The Beginning of the End?

It's been chilly here in Northern California and my heater keeps clicking on. (Can't wait to get that bill!) Most of you who live in the northern states think I'm crazy, but if the thermometer dips below 60, I pull out the winter coats! Remember, I'm a Florida girl. I'm also a bit chilled by the election this week. Chilled because I fear for the direction in which this great nation of ours is headed. On the one hand, I'm happy to see that a black man has been elected to the highest office in this country! What a testament to how far we have come in overcoming our prejudice. Yet, on the other hand, this man's policies, values, and beliefs terrify me. Is this the beginning of the end for the Judeo-Chrisitian values our forefathers built this great nation upon? Values of family and morality and ethics? Is this the end of their vision for small government and low taxes and a capitialist free market? I supppose time will tell.

I intend to pray for our new president. Not only because God asks me to, but because Mr. Obama will need it as he takes over this crumbling ecnomomy and volatile world. One of my biggest concerns is how he will deal with our national security. How is the Middle East taking the news of this new president? According to Joel Rosenberg, author of Epicenter, Iran is thrilled to have a US president who most likely will not deter their nuclear ambitions. Iraq, on the other hand, is frightened that a sudden withdrawal of troops would spell disaster for their fledgling nation. Palestinians are excited to have a pro-Palestinian in the White House who will have no qualms about dividing up Jerusalem for peace, while Israel has lost their only ally in the world. According to a senior political strategist in Israel, "The State of Israel is now facing the most unfriendly American administration ever….Israel's will to live will be tested in ways that will not be pretty."

Let me end on this: God's will will be done. Ultimately, He is on the throne and has a plan for this world and our nation, the details of which have already been worked out before we were even born. As Daniel 2:21 says "He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." And though the world may be entering a period of great distress, remember the words of Psalm 91,

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.