In July 1813, John Adams, the 2nd President of the nation, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the nation, wrote, “My Friend! You and I have passed our Lives, in Serious Times. I know not whether We have ever Seen any moments more Serious than the present .” [sic]
Two phrases in that statement caught my attention. “Serious times” and “any moments more serious than the present” could easily describe the tumultuous times we are in. Conflict and division abound. Natural calamities and significant challenges face our country and the world. There are no simple answers to the challenges mankind faces. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
I’m reminded of words written by King David in Psalm 20, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalms 20:7 (NIV) These are times to trust in the Lord and not chariots and horses. God gives creative solutions and the wisdom needed to solve the problems of the world. Serious times require serious wisdom and serious solutions!
Another great leader, Abraham Lincoln, said; “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
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