A change in leadership, any leadership, can result in celebration and also be a reason for consternation depending on your perspective. With the recent election of Barack Obama, we all have reason to celebrate. Barack Obama is the first African-American to be elected to the highest office in the land.We can celebrate that regardless of whether you believe race was an issue in the election, he was elected and as a nation, we have crossed a significant milestone in this country’s history. Not unlike Ernie Davis winning the Heisman Trophy or Martin Luther King as Time Magazine’s “Man of the year” or Thurgood Marshall as a Supreme Court Justice, Barack Obama is another “first” and represents widespread cultural change for all minorities in the United States.
Another cause for celebration -- with 52% of the popular vote, Barack Obama captured the largest percentage of the American public’s vote since George HW Bush (53%) in 1988 and Ronald Reagan (59%) in 1984. Having a majority of the American public behind a new President can be both a humbling as well as empowering event and should result in fewer partisan attacks, hopefully on both sides. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just get along?
In many ways, this was an historic victory for the Democrats; and we all can celebrate the fact that in America, we have a peaceful democratic process that results in elections with real winners and losers. All of which are accomplished without the loss of blood, the forming of mobs or shots of “tyranny” in the streets.
Finally, as Christians we believe in a sovereign God who is the ultimate determining factor in who will be allowed to govern a nation. As the Creator of all things, God rules supreme in the affairs of state. Regardless of the ruler, whether Prime Minister, King, President or Dictator, Daniel 2:21 says it is God that, “changes times and seasons, He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
Change is certainly happening. Let’s pray and believe that ultimately we will all celebrate and enjoy the blessings of God on this nation, our cities and our families.
Still a little concerned? Well, remember to continue to look the Lord. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will”.
