David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for
everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (NIV)
It is the morning after the inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. I purposely did not write a devotion pointed to this historic day until after because, to me, now is when my work as a citizen begins anew. WORK is the word.
The pictures of the previous presidents (Carter, H.W. Bush, Clinton, George Bush) were one of men who had faced great tasks and they looked very old and more than a little worn. They had stood their ground in conflict and passed the torch on to the next runner.
Our new Christian president, as the 43 before him, has tasks before him that I cannot begin to grasp the magnitude of them. And so I went to Scripture and looked at King David. When David was right in the middle of God’s will, he was praising God and acknowledging that God, and only God, could accomplish the tasks because that is where strength and wisdom comes.
If you were like me and had to work yesterday, I hope you will take time today and read the text of the inauguration speech. It began with President Obama putting his hand on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, taking the historical oath, and it ended with these words:
“Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.â€
God’s Kingdom is not just the United States of America. God’s Kingdom is all. It is ALL. President Obama said, “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.†How we offer the freedom of God’s Kingdom to ALL is not answered easily or with a program. It is living our lives in God’s truth and love. It is a magnitude of fervent, never-ceasing prayer with acts of Jesus-based love.
Pray. Make a good new year resolution to spend time every day praying for yourself; praying for your family; praying for your country and its leaders. May God be glorified in prayer and deed.
