“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” – Habakkuk 2:3-4

As I preached last Sunday, just as Paul, on his way to Jerusalem, said, “I go..not knowing the things that shall befall me..”(Acts 20:22) we know not what the future holds for us–but we know Who holds the future. We are forced to face the future without all the facts, but the facts regarding God gives us faith to face whatever the future holds. Adrian Rogers said, “Don’t let an election steal your song“–then he wrote the following”

“Habakkuk says that in a day such as ours, the just are going to live “by faith.” Put your faith in God’s facts—that He is king evermore. That’s the way you’re going to live in this day and this age. Why? Because faith is that quality that keeps us going in dark days. Faith sees beyond the physical to the spiritual. Faith sees beyond the present to the future. Faith sees beyond the temporary to the eternal. Faith does not judge by the appearances of the hour.

Don’t you lose your faith. Faith cannot fail. Sin cannot win. Faith is the only message that will see us through, and it’s the only force that can change anything. Let me say that again. Faith is the only message that will see us through. It’s the only force that can change anything.

If we want a better land and a better life, we have to live by faith. Government cannot make us better; only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do that.”

“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

It ought not to be difficult for us to humble ourselves, for what have we to be proud of? We ought to take the lowest place without being told to do so. If we are sensible and honest, we shall be little in our own eyes. Especially before the Lord in prayer we shall shrink to nothing. There we cannot speak of merit, for we have none; our one and only appeal must be to mercy: “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Here is a cheering word from the throne. We shall be exalted by the Lord if we humble ourselves. For us the way upward is downhill. When we are stripped of self we are clothed with humility, and this is the best of wear. The Lord will exalt us in peace and happiness of mind; He will exalt us into knowledge of His Word and fellowship with Himself; He will exalt us in the enjoyment of sure pardon and justification. The Lord puts His honors upon those who can wear them to the honor of the Giver. He gives usefulness, acceptance, and influence to those who will not be puffed up by them but will be abased by a sense of greater responsibility. Neither God nor man will care to lift up a man who lifts up himself; but both God and good men unite to honor modest worth.

O Lord, sink me in self that I may rise in Thee.–(Charles Spurgeon)

“Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.” – Psalm 128:1, 5-6

Right now our nation is sick unto death because she has forgotten God. But listen to this and let it burn itself into your soul. In 1821 John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, said,

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration, the American people were bound by the laws of God.”

The principles of civil government and Christianity were linked together in an unbreakable bond. Nearly all citizens acknowledged Christian, biblical principles as the rules of their conduct.

In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson said,

“America was born to exemplify the devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from Holy Scriptures.”

In March, 1931, Congress adopted “The Star-Spangled Banner” as our national anthem. Do you know what the fourth stanza says? “Blessed with victory and peace, may this Heaven-rescued land praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must when our cause it is just. And this be our motto, ‘In God is our trust.’”

God blessed America when she was rooted in spiritual principles and truths. Praise God for our Christian and Judaic heritage being written into our very fabric. And pray for your nation according to 2 Chronicles 7:14.–Adrian Rogers