“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says Yahweh Sabaoth. (Zechariah 4: 6)

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The World of the Future

An article in Deutsche Welle titled “German election results: Disappointing victory for Angela Merkel as CDU sinks, nationalist AfD surges” shows how close we are to global shifts that the world hasn’t seen for about 100 years:

Angela Merkel has won a fourth term, but official results have shown she’ll have a “tough road” for coalition talks. While the CDU remains the largest party, the far-right AfD will be the third biggest political force.

With 297 of 299 constituencies reporting, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the CSU came out ahead in Germany’s national election on Sunday, with a projected 33.0 percent of the vote.

Rival Social Democrats (SPD) led by Martin Schulz tumbled to a mere 20.5 percent, while the Green and Left parties remained about the same as they did in 2013, each with 8.8 percent.

The only real success stories of the night were for the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). After failing to make the 5-percent hurdle to enter the Bundestag last time around, the FDP managed a remarkable 10.8 percent to cement its comeback. 

As for the populist AfD, a remarkable showing of 12.7 percent means that Germany will have a far-right party in parliament for the first time in more than half a century.

The World is What We Make It

Germany is in serious trouble politically.  It doesn’t matter who the German people elect as chancellor.  Demographics tell the tale.  It’s just a matter of time.

This is the frightening part: Germany is the bright spot in Europe.

An article in the Washington Post titled “Like Germany’s Social Democrats, left-wing parties are losing ground across Europe” sheds more light on the issue:

The 2017 German election fits at least three bigger trends. There was Merkel who convinced Germans to grant her a fourth term in office, reaffirming her position as the preferred choice in the center. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) joined a number of other far-right parties across Europe in gaining seats in parliament for the first time, becoming the most likely choice of those drawn to the political side-lines on the right.

And then there was the Social Democratic Party (SPD) which suffered a humiliating defeat, in yet another indication of the challenges some traditional left-wing groups across the continent are facing.

For Good or Bad, We Will Get What We Want

The far left in Europe and the U.S. are on the decline for good reasons.  They have had the levers of power for decades, and their policies have led us to the brink of destruction.  I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not.

I’m not talking about political parties.  The difference between the establishment left and the establishment right is negligible.  People in Europe and the U.S. are rejecting establishment politics, period.  They know that politicians on both sides of the isle have created the mess we’re in.

It’s difficult to explain reality to most people because almost nothing is familiar to us.  It’s like looking at a blank canvas and realizing that it’s our job to determine what the picture will be.

To understand the shift, the first thing we must do is put aside all the things we think we know.  That includes the assumptions and prejudices that we have relied on to guide us toward conclusions.  Most of them are no longer valid.

The world of the future is not like the world of the past.  That’s should be our starting point.

The next step is to imagine what kind of world we want to live in and think about ways to help bring that vision of reality into existence.

The final step is to focus our energy, attention, and resources on the things we can do to help make that vision a reality.

During times like these, people who are most committed to their visions of reality will determine the reality in which all of us will live.

This is not the time to be silent.  This is not the time to buy into the status quo.  This is not the time to go along to get along.  Too much is at stake to sit back and watch things develop.

It boils down to this: we are being given an opportunity to shape the future.  Rest assured that the future will be shaped.  Either we will be a part of determining what that future will be, or we will live in a future that others created for us.

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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)

See “His Name is Yahweh”.