Glimmer of Hope
Psalm 28:3 KJV — Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
Foreign policy, an olive branch and North Korea are topping the headlines once again. An announcement was made on March 8, 2018 that surprised many skeptics of the Trump Administration and the handling of the North Korean crisis. An olive branch has been extended to the United States and surprisingly it has been cautiously received.
President Donald Trump is set to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un about ending the North’s nuclear weapons program. The dramatic announcement follows months of tension on the Korean Peninsula after the communist regime conducted a series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests and a nuclear test. South Korea’s president described this upcoming US-North Korea summit as a “historic milestone.”
Psalm 35:19-20 KJV — Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
Words of caution from the book of Psalms to remind us of the deceitful nature of a country’s leader who has consistently and constantly called the US the enemy. After a superficial gesture at the Winter Olympics at Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un is now requesting a face to face with President Trump. Is this a ploy just to buy time to shore up North Korea’s nuclear arsenal? What of China and Russia? What strategic advantages are they hoping to gain? The answers to these questions are what many analysts are scrambling to find. Unlike US presidents before him, Trump is the first to engage in direct conversation with North Korea and many are wondering why?
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the meeting between Trump and Kim will be “just talks” and “not negotiations,” which begs the question of what the White House is hoping to get from the historic meeting. It may give President Trump more political muscle in Washington DC and with the economy doing well and approval ratings on the rise, this may be the opportunity for the White House to push legislation through Congress. No specific date has been given for the historic summit but officials say it will happen by May. The Trump Administration is wanting North Korea to meet certain requirements before the two leaders meet. If Kim Jong Un agrees then the summit will proceed as planned.
Is North Korea serious? We will pray and ask the Lord that our President will have the guidance and wisdom to negotiate with a regime that has historically been known to be deceitful and unreliable in fulfilling international treaties. This may be a small step for stability in the region but the hope is encouraging.
Matthew 5:9 KJV — Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
© 3/2018 tw-jams
