boOn November 4, 2008, the United State elected the first African American president – Barack Obama. African Americans all over the country, including myself, were overjoyed. This event says a lot about how far American has come since the days of the civil rights movements and the bigotry that has stained the nation’s history. And it is not that the African American community has accomplished something great but, America as a whole. It takes a nation to elect a president. One community can’t accomplish it alone. It took white people, African American, Latin Americans, Mexican Americans and many many more people living in this country.

For me, this was also a wake-up call. During the course of this election, I came to realize that as far as America has come there are still those who can’t let go of the past. There are still people who hold racial prejudice in their hearts. Some of these people are in my own circle of friends. I had at least two of my friends say things to me about Barack Obama that were in my mind racist and offensive, to say the least.  More than one friend gave me the impression that he/she believed that certain people were not smart enough to have a right to vote.

I didn’t know what to think the first time I heard such things coming from people I know. And then when more friends spoke I knew that I had been naive about race in this country. I was extremely disappointed to find racism so close to me.

I was also disappointed with people claiming faith in God. I heard some people call Obama the “antichrist”. Anyone who has done any study on the antichrist knows that there are certain criteria that must be met (none of which I will get into here). Obama does not have the credentials.

There were people saying that you can’t call yourself a Christian if you are voting for Barack Obama. They said things like, “this country is going down the tube if Barack gets elected.” Well, the country and the rest of the world has been going down the tubes for a good while now.

Our faith should not be in man. Our faith should be in God. The events of this world do not affect the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we should not be shaken by anything happening on this planet.

I voted for Barack Obama because I thought it was the right choice. Change is coming to America but the president won’t be anything but an instrument in the hands of God. My faith is not in Barack or the democratic party. It is in God Almighty and His Son Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah.

God is not a democrat. He is not a republican. He is not an American. The nation he chose to use in order to reveal His plan and purpose to the earth was Israel. So if you wanted to try to give Him a human nationality or heritage you’d have to say  He is Jewish. The point is this is God’s earth and everything in it. It is His plan unfolding so we need to get past what we know and think is important and get with His program.

I am happy about the election ( mostly that it is over ). I am proud that the first African-American has been elected president. However, difficult times are on the horizon. Not just for this country but the entire world. God’s prophetic plan has been, and, is still unfolding right before our eyes. The bible makes it clear that every leader in power has been put there by God (Rom 13:1). God always has a purpose. I will put my faith in Him. He is the only real hope.