Can you alter the course of a nation? This question evokes much controversy.

The controversy goes all the way to the question that pits “natural progression” against “divine plan.” Those who reject any concept of Almighty God argue that we are evolving ever upward.

That evolution has led to so-called personal freedom, which boils down to, “If it feels good, do it.” Societal statistics reveal that almost every pillar of sustainable society is eroding away as a result.

C. S. Lewis, a 20th century writer, said in the “Screwtape Letters,” where a senior demon was instructing a junior tempter, “Men or nations who think they can revive the faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of heaven as a shortcut to the nearest chemist’s shop.”

The “Screwtape Letters” were satirical statements that accurately framed the demise of society in the scheme of the master deceiver Satan. If somehow people can be led to believe, “What will be, will be,” then any effort to engage the help of almighty God would be useless.

Years before C. S. Lewis so deftly exposed the works of Satan to tear down and rip up all things sacred, Benjamin Franklin addressed his colleagues at the Constitutional Convention with a discourse including these words: “… And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his (God’s) notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?”

Benjamin Franklin concluded, “God governs in the affairs of men.”

A nation can be altered, but only with the help of God. It is time we ask him to help us.