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This is a question that all good Americans are daily asking each other. We clearly see that our country is very quickly descending into hell, and we know that we cannot stand by idle. But the question remains—what exactly should we be doing?

Quite simply, the answer is God’s will. Now there is His will of good-pleasure, by which God causes certain events that impact our lives to occur, but there is also something called God’s signified will. By this term is meant the clear and concise commandments that God has laid out for each and every one of His children. These commandments are literally carved in stone, and there is absolutely no mystery surrounding them. Every child of God who wishes to please his Heavenly Father must obey the commandments of God. If he cannot do this, the will of God’s good-pleasure is a moot point.

In other words, it is rather insulting for a child of God to ask his Lord what he must do to save his country from its current predicament if that same child is not doing what God has told him is necessary to save his soul. We are ready to fight for our country, we boldly proclaim, but at the same time we are not ready to make the smallest sacrifice that would better conform our lives with God’s commandments. This is insanity!

What general would choose a soldier for battle who never trained? That soldier may have his passions raised when he sees the enemy at the gate, and he may run and grab his weapon as he prepares to fight, but what general would give him the go-ahead? In this poor soldier’s hands his weapon is more a danger to himself than the enemy because he has never trained with it!

My dear fellow Americans, we must be obedient to the signified will of God. We must focus all of our energies on this one infinitely important task. We must obey the commandments of God and His Church. We must follow the evangelical counsels. We must hearken to divine inspirations. We must fulfill the duties of our state in life. This is our training that prepares us for battle. This is what gives us the tools necessary to win in battle!

If we ignore these fundamentals of the spiritual life, God will have no choice but to completely ignore our requests asking Him to enlighten our minds to know His will of good-pleasure. What kind of soldier constantly ignores the commands of his general, and then reports for duty only when battle is near? What a despicable insult. What kind of general would even permit such a soldier in his ranks!?

Thanks be to God, we do not have to be the disobedient soldier. And thanks to His grace, even if we have been the disobedient and disrespectful soldier, we can repent! We can begin today to make a firm resolution to conform our lives to the commandments of God. This is not an easy task, and it is certainly not the work of one day, but our Beloved General will be overjoyed at our good intentions. He will fly to our assistance faster than we can even imagine. He will reveal to us each and every one of our weaknesses, and then He will help us to overcome them. He will take us by the hand and walk us through every training exercise. All we must do is listen and obey.

Let us do this, and we will be well-trained soldiers who are prepared for the absolute worst of battles. The most formidable of foes will seem to us as nothing. Our General will lead us to a rout of the enemy, and we will praise His name and share in His glory for all eternity.