Hope
Well, it's over and done with and Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. I must say that this result has me filled with many mixed emotions tonight.
I am fearful for the future... I worry for the Iraqi people who have already endured such unbelievable hardship over these last few years. These people are living in a country that is just beginning to see the light and freedom that they can claim as their own after years and years of opression and fear. What will happen if we leave them now? I worry for my friends and family members serving our country and how Obama's plan for the military will directly affect them, their safety, and the safety of our nation. I worry for the unborn who rely on others to be their voices, to champion for their right to life and who are being ruthlessly murdered in staggering numbers everyday.
I will say, that as I listened to Obama's acceptance speech tonight, I was filled with a little hope and a lot of pride to be part of such a great nation. To think of where our country has been, and to actually see the day when a black man was elected by the people to hold the most powerful position in the US, is an incredible thing. Regardless of who people voted for, this is a historical day for our nation. It gives me hope that things really might change for the better. I'm hopeful that he will keep his word when he says that he hears the voice of those who did not vote for him. I am hopeful that his promises of peace can become a reality, that war is no longer necessary, but at the same time, does not cost us our safety or the freedom that we hold so dear. I pray that the lives of those already lost were not lost in vain and the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much in deployment after deployment to protect us will not be for naught. I'm hopeful that his plan to better provide health care to children and the poor will work so that no one in this country is denied the opportunity to decent health care simply because they can't afford it. I am hopeful that his plan for education will strengthen our school systems and that schools in all districts, in all neighborhoods will be held to the same standard and that those children in rougher, poorer places will be given the same opportunity for success that suburban upper class kids have been handed. I'm hopeful that Obama's plan to make getting a college education more easily obtainable will give teenagers who have not grown up in the best circumstances, the confidence to know that their past does not have to define their future. I'm hopeful.
No, I may not have gotten the outcome I voted for in this election, but I am going to be optimistic. The Lord is sovereign and the Lord knew who would stand victorious on this election day. It's important that we as believers remember who has won the ultimate Victory and that we need not be fearful of what the future holds.
I go back to my previous post to say that this election season has changed me. It has helped me to see that I absolutely cannot go back to the way I was before. If I want change, if I want to see a difference, then I cannot place expectations on another, without truly living out those expectations in my own life. If I want change, I must first be changed and if I want hope, I must first turn to the only real Hope this world has... Jesus Christ. I intend to love more deeply and to step out of my comfort zone to reach out to those in need, to look past a person's lifestyle and love them for who they really are... a child of God. I'm going to try to be Christ to a lost world with the words that I speak, and the things I choose to stand up for. There is a great need in this country, and the Church so desperately needs to be awakened to those needs. I can't change everyone, and I can't make all Christians see the needs surrounding them, but I can change me and I can pray that when people see that change, they see Christ in me. Love is infectious and love conquers all.
"Let your light shine before all men in such a way that they might see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:18
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
"Without Christ, there is no hope." Charles Spurgeon
Lord, have mercy on us. Rise up a Church that loves with a love that sees no boundaries of color, gender, sexuality, religion, or class. Teach us to love unconditionally, not a love that has been tainted with hate. Help us to show the world that hope lies not in a mortal man, but in You, the sovereign King, who holds us in the palm of Your hand and who overcame death so that the world might live. Help us to trust and to look to You in the days to come. Give our future president a heart that loves You and seeks You above all. Give him wisdom and guidance so that he might lead this great nation to be a nation that glorifies You. You alone are our hope and our future.
I am fearful for the future... I worry for the Iraqi people who have already endured such unbelievable hardship over these last few years. These people are living in a country that is just beginning to see the light and freedom that they can claim as their own after years and years of opression and fear. What will happen if we leave them now? I worry for my friends and family members serving our country and how Obama's plan for the military will directly affect them, their safety, and the safety of our nation. I worry for the unborn who rely on others to be their voices, to champion for their right to life and who are being ruthlessly murdered in staggering numbers everyday.
I will say, that as I listened to Obama's acceptance speech tonight, I was filled with a little hope and a lot of pride to be part of such a great nation. To think of where our country has been, and to actually see the day when a black man was elected by the people to hold the most powerful position in the US, is an incredible thing. Regardless of who people voted for, this is a historical day for our nation. It gives me hope that things really might change for the better. I'm hopeful that he will keep his word when he says that he hears the voice of those who did not vote for him. I am hopeful that his promises of peace can become a reality, that war is no longer necessary, but at the same time, does not cost us our safety or the freedom that we hold so dear. I pray that the lives of those already lost were not lost in vain and the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much in deployment after deployment to protect us will not be for naught. I'm hopeful that his plan to better provide health care to children and the poor will work so that no one in this country is denied the opportunity to decent health care simply because they can't afford it. I am hopeful that his plan for education will strengthen our school systems and that schools in all districts, in all neighborhoods will be held to the same standard and that those children in rougher, poorer places will be given the same opportunity for success that suburban upper class kids have been handed. I'm hopeful that Obama's plan to make getting a college education more easily obtainable will give teenagers who have not grown up in the best circumstances, the confidence to know that their past does not have to define their future. I'm hopeful.
No, I may not have gotten the outcome I voted for in this election, but I am going to be optimistic. The Lord is sovereign and the Lord knew who would stand victorious on this election day. It's important that we as believers remember who has won the ultimate Victory and that we need not be fearful of what the future holds.
I go back to my previous post to say that this election season has changed me. It has helped me to see that I absolutely cannot go back to the way I was before. If I want change, if I want to see a difference, then I cannot place expectations on another, without truly living out those expectations in my own life. If I want change, I must first be changed and if I want hope, I must first turn to the only real Hope this world has... Jesus Christ. I intend to love more deeply and to step out of my comfort zone to reach out to those in need, to look past a person's lifestyle and love them for who they really are... a child of God. I'm going to try to be Christ to a lost world with the words that I speak, and the things I choose to stand up for. There is a great need in this country, and the Church so desperately needs to be awakened to those needs. I can't change everyone, and I can't make all Christians see the needs surrounding them, but I can change me and I can pray that when people see that change, they see Christ in me. Love is infectious and love conquers all.
"Let your light shine before all men in such a way that they might see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:18
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
"Without Christ, there is no hope." Charles Spurgeon
Lord, have mercy on us. Rise up a Church that loves with a love that sees no boundaries of color, gender, sexuality, religion, or class. Teach us to love unconditionally, not a love that has been tainted with hate. Help us to show the world that hope lies not in a mortal man, but in You, the sovereign King, who holds us in the palm of Your hand and who overcame death so that the world might live. Help us to trust and to look to You in the days to come. Give our future president a heart that loves You and seeks You above all. Give him wisdom and guidance so that he might lead this great nation to be a nation that glorifies You. You alone are our hope and our future.
posted by Molly | 5:02 AM
1 Comments:
w00t!
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