Industrial Revolution

via TJC

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.”

Colossians 3:23-24

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve”

History tells us about two major periods of Industrial Revolution in America.  The first period was marked by Eli Whitney and the cotton gin and Samuel Slater bringing over textile mill technology into the Northeast in the late 1700’s.  This resulted in the American Southern states producing ~75% of the global cotton supply by the early 1860’s.  

The second half marked by the impact of the steam locomotive and the Transcontinental Railroad built between 1863-1869.  The Union Pacific laying 1,085 miles west from Omaha to Promontory  Utah and the Central Pacific laying 690 miles east from Sacramento.  2,500 railroad tie per mile is over 4.4 million needed for the effort.  A two man “tie hacker” team needed only 30 minutes to fabricate a tie, earning between a dime and a quarter each.       

The ripple effect cannot be overstated.  For the first time in thousands of years man could move faster than a galloping horse, and large-scale movement of people and freight was not limited to rivers.  No longer relegated to daylight travel on rutted dirt roads at a pace of 10 miles a day, a train could safely move day and night at 18 miles an hour.  Tracks created a right of way for electricity and telegraph.  America gained access to more resources and created a strong foundation of manufacturing capability for steel and textiles.

We learned some hard lessons over the years.  In 1860, of the 31 million Americans,  3.9 million were enslaved people.  In 1900 1.75 million children under fifteen made up almost 20% of our workforce.  America course corrected. 

Consider Noah.  About 100 years to build a ship ~500 feet long, ~85 feet wide and ~50 feet high.  We have no idea about the funding, venture capital, or “buy in” it took to execute on God’s task.  And, oh by the way, when Noah came out the other side he planted a vineyard, got drunk and curses Ham’s son Canaan.  

Daily Battle Order:  Truly reflect with friends and family the sovereign God and America.  God allowed Rome to conquer the world to build roads, a common language and an ability of travel and communication.  What has God done with America?  Our resources, our ingenuity, our opportunity that pulls the world into our country.  

Pray for thanks, pray for protection.  Pray of a passion to see and understand what it means to be American with access to the gifts and resources this country has for His glory.