Post-election reflections

OK. SO Barack Obama was elected. The "will of the American people" has been expressed.

The bottom biblical line is. GOD somehow, some way, decreed that this would happen, and it fits his purpose perfectly. We can't deny that.

Without question, I can say I have never seen a presidential candidate as arrogant, self-aggrandizing, and yet, so wrongheaded as our President-elect. At the same time, though, he will be the supreme commander of this nation in about 70 days. And he must be respected, prayed for, and obeyed in all matters not contrary to the Word of God.

Yes, I will not enjoy this particularly. But I think the same thing applies to national life as well as employment when the Bible says "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward," (Colossians 3:23-24a). Also check out Jeremiah 29: "Seek the peace and prosperity of the land to which I have carried you." Do that as a rule. Preaching to myself as well as the choir here.

There are a couple of alternative ways one could philosophically address this in a public forum (should one be given us) from this point. I suppose you could take the "Judgment of God" interpretive tack, envisioning that Mr. Obama is God's judgment on this nation for its crimes and indifference. From that, you could go two ways. You can call on people to repent, or you can assume God is completely finished with the USA, and the "wrath of abandonment" is now upon us--that there is no road out. One problem with that is that it assumes a direct biblical parallel to Israel or to a hardened unbelieving person. We don't know what God is specifically up to right now as far as the nation is concerned. There may yet be hope for a national revival. But we can't assume all is well either. Terrorists are poised to strike us at any moment. Russia still has thousands of ICBMs pointed at us with high alert status. Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela--all menaces bent on our demise. And all the while, Israel--the prize of the earth--is the target of all the world's mindless hatred. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PLO, etc. are all committed to Israel's destruction. And we are a major ally of Israel--at least historically.

We have to understand the times and know what to do. Begin with that. Do not assume all is lost. Do not assume all is well either. Let us, with fresh force, get to praying for our country and all its leaders, Democrat, Republican, or otherwise. Its the wisest thing to do when you don't know what God is doing. People are going to think we are nuts. Some Christians are going to think we are nuts. But keep it up. I believe--with increasing personal conviction--that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. You might have to wait until the world to come, but He will.