As I read my Bible last night for a little hope after bad news had crashed in on us just days before, I turned to Isaiah 9:6  -- “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

I knew this verse well and most of us do -- even those who do not proclaim to be a Christian.  It appears on cards, video emails and all types of signage during this time of year. 

A portion of the verse struck me this time when I read it.  I guess it stuck out because we are moving forward to 2012 and another Presidential election that will change the world – good or bad.  Those words:

‘the government will be on his shoulders’

“Yes, that is the answer the world is looking for,” I thought.

In 2008, Barack Obama was worshiped by many the world over. I remember watching Oprah Winfrey on election night when she said ‘there has never been a night like this on the planet earth.’ 

How wrong she was.  The night Jesus was born in a manger was bigger and brighter than the night Obama became President.

You see, Oprah, no man can fix the problems of this world.  Only Jesus, the Son of God, has the authority to do so.  He has the government on his shoulders and because we have not leaned into Him, we are a mess.  The entire world is a mess.

God is good at cleaning up our messes.  He’s done it since the beginning of time.  When a mess occurs, we look to man to fix it and then we realize – they can’t.  It is only then that we turn to God and seek His help.

Again, the world is messy.  All men have failed us from the White House, to Congress and to other government’s the world over.  Is it time now to once again lean into Him and let Him run the world government?  I think so.  I trust Him more than any politician because He has my best interest in His heart.  He was willing to send his Son to earth to live among us, to teach us and to train us in the way we should go.  He was willing to die on a cross to show the world that life does not end here.  This is just a place for us to learn to love Him and to love others and tell others about the greatest gift of all – our Father’s love.

“The government is upon His shoulders.”  Doesn’t that sound comforting? 

If the people of the world will unite under His authority, just think how awesome that would be -- because the whole world would be in His hands.  That’s my prayer this Christmas and for 2012.  May the one who wins the next election love the one true God with all his/her heart.  May he or she seek counsel from the Wonderful Counselor, and ask for peace from the Prince of Peace because He is our Mighty God and our Everlasting Father.  He will never leave us or forsake us if we believe in Him.

Who will that person be?

Will America reject God again when we elect our next leader?  Or, have we learned our lesson and will we be wise and discerning and believe in the one who has the government on His shoulders and the world in His hands?