Tomorrow America turns 250! If not for the faith of our forefathers and the miraculously timed Great Awakenings, orchestrated by Almighty God, there is absolutely no conceivable way we would be celebrating such a milestone. To say the providence of God was at work in our early days would be an extreme understatement.

Yet, history proves it was not just God’s providence at work, but miracle-upon-miracle that enabled our nation to stand. Bill Federer, one of America’s greatest historians, reveals a few of the miracles that shaped America in this 4-minute CBN documentary piece:

Friends, before we get totally wrapped up in the revelry of tomorrow, let’s commit to sit quietly for a few minutes to consider what a true miracle America is. A group of pilgrims risked their lives to escape religious tyranny to come to a wilderness land on the other side of the globe. Harsh winters and pandemic diseases nearly wiped them out. Later, a bunch of ragtag farmers and craftsmen bound together to take on the mightiest military in the world at that time. As the untrained minutemen fought the mighty British in the Revolutionary War, there was no logical way the citizen army could win. Yet they did!

Then came the real test. The 13 colonies knew they could not survive on their own, yet each colony was founded on different religious beliefs. How would they EVER agree to form a union? Yet, for years, God had spoken wisdom to various men and, from the Mayflower Compact, to the Federalist Papers, to the Constitutional Convention, to the Declaration of Independence and our nation’s Constitution, each brought wisdom from above.

America was an experiment. There was strong argument regarding what kind of government would form. Many wanted a monarchy. After all, that is what they had known in the Old World, and though it didn’t quite work, those who espoused it believed they could create a better one. Others wanted a republic, yet there were no good examples. Only a few countries had ever tried it and in virtually every case, they had reverted back to a previous form of government.

Following a total media blackout of information as the Constitution was written, Benjamin Franklin emerged to answer the question, “What type of government do we have?” To which he replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

The success of a republic depends on the participation and vigilance of the people, and it will surely fail without strong moral underpinnings (which is why none had succeeded before). Our forefathers knew that, so America’s new republic would be different. It would be a bottom up, rather than top down, government. It would be a constitutional republic whereby government powers are limited by the constitution. The people rule, rather than the government.

Thus, our Constitution begins, “We the People…” From that moment, morality became the linchpin of our form of government. Brilliant…if you can keep it.

Yes, be thankful for America and God’s unmerited favor poured out upon us. But also pray for a Great Awakening and a return to the commitment those early settlers had. Pray that the church will take a leadership role in guiding America back toward righteousness. May a spark of revival grow into a flaming Great Awakening and may it begin in the hearts of believers!