well-known personalities, likewise, expressed their indignation over the insensitive timing of such a directive which, at least to one politician seemed, “intentional and a blatant disregard,” referring to it as “a direct assault on Christianity.”
While many saw the act as divisive and a “slap in the face to Christians,” the White House, rather, noted that any individuals who have a problem with this recognition for transgenders “are seeking to divide and weaken the country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric.”
But while “Transgender Day” is being used as a reprimand directed at those whom the administration categorizes as small-minded, rejecting “inclusion of all,” actions such as these do not go unnoticed by the God who has blessed America and caused her to be a great nation – until now.
Because what godless individuals define as, “the new sensitivities which society must now embrace and champion,” may be viewed by God’s lens as standards that are not His, thereby jeopardizing His continued blessing for having abandoned His ways and adopting their own path, while insisting the lack of full acceptance reveals bigotry.
In this, we can recognize an orchestrated effort to desensitize all the things which we once viewed as deviate, but which are now being pushed, all in the name of “inclusion.” Yet, it’s a thinly veiled attempt, since no one needs a day of visibility. We are all seen and acknowledged for our behavior, our appearance, our demeanor and our manners or lack thereof. The impression made by those outward and inward characteristics is up to others around us to accept or reject. It is the same argument that can be made for having a special month dedicated to a particular group of people. Now, there are U.S. holiday celebrations including: “International Asexuality Day, International Day of Pink, Day of Silence, Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness Day and International Drag Day.”
In this particular case, it’s not only the demand to acknowledge transgenders. It goes one step further – just as it did with homosexuality. What began as an acknowledgement, progressed to celebration, and, from there, it went one step further – to promotion. It got to the point where anyone heard rejecting that type of lifestyle was tantamount to displaying a phobia or expressing bigotry. Consequently, there became a societal obligation to continuously move in the direction that we were told to go in order to avoid the derogatory labels.
It's no longer valid to reject what we’re told we must accept. But what do you do if it doesn’t match up to your religious or moral values? For those of us who accept the Scriptures as our guide to right living, it is not only our prerogative to follow what we believe to be God’s standards, but it is incumbent upon us to faithfully adhere to the rules that were set for us by our Creator who knows what’s works best for us.
Mandating our observances, our beliefs and our principles is not the job of any government, and no matter how hard they try, or what day is chosen to compete with our own sacred traditions, no administration can succeed if it seeks to shame you into accepting extremes which are not in keeping with the way you choose to live.
Any nation which seeks to enforce new ethics, replacing those which we are commanded to preserve, will find itself outside of the protective hand of the Almighty, because in their overriding of what has already been prescribed, they literally assume the place of God, believing that they are more merciful, more tolerant, more forgiving and, most of all, more equipped to tell us how we should be living.
In essence, it is a hostile takeover of the divine authority which is reserved only for our maker who is also our keeper. As America moves away from the course that we were given, the moment we were created, replacing the guidelines with their own empty sense of morality, so God, also moves away. Because He accepts the message that He is no longer needed or acknowledged as the final arbiter. What was taken for granted as a protective covering will, in short order, become a bitter reminder that we are mere dust with extremely limited abilities to change our circumstances.
Failing to recognize that there is a sovereign God, whose compassion and mercy allow for blessing, even when we don’t deserve it, not to mention His protective power and intervention, will only result in our own harm. So, why would we reject such benefits?
Sadly, there is often a destructive impact for all, driven by the bad choices and misguided direction taken by our leaders. America seems to be headed in that path, taking down the godly with the godless who arrogantly felt that their way was superior to the Almighty’s.
A former Jerusalem elementary and middle-school principal and the granddaughter of European Jews who arrived in the US before the Holocaust. Making Aliyah in 1993, she became a member of Kibbutz Reim but now lives in the center of the country with her husband.