THE YEAR AMERICA REMEMBERED ITS SPINE

From Tehran to the Olympic Ice — Sovereignty, Strength, and the God Who Sets Up Kings

History has a rhythm.

Some years bruise a nation. Some years awaken it.

In 1979, the Iranian Revolution installed a regime built not on liberty, but on consolidation. An Islamic theocracy. Political power fused with religious coercion. Authority centralized in one Supreme Leader. No meaningful checks. No constitutional humility. It was governance without restraint.

The Iranian regime’s birth was marked by the storming of the U.S. Embassy, the 444-day captivity of 52 Americans, and the beginning of a terror doctrine aimed directly at our nation.

That same year, America staggered. Inflation soared. Gas lines stretched for blocks. Hostages were paraded on global television. Confidence collapsed. We were limping economically, militarily, psychologically. A superpower unsure of itself.

Then came 1980.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, a team of American college players faced the dominant Soviet Union men’s national ice hockey team. Professionals. Politically symbolic. A machine backed by a superpower. And somehow, impossibly, they won.

The Miracle on Ice was not just a victory. It was a restoration of belief.

I was seven years old in Minnesota. That moment marked me. USA. USA. It wasn’t arrogance. It was remembrance. It was the feeling that our best days were not behind us.

Later that year, Ronald Reagan stepped into office and altered the national posture. Strength returned. Deterrence returned. Clarity returned. America remembered its spine.

History does not repeat, but it rhymes. The parallels both geopolitically and athletically are incredible from 1979 to 2026.

This weekend, the United States and Israel struck decisively against the Iranian regime’s leadership structure. The Supreme Leader eliminated. Nearly fifty senior figures removed. The regime born in 1979 confronted at its core.

And in this same season, the United States men’s national ice hockey team wins Olympic gold for the first time since 1980. The United States women’s national ice hockey team stands atop the podium as well.

After scoring the overtime winner, face bloodied, teeth missing from a high stick, Jack Hughes patriotically stated:

“This is all about our country right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates… I’m so proud to be an American today.”

Not a policy speech.
Not a protest.
Not ideology.

Just love of country.

That iconic image of blood in his mouth, pride in his voice says more than a thousand political statements ever could. In an era where global stages have often become platforms for division, here was a young man declaring gratitude without apology.

Patriotism, rightly ordered, is not idolatry. It is stewardship.

We are in our 250th year as a republic.

Two and a half centuries sustained by a radical idea: that rights come from God, not government. That liberty is endowed by a Creator. That power must be divided because man is fallen. Our Constitution was not written because the Founders trusted men. It was written because they did not.

“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” - Daniel 2:21

God removes kings. God sets up kings.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” - Psalm 33:12

Not blessed is the nation with the largest military.
Not blessed is the nation with the strongest currency.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Iran’s regime rose in 1979. It may now be entering its unraveling. Not by accident. Not outside sovereignty. We must speak plainly.

President Donald Trump is operating with an America First doctrine. Whether one supports him or not, this weekend demonstrated decisive leadership. This is him playing chess while others are playing checkers on a global stage.

Remove leadership nodes. Disrupt command structures. Send a signal not only to Tehran, but to Beijing and Moscow. China studies strength. Russia measures resolve. The response from Iranians all around the globe has been incredible.

Deterrence is not about one battlefield. It is about global posture. When America projects clarity, superpowers recalibrate. Weakness invites expansion. Strength imposes pause. This is not reckless aggression. It is strategic containment.

In it all, Kingdom thinking demands clarity.

Military strength does not equal moral righteousness. Political victory does not equal spiritual renewal. National pride does not equal worship. America First must never mean God second.

Here is the deeper layer.

1979 was not only the birth of a hostile regime. It was the decade America severed monetary discipline. The gold anchor was gone. Fiat expanded. Inflation corroded trust. When nations drift morally, currencies often drift structurally.

Iran centralized everything from politics and money intertwined under absolute authority.

Bitcoin does the opposite.

No Supreme Leader.
No central committee.
No discretionary expansion.

Fixed supply. Transparent rules. Distributed validation.

Bitcoin does not trust rulers. It trusts rules. Math is its code.

The American Constitution encodes checks and balances because the Founders understood sin. Bitcoin encodes monetary limits because it understands incentives. Both recognize a fallen human condition and build guardrails accordingly.

When power concentrates, corruption follows. When systems limit discretion, stability increases.

Now, in our 250th year, there is something prophetic stirring.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, men pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor under the conviction that liberty was not self-created, but God-endowed. That was covenant language. That was moral architecture. That was risk anchored in belief.

The question before us now is not whether we will celebrate 250 years. It is whether we will renew the covenant principles that sustained them.

Will we anchor ourselves again in God-given rights?
Will we steward power with humility?
Will we build systems that restrain corruption rather than enable it?

The 1980 Olympic Hockey team guided by Head Coach Herb Brooks restored morale. The 2026 gold medals by the men’s and women’s teams restore patriotic identity.

This weekend’s strikes restore deterrence. But only repentance restores blessing.

Jack Hughes skated with blood in his mouth and said he loved his country. Soldiers bleed in far more costly ways. All for our freedom.

Leaders make decisions that ripple across continents. Citizens must decide whether cynicism will define us or if courage will.

Regimes fall. Nations remember. God always reigns.

May we remember who we are.
May we restrain our power.
May we steward our freedom.
May we place Christ above country and serve country because of Christ.
May America’s next 250 years be marked not merely by strength, but by righteousness.

Because strength without righteousness collapses. Strength under God always endures.

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Prayer 🙏🇺🇸✝️

Dear Lord,

You change times and seasons.
You remove kings and set up kings.

Guard America from pride.
Guard our leaders with wisdom.
Protect our soldiers.

Renew gratitude in our land.
Teach us to love our country without worshiping it.
Teach us to build systems anchored in truth.

May our strength be righteous.
May our freedom honor You.
May our future reflect Your Kingdom.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 🟡