What has happened in recent days has struck our nation to its core. An attack on an innocent citizen and patriot like Charlie Kirk was an attack on every American who loves God, our country, our constitution, our values and our heritage. Maybe that’s why he was considered a prime target for America’s enemies because nearly everything to love about America could be attacked, by attacking him. He was an embodiment of what Americans used to love and stand for. All across social media you see videos, pictures and posts of so many who are saddened, angered and distraught. The breath has been knocked out of millions. So much so that people have committed or recommitted themselves to being a Christian or a patriot and being more bold about it in both cases. Multiple people have said it feels like they lost a family member, or that they have never cried over someone they never knew. I personally have not felt a sense of nationwide grief like this since 9/11/01. It’s very obvious that this experience has been a valley for our nation.
I want to share something with those who have been impacted by this tragedy as well as everyone who loves God, loves America, and wants to see it saved from its enemies. Americans just like you have been here before. In late 1777, George Washington led the Continental Army to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for their winter encampment. They were exhausted, hungry and lacked proper clothing for the harsh winter that lay ahead. For nearly 2 1/2 years, though there had been victories, the Americans had slowly been beaten back by a much greater adversary. This, along with major casualties and a desperate lack of supplies, led them to begin to doubt if they would be able to endure for much longer to actually win the war. Morale was low. That winter only increased their doubts. For footwear, most of them had strips of blanket wound to their feet. When that wore out they walked through the snow barefoot. Washington had to issue an order that anyone cutting up a tent for clothing would be punished. When a committee from Congress finally came they noted that ‘feet and legs froze until they turned black’. Eventually men were only wearing rags while sleeping on dirt floors in drafty makeshift cabins. Their main food was firecake: cornmeal mixed with water and cooked over a fire. By the end of the winter Washington wrote in his diary that unless some change took place this army would “starve, dissolve or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence”. However, while the men were being beaten down by the elements externally, those same elements were strengthening their resolve within. When those men came out of that valley in the spring of 1778, they took the fight for freedom more serious than ever before. They had been resolved to fight until the end. From that time forth, Washington never had to worry about year-end enlistment lags. The men signed up for multi-year tours. One soldier from that winter wrote, “Our attention is now drawn to one point: the enemy grows weaker every day, and we are growing stronger. Our work is almost done, and with the blessing of heaven, and the valor of our worthy General (Washington) we shall soon drive these plunderers out of our country.” The lesson from Valley Forge is that valleys, forge us! The name could not have been more perfect. Many of us have experienced this in our personal lives and know this to be true. (James 1: 2-3) Same rule applies with whole communities or armies or countries. Americans who love God and their country have been in a war for some years now with the same enemy, Leftists/Marxists/ Communists and ultimately Satan. They have plundered our country. They have caused you multiple headaches, heartaches and setbacks. By design, their agendas are taking America to a place that is increasingly unrecognizable. They do not respect you or the values Americans have always lived by, hence the widespread removal of God and these values in recent years. They are the reason we no longer have the safety, prosperity, happiness and harmony we used to. They are the reason younger Americans have never experienced that America. They are the reason you are mocked on a daily basis, why you see things on the news that make you sick, the reason why once sacred institutions and symbols are now removed and desecrated, your dollar is worthless, multiple freedoms are restricted and everything is America’s fault! So here we are in one of the worst valleys of this war for our nation. Will this be a place where you are forged? Will you come out of this valley determined to win this war? A prime example of this enemy working locally would be the hundreds of LGBT books available in many of our local libraries, 900 in Pierce alone! This is the agenda that left Charlie Kirk bleeding to death on a college campus. Are you going to let it stay in your libraries and continue to have influence in your community? To your children? Or are you going to drive the plunderers out?
I’m afraid that if we do not act against these enemies and their agendas, we will only have worse times ahead. Are we going to wait on another tragic valley before we finally do something? Will God be done with America after this opportunity? Before we can take any specific actions, we need to make sure our heart is right with God. One pastor noted that as Washington rode around that camp during that winter at Valley Forge he would encourage the men to ‘fear God, put away wickedness that has set in, and to practice the Christian virtues’. God is speaking to this entire nation right now and we need to listen.
