God Blessed America: What Does He Expect?

When Irving Berlin wrote the song “God Bless America” in 1918, the nation was still engulfed in World War I, and the song ended up languishing in his trunk for 20 years. However, when he revised it for Kate Smith to debut on the radio on Armistice Day 1938, it took off.

Introducing the song, she said, “It’s something more than a song—I feel it’s one of the most beautiful compositions ever written, a song that will never die.”

Mr. Berlin, whose Jewish family was driven out of Siberia when he was 5, said “God Bless America” was “an expression of gratitude for what this country has done for its citizens, of what home really means.”

According to the Great American Songbook Foundation, “The response to ‘God Bless America’ was immediate, massive, and widely enthusiastic. Americans raced to purchase the sheet music; program hosts played it repeatedly on the radio; and bands and singers belted it out at public performances. There was even a movement to declare ‘God Bless America’ the national anthem.”

Ever since, “God Bless America” has become a standard, used at everything from school gatherings to major league sporting events. Generations have been inspired by its profoundly simple message.

The song has resonated with so many because of Americans’ desire for God’s blessings, based on the clear evidence of His past benevolence.

America’s bountiful blessings

Throughout America’s 250-year history, leaders have expressed appreciation to God for all He has given the nation.

When he made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln called for “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

President Lincoln’s proclamation also said: “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added . . . [by] the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”

Lincoln continued: “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God . . . It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

And in 1981, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed, “America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this Nation throughout its history. In keeping with America’s heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to God for all of His blessings.”

Though such public recognitions of God’s blessings have continued, have the majority of Americans truly embraced thanksgiving to God? And not just once a year?

The fault of forgetfulness

Blessed people too often become self-satisfied and lose sight of the true source of their blessings.

Americans don’t like to be reminded of their sins. Neither do the citizens of other nations. But Bible prophecy is clear that if we don’t acknowledge them and throw ourselves on God’s mercy, we will suffer bad consequences. God warned of this temptation as His chosen people were on the threshold of the Promised Land:

“When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt . . . then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’” (Deuteronomy 8:10-17).

It’s natural to believe that what we have is the result of our own effort. But seen through the eyes of the God who blessed America tremendously with an inheritance we have not earned, such forgetfulness appears as ingratitude and self-destructive pride.

God’s expectations

It’s not that God is a harsh and stern God who demands gratitude and obedience for no reason. In fact, He is a loving and merciful God who desires the best for us. And He knows that what is best for us is to live the way of love.

We ourselves reap the benefits when we love God and love our fellow man. These two great commandments summarize all the laws and expectations God has for us (Mark 12:28-31; see our online article “The Great Commandment”).

Blessings and curses

God’s laws are like guardrails. They are to protect us from actions that will harm us and others. They steer us toward thoughts and actions that benefit us and others.

The Bible shows that ultimately it is a matter of cause and effect. God lists those causes and effects in chapters like Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

For example, Moses described the blessings of obedience in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. He followed that by explaining the loss of blessings if a people failed to give thanks to and obey the One who gives those blessings.

“Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.

“And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28:45-48).

Consider this further in our online articles “Why Is Our Modern World Under Ancient Curses?” and “Why Is God Angry With America?”

Sinners in the hands of a merciful God

God defines breaking His beneficial law as sin (1 John 3:4). And whether by ignorance, neglect, temptation or intent, we have all become sinners (Romans 3:23).

What happens to sinners?

One of the most famous sermons in American history was titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards (1741). He said:

“So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out: and they have no interest in any Mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them.”

Such vivid visions may strike fear, but do they accurately portray the merciful God of the Bible or what really happens after death? (See our online article “How Can a Loving God Send Someone to Hell?”)

Sin and its effects do make God angry, but in His love and mercy He provided a way out. God loved us so much that—at great cost—He made it possible for us to repent and be forgiven and receive eternal life (John 3:16; Acts 2:38).

Repentant sinners can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Americans don’t like to be reminded of their sins. Neither do the citizens of other nations. But Bible prophecy is clear that if we don’t acknowledge them and throw ourselves on God’s mercy, we will suffer bad consequences. It warns of a Great Tribulation triggered by sin, before Christ’s return to save us from ourselves.

Will America repent? Will other nations repent?

Even if they don’t, you can turn to our merciful God. You can study more about what He wants from and for you in our free booklet Change Your Life.

America’s future, written in advance

Bible prophecy predicts the future for many nations, including smaller nations like Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iran and Israel. Would God leave out an end-time power like the United States? We don’t think so. Through a deep study of prophecy and history, we trace the origins of the United States and its God-given blessings all the way back to the promises to Abraham.

To understand what has happened and will happen to the United States, you need to read our free book The United States, Britain and the Commonwealth in Prophecy.

This true story is fascinating, sobering, yet full of hope for a much brighter future that will extend to all nations!