Americans have long celebrated Independence Day on the 4th of July, but did you know that the Thirteen Colonies actually voted to become a new nation on July 2, 1776?
So, why do we celebrate on the 4th of July instead?
Even though the vote passed on July 2, it took the Continental Congress two more days to finalize the language in the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence arrived at the printer on July 4, 1776, which is why that date appears at the top. The majority of the delegates actually did not sign the document until August.
It took days for the prints of the Declaration of Independence to travel from Philadelphia to other cities and towns. The news did not reach Boston until July 18, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony of the Old State House.
Independence Day was not designated as a federal holiday until 1941.
But from 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence.
America has undergone many changes since 1776. We are still a work in progress.
Our finest hours have been when we have stood together, in humility and gratitude for the blessings God has bestowed upon us.
Our best times have been when we put our own needs aside and cared for each other.
Our worst times have been when we turned against each other and attempted to divide what our Creator had put together for good.
But God is faithful. He sticks with us, hoping we will again live what others boldly inscribed, even on our money — In God We Trust.
And God continues to promise He has a Plan to restore America to all He created it to be.
If My people, who are called by My Name,
will humble themselves
and pray
and seek My Face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin
and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
