It took slightly more than half a year for the jubilation regarding the election of President Barrack Obama to fade away. The entire nation, even many who disagreed with his politics, initially celebrated his historic election. Now, however, the tide of public opinion has begun to turn. The political left feels abandoned and the political right is enraged. Even Saturday Night Live has begun to skewer President Obama, mainly over the perception that he has not accomplished anything. President Obama’s clumsy handling of the health care debate has been universally criticized. He couldn’t even bring the Olympics home to Chicago! Clearly, the bloom is off the rose when it comes to the Obama presidency. A good king is hard to find.

When Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, was elected to his first term, I, like many other Christians, rejoiced. But after his first two successful years my disappointment with his leadership began to grow. The pinnacle of discouragement for me came at the time of the 2004 congressional races. I was living in Pennsylvania, and then-Republican Senator Arlen Specter was facing a primary challenge from the conservative Pat Toomey. In my mind, it was time for Specter to go because his record simply wasn’t Republican (my assessment of Specter was confirmed by his recent choice to shift allegiances to the Democratic Party). Toomey’s chances seemed very good and he was running a strong campaign. But, much to my chagrin, President Bush rode into town to save the day for Senator Specter and he was ultimately reelected. For me, this was the last straw with the Bush presidency. A good king is hard to find.

This human longing for a good king is nothing new. Ancient Israel shared the same desire to find a good king. Psalm 72 is representative of their yearning. This psalm was likely written to celebrate the coronation of a new king, most likely King Solomon. Within the verses of the psalm we find a prayerful description of an ideal king and an ideal kingdom.

The hopes for this king’s reign were incredibly high. Psalm 72:17 sums up well the hopes of Israel for this king: “May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!”

Despite the grand yearnings of Israel for their kings, all of them ultimately fell short of their lofty expectations, even the two greatest—David and Solomon. A good king is hard to find. Human history reveals a pattern. We long for a good king. We begin with high expectations. Our leaders disappoint us. We become discouraged and disillusioned. We look to the next leader, and the pattern repeats. How should a Christian respond to this futile human pattern?

First, we need to learn to accept a level of imperfection in our leaders. Our leaders are human and we often expect way too much of them. This is true in the church as much as it is in government and the workplace. I was recently sitting in a congregational meeting in which we were reviewing our qualifications, job description and ministry expectations for a new pastor, and I thought, “Who could ever live up to these expectations?” We live in a fallen world and our leaders are fallen. Perhaps we need to be more magnanimous towards our leaders and a bit less critical. Remember, a good king is really hard to find.

Second, and more importantly, we need to learn to avoid misplacing our hope. Our human longing for a good king is a proper longing, but we suffer from the Waylon Jennings error of looking for love in all the wrong places. What I mean by this is that we look to men to satisfy our hunger for a good king instead of looking to Jesus. Just like Israel, we are predisposed to pick Saul over David every time. Let’s not place our trust in 21st Century versions of chariots and horses, but only in the Lord our God.

A good king is indeed hard to find. In fact, there’s only one truly good king. In the end, only David’s Lord and the One who is greater than Solomon can satisfy our innate longing for a good king. Place your hope in Him, and that hope will not disappoint. That’s how God’s Word speaks in your world.

—Anthony T. Selvaggio