EGYPT'S DO-OVER

Americans have watched in amazement as Egyptians have taken to the streets to express their displeasure over President Morsi.

Egypt has 82 million people and many of them were in Tahrir Square this week. Their election was just a year ago, yet Egyptians already want a do-over.

WHY?

Morsi campaigned in a white hat but  when he gained power, he cut off all voices but his own.  The people recognized that feel of an autocratic regime all too well.  So the people voiced opposition to Morsi's heavy-handedness...but also he was just incompetent, he hurt their economy, and he was persecuting people who thought differently than he did.

STILL, THAT WAS A COUP.  DON'T WE HAVE LEGISLATION TO STOP FOREIGN AID IN CASE OF A COUP?  AND WASN'T PRESIDENT MORSI DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED?

Apparently the kind of coup where you wake up one morning and your president lives somewhere else and the army is in charge...is a bad coup.  The coup where the military head (General El-Sissi) gives the president a chance to answer to the people...and then sits on a platform with heads of the three major factions in the country (military, secular, and religious) is a good coup.

HOW DOES EGYPT GET A DO-OVER?

The privilege comes from a strong military holding the country together.  We have helped keep their military strong and that has caused a large flap in America lately.  The gifting of fighter planes and weapons began to seem like a shot in the foot when Morsi took off his "reasonable" clothes and showed his Muslim Brotherhood heart.  It was like we were funding our own demise...and had Morsi prevailed, we might have been.

HOW CAN WE PRAY FOR EGYPT NOW?

*Pray that cooler heads would prevail during this transition and obviously, that terrorist plots be found out.  No one expects the Muslim Brotherhood to roll over and play dead.

*Pray that God would raise up a man who can help Egypt recover.

*Pray thanks that the Army has been the stability of their times as Egypt decides how to self-govern after years of being told what to do.

*Pray thanks that General El-Sissi is not trying to put himself in power.

*Pray thanks for the thirst for liberty which the Lord places in every man's heart.

*Pray thanks that Egyptians repudiated tyranny with peaceful means.  We see the magnitude of that meekness (peace under control) in the Middle East.

IS THERE A LESSON FOR AMERICANS ON THIS FOURTH OF JULY?

It is an encouragement to see democracy at its best; when a candidate runs on one platform and governs on another, people can peacefully assemble to call to account.  It's encouraging to see the stability that a strong military (given over to serve and not dominate) brings to the table.

And as our fireworks go off, Americans should see Egypt and reflect on the incredible blessing of our liberty.  Men reasoned and then structured our form of government on top of God's timeless, bedrock principles which kindly have a built-in blessing factor.  America, America...God shed His grace on thee!