By Ryan Kelly –

On July 30, 1956, Congress passed a resolution declaring ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ as the new the national motto of the United States. This replaced E pluribus unum, a Latin phrase meaning “out of many, one” as the national motto.

Today, I believe we take for granted the reasoning for this motto and the purpose behind it. Remember, in 1956 the US had recently won World War II and was on a moral high. Soldiers returned from a brutal war, and the nation had placed its faith in the Lord as much as ever during a very dark time. Much like the Israelites after a victory during the time of the Judges, the US was in a great place due to the Lord’s favor.

Congress declared this motto in part from Psalm 91:

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.’”

It is amazing that our nation adopted such a powerful scripture as the motto for all Americans to live by. God’s hand was on our country, and you can clearly see the result of this faithfulness that we have seen. However, unfortunately through all of the growth and success, people have lost sight of the reason behind the success. Much like the Israelites during the time of Judges, we have ventured away from the core of our nation’s faith through every passing generation. We are now in a position where less than half of our nation professes to have faith in Jesus Christ, and almost certainly a smaller portion than this truly places Jesus as the Lord of their life.

Our nation MUST return to trusting in the Lord for our salvation. We must not lean on politicians, on the military, and certainly not on money. The God that we serve controls these things, uses these things, and can easily take these things away. Our faith must not be in human hands but on the things of the Lord. His protection and His might are all that we need to sustain us. When we truly turn the nation back to the Lord and place our collective faith in Him, only then we will return to the spiritual peace in which we all search.