A psalm says, "Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him."*
Now, dear Lord, You must admit that an hour is a very long time to wait for guidance in most people’s day to day lives.
So
I thank You for Your proxies which are available to me, to all of us, at any
hour of the day: common sense, discipline, attention, conscience, and, most
important, love.
The more perspectives one understands, or even strives to understand, the bigger one's world.
The more people one loves, the bigger one's world and the greater one's joy.
What would it be like to live without fear? Or, having fears from time to time, as seems entirely human, what would it be like not to be overwhelmed or controlled by fear?
Were God, multiple gods, and divine laws imagined and created by humans to control ourselves and others - to protect our communities - by fear? To control individuals' and mobs' power, especially power exercised upon whim or sheer physical power, by inculcating a cultural fear of divine consequences of exercising that power?
For me, the experience of the existence and constantly available guidance of a holy and loving Spirit - whether or not other people experience that Spirit at all, or in the same way - reduces my fears and gives me hope and confidence.
Whatever a person's role in the public sphere is, be it elected, appointed, or entirely voluntary, when the confidence of a majority of one's constituents, the privilege of public service, one's public oath, if any - and one's claimed private oath - are not enough to preserve and, over time, strengthen one's courage in faithful, truthful service, an individual moral corruption is present.
When such corruption appears in multiple members of a body of public servants, governmental integrity and function begin to fail.
Identifying public leaders to whom the power of their roles and renown is more important than humility of service, respect for others (even if we disagree), and courage in truth telling is rarely easy - particularly when we contributed to their power, or acquiesced in its growth. And removing such leaders from their roles is, because only citizens can do it, inherently more difficult than professional investigation and prosecution of corruption for breaking the law.