In God We Trust: 250 Years of Freedom

Today I am going to walk into a room, out in the open, and worship God. Nobody is going to stop me. Nobody is going to write my name down. Nobody is going to show up at my door tonight because of it.

Somewhere else in the world today, that same act can get someone imprisoned, kidnapped, or killed.

That is not history. That is now.

We do not think about it much because we do not have to. That is the whole point of freedom — it is supposed to feel normal. But this year, 250 years in, I do not want it to feel normal. I want to actually feel the weight of it for a minute before the fireworks start.

The Freedom We Stopped Noticing

Of everything this country protects, freedom to worship is the one I would put at the top. Not because the others do not matter — they do. But this is the one that, in many places and throughout much of history, has cost people everything.

Here, I can pray out loud in a restaurant. I can post my faith on Facebook, and the worst that usually happens is somebody rolls their eyes, gets distant, or throws a little sarcasm my way. Honestly, even that does not cost me what it costs a believer in a country where the same post could get them disappeared. I have written before about what it feels like when people mock you for living your faith out loud — that stings sometimes, it is uncomfortable, it can make you feel isolated.

But it is not prison. It is not a knock on the door at 2 a.m. It is not a bullet.

I do not say that to make my own discomfort feel small. I say it because I think we have lost the ability to tell the difference between inconvenience and actual cost. And freedom to worship is a place where that difference still matters.

Freedom Was Never Free

You have heard it a thousand times: freedom is not free. It is true anyway.

Somebody stood watch so I could have this. Somebody left home. Somebody missed birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and the birth of their own kids. Somebody wore the uniform and came home changed. Somebody did not come home.

To everyone who has served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard, and Reserves — thank you. To the veterans carrying stories most of us will never fully understand — thank you. To the families who wait, pray, worry, and hold life together at home while someone they love is somewhere else — thank you. To those who gave their lives, we remember you with real gratitude, not a passing line between the cookout and the fireworks.

That kind of sacrifice deserves more than a mention. It deserves honor. It deserves prayer. It deserves a nation humble enough to remember what was paid for the freedoms we enjoy.

The Freedom Under the Freedom

Jesus said it plainly:

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
John 8:36 NLT

Political freedom matters. The freedom to walk into a building and worship without fear matters enormously — I just spent this whole post saying so. But there is a freedom under that freedom. One no government gave me. One no government can take away.

Freedom from sin. Freedom from shame. Freedom from hopelessness. Freedom from carrying what was never mine to carry. That is the freedom that holds even in places where religious freedom does not exist.

That is why “In God We Trust” is not just print on a bill in my pocket. It is the actual answer to where my hope is. Not in a flag. Not in whoever is in office. Not in the country holding together by its own strength.

In God.

Because no nation stands on its own forever. This one included. We need Him — not as a slogan, not as a decoration, not as something we say because it sounds patriotic. We need Him as the foundation. Because eventually, if God is removed from under our feet, there is nothing left strong enough to hold us.

What I Am Doing With It Today

Today, I am praying for the men and women serving right now, wherever they are — the ones deployed, the ones training, the ones standing ready. For the veterans still fighting battles nobody else can see. For the spouses carrying more than people realize. For the kids who miss a mom or dad tonight because duty called. For the Gold Star families who paid the price the rest of us can only imagine.

I am also praying for America. Not because America is perfect — it is not. No nation is. But I still believe prayer matters. I still believe God can work in hearts. I still believe humility is better than pride, repentance is better than arrogance, and gratitude is better than entitlement.

A Prayer for Today

Lord, thank You for the freedom to worship You openly today. Watch over every man and woman who serves this country, and the families who wait for them. Give this nation humility instead of pride, and help us never take for granted what so many paid for. In Jesus’ name, amen.

So today, I am not taking this freedom for granted — not the fireworks, not the family around the table, not the flag waving in the yard. And especially not the freedom to close this post by saying it plainly, out loud, in the open, with nobody stopping me:

In God we trust.