As America prepares to celebrate 250 years, perhaps the deeper question is what we’ve forgotten along the way
(plus my conversation with Cynthia Scott about her book, Remembering God, our Founder)
There are moments in life when memory becomes sacred.
Not nostalgia. Not blind idealism. But the quiet act of remembering where we came from… and who carried us when we could not carry ourselves.
As America approaches its 250th birthday, conversations about our nation have become increasingly loud, political, and fractured. Depending on whom you ask, America is either a beacon of hope or a cautionary tale. A nation to celebrate or a nation to apologize for. And somewhere beneath all the shouting, many believers are left wondering what it means to love their country without placing it above God.
That tension was at the heart of my recent conversation with Cynthia Scott, author of Celebrating GOD, Our FOUNDER, at America’s 250th Birthday.
What struck me most was not a political argument or historical debate. It was the deeper invitation underneath it all: the call to remember God’s providence with humility and gratitude.
Because Scripture is filled with remembrance. Again and again, God tells His people not to forget.
“Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God…” (Deuteronomy 8:11).
LET US NOT FORGET
Throughout Israel’s history, we find its leaders building altars to remember the things God had done for them. Altars became a way for wayward hearts to return to the moment God miraculously delivered, provided and revealed His will to His people.
Think Joshua at Gilgal (Joshua 4) after crossing the Jordan River on dry ground, where he commanded one representative of each tribe to take a stone from the riverbed to set up an altar.
Or Jacob, after waking up from a prophetic dream at Bethel (Genesis 28), where he later set up a stone pillar and called the place El-bethel (God of Bethel), a memorial to God’s protection and favor over his life.
There are so many more incredible stories throughout the Old Testament in which God’s leaders erected an altar to ensure they would not forget what God had done: see Joshua at Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:30-31), Samuel at Mizpah (1 Samuel 7), Moses at Rephidim (Exodus 17), Abraham at Shechem (Genesis 12) and Mount Moriah (Genesis 22) and David at Araunah’s Threshing Floor (1 Chronicles 21:26).
Altars were built so that the nation would not forget
Because they do. And so do we.
Indeed, we forget prayers that were answered. We forget the wilderness seasons we survived. We forget the mercy that carried us through moments we were certain would break us.
I think about this as I flip through the pages of my worn Bible and journals from years ago, where I chronicled God’s hand over my life during some of the hardest seasons. Cancer. Unemployment. Fear. Sleepless nights. The uncertainty of whether I would see my children grow up, or where our provision would come from.
As I flip through those fragile pages, I find prayer after prayer written through tears. Honest prayers. Desperate prayers. And next to many of them, I scribbled tiny notes in the margins through the years:
“T&P (Tested and Proven)”
Those two letters in the margins of my bible are pregnant with meaning:
“He answered this.”
“He carried me here.”
“He provided miraculously.”
“He healed me.”
I cherish those notes—evidence of grace I could have easily forgotten.
Maybe that is part of what faithful remembrance does. It anchors us in gratitude instead of fear.
MAY AMERICA NOT FORGET
During my conversation with Cynthia Scott, she shared stories from America’s history with reverence. Her passion was not about elevating America to some untouchable status. It was about recognizing the unmistakable fingerprints of God across generations of imperfect people, desperately in need of Him, and praying that our nation never forgets them.
That distinction matters.
Because there is a difference between worshipping a nation and acknowledging God’s providence within its story.
One produces pride. The other produces humility.
Our culture often swings between two extremes: glorifying the past or condemning it entirely. But biblical remembrance—the sentiment behind each altar built by Israel’s leaders—does neither. It simply tells the truth honestly (history) while still acknowledging the mercy and providence of God.
The Bible never hides the failures of God’s people. Scripture is painfully honest about human weakness, rebellion, pride, and injustice. Yet woven through every page is the steadfast faithfulness of God.
That is true in personal history. And it certainly is true in national history, too.
PRAY FOR AMERICA
During our conversation, Cynthia spoke about prayer repeatedly—not as a slogan, but as a necessity. Because ultimately, the hope of a nation has never rested in politics, power, or personalities. It rests on whether hearts remain sensitive to God.
Revival has never begun in Washington. It begins with ordinary people who humble themselves before the Lord.
People who remember, pray, and refuse to let cynicism have the final word.
As I listened to Cynthia, I found myself thinking less about monuments and more about legacy. What kind of spiritual inheritance are we leaving behind for our children? Will they inherit outrage? Fear? Division?
Or will they inherit stories of God’s faithfulness?
Psalm 78 says, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.”
That verse feels especially important right now, as division threatens to make us forget God’s faithful hand over this nation. And perhaps remembering that truth—with humility, gratitude, and repentance where needed—is part of how we move forward as a nation with wisdom and unity.
If this conversation resonates with you, I hope you’ll listen to my full interview with Cynthia Scott below. And don’t forget to connect with Cynthia and enter her book giveaway at the end of this page.
FIND OUT MORE:
- Purchase the book: God Our Father
- Watch the interview below and enter the giveaway from the form at the end of this post.
