State of the Nation – Thanksgiving 2024

Today is Thanksgiving 2024 and it’s been a little over three weeks since the November 5 presidential election. In a surprisingly strong showing, the Republican candidate won the popular vote for president for the first time in two decades! Many have predicted violent protests if Donald Trump won the election. That has not yet happened, but he still has to take power. To many, the nation does not feel safe. We are hearing threats of nuclear war from Russia. And Scandinavian and Eastern European countries are preparing for WWIII. Domestically there have been two assignation attempts against Trump, and his cabinet nominees have been received bomb threats. It might seem that the country is being torn apart by currents of division too deep to reconcile. Division is rampant in our society, and the Christian Church is no more united than the nation at large. While many fear the worst from a Donald Trump presidency, we need to realize that the real power in this country is not in the White House. It resides in the hearts and wills of 340 million Americans. We are the power of this nation. No matter what the politicians or the media say, we hold the key to the prosperity and security of this nation. Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to reflect on the blessings that we all have as Americans and to rejoice in what binds us together rather than to obsess about what can tear us apart.

The Real Issue: Division

The real issue concerning our nation is not how divided or united the government is, but whether or not the citizens can stay united and not fight with each other. Was it not the division among the citizenry that resulted in a divided government and a civil war 180 years ago? The citizens have the power to save or destroy this nation. We need to stay united to protect our democratic republic. If the influence of the people is silenced we all lose. We have differences, but brother fighting brother can only end up in destruction, with predators waiting in the wings to snatch our rights, privileges, and powers if we fail to protect them.

Contentious issues like abortion or transgender rights may challenge our ability to unite. But we should be free to debate these issues publicly without attacking those who disagree with us. Cancel culture and viscous attacks must stop. The freedoms listed in our constitution were said to be God-given, but even atheists should agree that we don’t want the government taking away these rights that were won by the blood of countless patriots.

The founders knew that the nation they were founding needed more than a divinely inspired constitution to preserve it. When Benjamin Franklin was questioned whether the Constitutional Convention had yielded a republic or a monarchy, he famously replied: “A republic, if you can keep it,” This underscored the fragility of maintaining a republic, highlighting active and engaged citizenship as essential to preserving  our nation. The success of the republic depends on the vigilance and constant participation of its citizens, acting in cooperation. to bring the country together.

In Mark 8:15, Jesus warned his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees (religious spirit) and of Herod (political spirit). Today, the church is divided along both religious and political lines. The media loves to focus our differences and cause us to fear and mistrust each other. Fear and animosity sell more ads and more clicks than good news and feel-good stories. It also gives them more power and makes them seem more relevant. But it is tearing our country apart. Going back to Jesus’ warning, we can see that the starting point for unity is spiritual, not political or religious. Both the political spirit and the religious spirits divide us and cause us to fight over our differences rather than being led by a spirit of brotherly love. We should be united as a church body and give society at large a picture of what unity looks like. It’s time we started acting like the body and bride of Christ, instead of squabbling and condemning each other.

The Power of Unity

Since the first step toward unity must be spiritual we need to focus on spiritual principles which can bring us together. Here are nine relevant scriptural truths that allow us to work and pray together and defeat the enemy who wants to divide us so that he can steal, kill, and destroy:

1. Refrain from calling good evil or calling evil good (Isaiah 5:20)
2. Protect the innocent and helpless (Jeremiah 22:3, Proverbs 31:8-9)
3. Recognizing God’s favor on heterosexual marriage and distaste for divorce (Genesis 1:27, 2:24, Hebrews 13:4)
4. God’s desire to be honored and included in public life. This includes religious freedom. (Psalm 96:3)
5. God’s desire to have the church be at the center of influence in the culture (Matthew 5:13-16 and 16:18)
6. A special focus on the welfare of children (Mark 9:42, Matthew 19:14)
7. That God is the author of life and that He doesn’t make mistakes, neither in assigning gender to children nor in assigning children to mothers to be loved and cared for. (Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:39-44, Psalm 139:13-14).
8. Stewardship of our natural resources (Genesis 2:15, Proverbs 12:10)
9. Protecting all our inalienable rights that have been bestowed by our creator (Genesis 1:27, Leviticus 19:15, Proverbs 31:9)

We should also be united in our prayers since we are commanded to pray for our leaders. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, we read:

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

A Reformation Forming

We need to stop fighting with each other and the Church needs to lead the way. We are to be a sign to the world that Jesus and the Father our united in their purpose to bring salvation to the world. We should value each other and support the choice that has been made by our fellow citizens. It may have been a narrow victory by total popular votes, but country by country and state by state we see that most of the country got behind one candidate who believes that the government has forgotten the needs of the people. Donald Trump has proposed a massive reorganization of the government. I believe that God wants it to be a reformation of sorts, a rededication to the Godly principles that made this country great. It’s a reformation that needs to be accompanied by a move of Holy Spirit to catalyze a movement through the Church as well. A political reformation can only go part way, and could even get turned in the wrong way. We must join together as followers of Jesus and pray for a move of God’s Spirit to guide this political juggernaut so that all people can be represented and so that even those feeling disenfranchised will benefit from God’s prevailing grace operating through the prayers of a united church to protect our nation through this coming transition of power, focus, and assignment. Jesus is King but He operates through the Church as it is lead by Holy Spirit. Our unity can allow that Spirit to move. Don’t let the world deceive you. God is not troubled by the election results, and you have the power to bring peace by refusing to be manipulated. Stand strong for America. Be grateful for this wonderful nation. Happy Thanksgiving!

Gary Peyrot