A Brighter Day

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
      And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
       ¹⁸ Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him,
      And He turn away His wrath from him."  Proverbs 24:17-18

There truly is something in the air this morning.  I can smell it, I can feel it.  I can feel it in my physical body, and I can feel it in my soul...something is stirring, and the winds of change are upon us.

Last night we stayed up a little later than usual, as we heard the news that global terrorist number one, Osama Bin Laden, was killed by American forces in Pakistan.  We watched the news, and president Obama's statements regarding the activities, and the whole time, I wondered what I was supposed to be feeling.  My mind thought back to the history that we've been so diligently studying,  and I thought about how the world must have felt upon hearing that Adolf Hitler was dead, and that led me to thinking that relief may very well be the word of the day.  Rejoicing in someone's death didn't feel right- no matter how evil the man was, he was still a man, and still eligible to accept Jesus into his life.   As I thought about both Hitler and Bin Laden, I also thought about how after Hitler died, the third reich literally crumbled without their figurehead, and I prayed to God that, for once, history would repeat itself.  I prayed that the terrorist regime of al qaida would crumble and cease to exist.

It IS a brighter day this morning. The threat for terrorism is certainly still there, but knowing that a certain bubble of evil has ceased to exist does make the day a bit brighter. And yet... there is a part of me, that every time I think on this matter, I wonder if Osama Bin Laden turned to Jesus at the very end- or did he take his belief in Allah to the grave with him?  We'll clearly never know.  Last night as the TV station showed footage of Bin Laden in various places, where I suppose we were to see an evil man, all I saw was a man who Jesus loved and died for. That confused me, because am I really supposed to feel compassion for a man who was responsible for the murder of thousands of my own countrymen and women?

And then this morning, as I read the headlines, and read a few of the stories, there was something that became abundantly clear to me.  For the first time in a very long time, I see a major event, and everyone is agreeing on something.  Our country has been so divided for years- the smallest news event causes the right side and the left side to start attacking each other- just last week it was over a silly birth certificate.  But this morning- even for just a short while, both sides have come together and are agreeing that this action was a very good thing.  I firmly believe that God uses all things for good, and perhaps this is the very thing that was needed to start our country on the path toward healing.  Maybe this is the very event that will rally our nation to truly stand united, under one God.

As we come together under our precious American flag together- both sides- and agree that this is a great victory for our country, maybe we can also come together for other purposes.  Maybe our eyes can turn to our ravaged south and we can come together to help these communities that have been destroyed by tornadoes.  Together we can make a difference and truly make a difference in the lives of people- not just here in our country, but around the world! 

It is a brighter day for our country, as we stand united.  Every few minutes I find something else to read, and I have tears in my eyes because it is so joyful to see the different sides of our country coming together on this one thing.  This one thing could be the beginning of something completely new and wonderful.

I pray that is the case.  I pray that God will bless America, and her allies, and I pray that God will send his legions of angels to protect our military men and women overseas who are at a heightened alert right now.  May their morale remain high, and may God protect them, and thwart the plans of the enemy.