For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
I imagine many who are reading this stayed up Tuesday night to watch the State of the Union address (I did not, for what it is worth). Constitutionally speaking, the sitting president is required “from time to time” to deliver to congress information about “such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient” (Article II, Section 3, Clause 1). This is for the purpose of giving congress
the opportunity to consider these items and to legislate accordingly. What we have come to know as the yearly “State of the Union address” is the (relatively) modern manifestation of this.
It is interesting to watch the wildly disparate responses to the address (this is true every single time there is such an address, regardless who is president). Responses range from fawning appreciation to outright anger and dismissal (and everything in between). This is to be expected, of course, since the USA is a vast and diverse country, and our beliefs are correspondingly vast and diverse.
Even though we are Christian people, we are not immune to experiencing this variety of reactions to such an address. Yet we are a people who do not in any way put our hope in this world. It is not the promises of human entities upon which we rest our hope—far from it. We are not people who rise and fall based upon the words and actions of mortals. Rather, we are a people whose hope is in God. We are focused on a God who is “good and forgiving,” and whose steadfast love is guaranteed and eternal.
Whatever happens in this world, we must always remember whose we are and who we are. Humans will ultimately disappoint; human promises will ultimately be broken. Since we are God’s, however, we have peace—we know that God will never abandon us, never disappoint us, and never break his promises.
–Ricky