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“It’s a massive motor in a tiny, lightweight car.”

–Carroll Shelby

From time to time there are people who show up in the world to transform it and when they are here they always leave a mark that echoes forever through time.

With Christmas around the corner it goes without saying that the biggest of all of these people would be our one and only savior, Jesus. However, prior to Jesus physically coming to this world, and long after he left it, he worked through other individuals who managed to leave their mark on this place as well.

Having just turned 49 years of age this past November one thing I’ve learned in looking at life is that if you stand firm on something and do your best to do the right thing then God will honor your service…and if it comes down to it, he’ll honor your sacrifice.

This is not make believe or hyperbole, but this is an absolute statement of verifiable fact. We’ve seen this pattern emerge throughout many key moments in history that date all the way back through time to the days of Moses, to the American Revolution, and all the way up to modern day with the current Fourth Turning in history that we find ourselves living in the middle of right now.

If you pay attention you can spot these people when they arise and start working to leave their mark on society. However, what’s amazing is that even when such people pop up on the scene it’s incredible that so many other people are blind to them and their deeds even when the events of the world that they are impacting are staring them right in the face.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

–Mark 6:4

Jesus had this same problem with the Pharisees as they looked at him with jealous eyes and as a threat to their power structure rather than recognizing him as the brilliant and Holy Savior to all of mankind. Granted, nobody compares to the Lord.

However, even when people step up to grab the bull by the horns during challenging moments in society to speak truth, to stand firm on calling out the enemy, and even when they stand in the breach representing a true minority that goes against what all of society deems to be right, they most always get nothing but resistance from those they would expect to garner support from.

I’m in no way anywhere in the same category as Moses or the Lord, but even concerning my own small world I’ve still experienced this same phenomenon myself ever since I made the decision to start this Substack.

This sort of resistance, or lack of support, from people who are in close proximity to those folks that are doing what they can to change the world around them has been a consistent trait of human nature since the fall of mankind.

However, regardless of this reality there are still those people that manage to come on the scene and leave their mark on the world in a profound way. As a result, in these scenarios these Mavericks always impact the world in a way that results in significant change.

In addition to this, when it comes to the lives of these Mavericks there are acts of divine providence that always seem to occur at key moments during their lives as well.

In fact, when looking at the history of this pattern these acts of divine providence are well documented in critical scenarios throughout history and when observing the lives of four very well known American presidents the prevalence of these moments of divine providence really stands out.

From The Fog To The Fight, Fight, Fight

To kick off the first example of one of these key moments where divine providence shows up to impact the life of an American president we can go all the way back to the time of George Washington before he even became the president.

Washington actually had a few experiences where divine providence played out in numerous circumstances during his life, but for the sake of time and discussion I’m going to talk about one instance here that I’ve previously covered in an earlier episode titled Removing The Fog. I will include an excerpt from that article/podcast episode here.

It was August 22, 1776 and General George Washington took a look around the battlefield amidst all the chaos realizing that his men had been soundly defeated and to make matters worse they were flanked out of their positions atop the Gowanus Heights (this would be part of today’s modern day Brooklyn).

After having been soundly defeated by William Howe’s 20,000 man force the smoke of the battlefield loomed over the ground just above all the death and destruction from a very tough day. General Washington’s heart was racing as he realized he was outnumbered and outgunned as he found himself confronted by the powerful British army to his front and he basically had his back up against the wall with the East River directly to his rear.

With the constant threat and concern that the Royal Navy would enter the East River and block his avenue of escape Washington had to make a courageous call as he ordered all the available flatboats to be brought down to his position. The goal here was to move his army over to Manhattan on the night of August 29-30, 1776.

Once again, Washington understood that if he and his men were seen by the Royal Navy that they would either be completely destroyed or captured. However, as they started making their way out across the river an incredible thing occurred that would be nothing short of a miracle.

As the men started to cross the river they were aided by a providential fog that completely hid their escape from the Royal Navy. Because of this miracle fog Washington was successfully able to move all 9000 of his troops to Manhattan without losing a single man. This would end up being a truly remarkable military feat that completely astounded his British enemy.

Here we can see where divine providence showed up in the nick of time for General Washington and because of this miracle Washington would go on to become the father of this nation.

Now as miraculous as that event was for paving the way to allow General Washington to become the founding father of this nation, he wasn’t the first president where divine providence showed up to change the course of history.

As amazing as that story was with General Washington, the miraculous actions of divine providence didn’t end with him. As we fast forward through time, another miracle with another president left its mark on history almost 60 years later.

It was a cold wet January day in Washington D.C. in 1835 and over by a pillar at the entrance to the Capitol Rotunda hid an unemployed house painter named Richard Lawrence.

As Richard sat hiding he was awaiting the arrival of a very important visitor which would include President Andrew Jackson who was on his way to attend a congressional funeral. As President Andrew Jackson approached Lawrence stepped forward and raised his derringer single-shot pistol and took careful aim at President Jackson’s heart.

At this moment he pulled the trigger and fired the gun. However, as the cap exploded and the noise and smoke filled the air from the shot, miraculously the powder failed to ignite. It was a Misfire!

At this stage of the game the president was in ill health and was forced to lean on a colleague and use a cane, but he still had a fighting spirit. At this moment President Jackson charged towards the assailant with his cane held high even as Lawrence pulled out a second pistol in order to take aim and he pulled the trigger a second time. Astonishingly, it was another Misfire! Here bystanders were able to get to the would-be-assassin and tackle him to the floor as the president was hustled away out of the area.

President Jackson was a warrior and was no stranger to physical or verbal violence. He was a soldier of distinction and suffered numerous battle wounds and had fought in at least a dozen personal duels. At the time, President Jackson had been engaged in fierce political combat with several of his congressional opponents.

The president’s opponents were so opposed to him that they decided to start a new political party at the time known as the Whigs in order to confront the enemy that they referred to as King Andrew.

During this era that we often refer to as “golden,” much of the Senate Chamber echoed some of the most vitriolic language towards the president frequently accusing Jackson of incompetence and corruption. However, given his own warrior spirit the president didn’t just sit back and take it as he would go on the offense retaliating with his own heated rhetoric.

The South Carolina senator John C. Calhoun had served as President Jackson’s first Vice President, but left the office in order to join up with the opposition. Reportedly, Calhoun had declared that Jackson was “a Caesar who ought to have a Brutus,” and among those who had listened to that speech was none other than Richard Lawrence himself.

Regardless of all of the rhetoric, divine providence managed not only to sh...

American Presidents and Divine Providence