Every February we remember the birthdays of our three greatest U.S. Presidents: Ronald Reagan on the 6th, Abraham Lincoln on the 12th and George Washington on the 22nd. God raised up each one in their own era to serve His special purpose, much like He did Queen Esther of Babylon in the Bible’s book of Esther. Each one of these three Presidents was preserved by God to accomplish His will for our Nation. Each one acknowledged their dependence on God to carry out the responsibility He had given to them. And each one had a life-changing experience involving bullets fired at them from an enemy.
As a Colonel in the French and Indian War, 23 year old George Washington fought in the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. He was a very visible target sitting upon his white horse as he rode back and forth among the other soldiers who were dying all around him. 714 were killed and 37 wounded in the battle and Washington had two horses shot from under him. At the close of the fighting, it was observed that he had four bullet holes in his coat, but he was not harmed in any way. One of the Indian Chiefs later commented that they were trying to kill him but could not; “Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss–’twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we, shielded you…The Great Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies.” It reminds me of Psalm 91:7, which says, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not approach you.” God continued to preserve and protect Washington as he led our young Nation to victory as Commander-in-Chief during the Revolutionary War. As first President of the United States, he was an example of humble, yet firm leadership and became the model for future Presidents to follow. He said, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, took a firm stand against slavery in the United States, believing that God created all men equal as is stated in the Declaration of Independence. So determined was he in this belief, that upon his election as President, several States seceded from the Union and the Civil War began. Lincoln led our Nation through one of the darkest periods of testing as state against state and brother against brother tore the country apart. He believed the Union of States must be preserved, “as a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Matthew 12:25. He shouldered the responsibility to free the slaves and unite the Nation. The weight of these struggles can be seen by how much he aged from the beginning of the war in 1860 to its end in 1865. God preserved him through the long war years when, at last, the end of slavery came and the nation was united again. He said, “The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance.” Five days after the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s task being successfully completed, an assassin’s bullet ended his earthly life.
Another U.S. President also stood firm in his commitment to do the right thing amid staunch criticism. Ronald Reagan wasn’t personally fighting in a war like Washington or leading a nation-splitting battle, like Lincoln, but rather a war of words and principles against moral and financial issues at home and freedom issues abroad. Two months after taking office, he was shot with an exploding bullet that stopped less than one inch from his heart. Providentially, the bullet did not explode, but his lung collapsed and he lost a large amount of blood. He was about as close to death as one could be. He believed the Lord had spared his life to fulfill a higher purpose; the work God had for him to do. He said, “I was raised to believe that God has a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all part of His plan.” Now it was time to usher in the “Reagan Revolution” and “Reaganomics.” He is remembered for reducing taxes and thus boosting the economy and reducing inflation, increasing the military-“it’s not to promote war, it’s to be prepared for peace,” and reducing the size of government- “government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” As President, he created a new optimism in family values and patriotism in the U.S., as well as promoting freedom around the world by ending the Cold War (“Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!‘), by supporting Israel and by backing Poland’s anti-Communist Solidarity Movement.
Though the circumstances were very different in the lives of these three U.S. Presidents, it was the same God who intervened in their individual lives to protect them until His work was accomplished through them. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13