Daily Devotional

Most people think of the Fourth of July as a day off work, and a chance to get together for a cookout with family and friends. Then after dark, light things on fire and watch fireworks.

One of my most memorable Fourth of Julys has to be when we were living in Minnesota. Our house was right across the street from one of the state’s ten-thousand lakes. And with all that water, we also had a lot of mosquitoes. The loon is the Minnesota state bird, but for people who live there, we know it’s actually the mosquito.

Well, we had new neighbors move into their newly built house across the street from us. Their first July 4th they invited our family over for a cook-out. They said, “If we set up our chairs right by the lake, we will be able to see the fireworks explode over the lake as they light them off from the golf course.”

We thought, “This will be a great opportunity to get to know our new neighbors, and share Jesus with them.” We arrived for the cook-out. Enjoyed some great food. Had some wonderful conversations. Then we set-up our chairs by the lake to get ready for the fireworks.

Well, one thing you may not know about mosquitos in Minnesota is, they are big, and they are everywhere. And when they get you, it’s not an annoying itch on the ankle, it’s a welt that lasts for days. You don’t just need basic mosquito repellant, you need the high-powered, deep woods, super-charged stuff.

As we sat with our neighbors next to the lake waiting for the fireworks to begin, the mosquitos descended upon us. We had covered ourselves from head to toe with clothing and this super-charged mosquito repellent, but it did no good. These mosquitoes bit right through our shirts, pants, coats and hats. I’ve never gotten more mosquito bites in my entire life.

Well, because our house was right across the street, we talked about heading home. We could’ve seen the fireworks from our front window. But for the sake of building relationships with our neighbors, we stayed. And these neighbors became some of our closest friends.

Most of us know that the Fourth of July is more than a day off work to cook-out with family and friends. The Fourth of July recognizes that day in 1776 when our nation declared itself independent from the colony of England. On that day a number of our citizens signed a document known as the Declaration of Independence.

But that independence could not simply be declared, it had to be won. It took several difficult years of war where many men lost their lives. And the first years of our nation’s existence were far from perfect. There were many problems, as is still true today. But our forefathers proposed to establish a free and democratic system of government, including our Constitution and Bill of Rights. These documents became the basis for our freedom moving forward. And praise the Lord, they have stood the test of time. So on July 4th, we give thanks to the Lord for the wisdom, faith, and courage of our founding fathers.

While we are thankful for these leaders of our past, this July 4th, let’s look with faith to the future and commit our lives to God and following His will found in His Word.

Psalm 33:12 says “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...”

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.