Is it because Republican President George Bush has been in office for the past 8 years?
Is it because of the war in Iraq?
Is it because this is an election year, and people are just ready for a new political climate?
Is it because of the failing financial markets around the world?
Will a change in the affiliation of the political party in the White House cure what ails the masses? Or bring comfort to the human heart?
Isaiah 55 states:
"55:1 “Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?
Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing!
Enjoy fine food!
55:3 Pay attention and come to me!
Listen, so you can live!
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.
55:5 Look, you will summon nations you did not previously know;
nations that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he bestows honor on you.
55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle
and sinful people their plans.
They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.
55:9 for just as the sky is higher than the earth,
so my deeds are superior to your deeds
and my plans superior to your plans.
55:10 The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”
55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,
a permanent reminder that will remain.
Wow!! God promises to fulfill our needs and give peace in our hearts. But that fulfilment only comes when one returns to God and enters into a real relationship with Him.
Thus the crux of the problem when Man has the free will to choose his path, and that path takes him away from the God that created him.
The news reports don't reflect a need for a change in public policies. They reflect the frustrations of mankind in being disheartened with the path he is has pursued apart from God.
Man has become blind, weary, disillusioned, and frustrated. We worship the Earth. We worship political parties. We worship ourselves. We worship the idols we have crafted of wood, brick, silver, and gold. In Biblical times, they were pagan gods.
In the modern day, they are the homes, cars, clothes, and lifestyle that are a little too luxurious for our wallets.
And yet, we as humans are still unhappy...
God's promises to give what our souls thirst so much for. Him. We were created with a God shaped hole in our hearts that only He could fill.
Putting our hopes for peace, fulfillment and salvation in anything besides Him will always result in more despair and decay.
Instead of hoping in Obama or McCain to fix all that is wrong in the world, hope that the authority and person of Jesus Christ becomes more of a reality with each passing day.
