“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” – Job 12:13
On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy at a planned presidential campaign speech. When Bobby first heard the news of Dr. King’s death he put his hands to his face, and sobbed "Oh, God. When is this violence going to stop?”
The Indianapolis chief of police warned him that the police could not provide adequate protection for the senator if the crowd was to riot, but Bobby decided to go speak to the crowd regardless. Standing on a podium mounted on flatbed truck, he spoke for just four minutes and fifty-seven seconds.
Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Bobby had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but also his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
Bobby then quoted an ancient poem by the Greek poet Aeschylus:
“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
He closed by saying “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King -- yeah, it's true -- but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love -- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.”
His wise words sank in. The people dispersed. Thirty-four cities rioted that night. Indianapolis was the only American city with a large African-American population that did not.
In all that you say and do, seek God’s wisdom. Today in prayer, look to the Lord for His wisdom to respond in His way in every situation.
“He is truly wise who looks upon the earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ.” – Thomas `a Kempis
God’s Word: “For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” – Proverbs 2:6
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2017, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN JOB