Joshua DuBois - The Presidents Devotional: The Daily Readings That Inspired President Obama

To Michelle, David, Ralph, and Fannie Lou

Contents

I n the heat of the 2008 campaign season, I took a deep breath and sent the following e-mail to a young United States senator, who also happened to be running for president:

Hi Senator,

I hope youre well. Ive collected a few devotionals and scriptures that might provide encouragement in these last few weeks, including the one below. Ill send them in the morning from time to time, if its helpful.

Best,

Joshua

Senator Obamawhom Id been working for for several years by that timereplied saying that in fact, he would appreciate these morning messages very much. So every day, from that point on, I offered him a quote, prayer or interpretation of scripture to start his day.

Years later, after he had won the presidency and I became the White House faith-based office director, President Obama was having a conversation with reporters about an upcoming visit to the Pope. In an aside that took me off guard, the president started to reflect on the devotional messages that I had been quietly sending to him each day:

THE PRESIDENT: One last little note of sustenance, a little note is, is that Joshua does a wonderful service for me and he actually sends me a devotional on my BlackBerry every morning, which is actually something that he started doing I think when I was really having a tough time during the campaign.

MR. DUBOIS: It was a tough time.

THE PRESIDENT: And it was just such a wonderful practice that weve continued it ever since. So every morning I get something to reflect on, which I very much appreciate.

I still send President Obama these devotionals bright and early every morning. And now, with his permission, Im glad to share a years worth of them with you, along with twelve longer reflections to begin each month with lessons Ive learned on faith, love, and leadership in the White House and in my own life.

The purpose of these readings has been to give the president a bit of nourishment to begin his day, a passage or prayer that inspires hope, illuminates lifes key principles, or points him towards rest and replenishment. More generally, theyve also been intended to assist himand hopefully you, leaders in your own right across the country and around the worldin bridging the gap between the busyness of our temporal lives and the eternal calling of a changeless God.

The devotionals I send the president have always been Christian at their core, and their ultimate subject is Christ. They come from a range of sourcesfamous prayers and scriptures; songs and verse; and quotes from everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Fannie Lou Hamer, Helen Keller to Johnny Cashbut all are meant to trace back to the truth found in Gods word. My hope has been that this truth, once found, would rest ever more securely in our souls.

I am deeply honored that you would include these devotionals and stories as a waypoint along your spiritual journey. I hope that they help you grow and bring you joy, as they have done for the president, and for me.

Joshua DuBois

Washington, D.C., May 2013

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

Transcript

February 7, 2013

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

Washington Hilton
Washington, D.C.
9:03 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.... Before I begin, I hope people dont mind me taking a moment of personal privilege. I want to say a quick word about a close friend of mine and yours, Joshua DuBois. Now, some of you may not know Joshua, but Joshua has been at my sidein work and in prayerfor years now. He is a young reverend, but wise in years. Hes worked on my staff. Hes done an outstanding job as the head of our Faith-Based office.

Every morning he sends me via e-mail a daily meditationa snippet of scripture for me to reflect on. And it has meant the world to me.

I first heard the name Barack Obama in July of 2004 over a half-pound burger and fries on Capitol Hill. I was between two years of graduate school at Princeton, working in Washington for the summer for a feisty old member of Congress. The pay was meagerenough for gas for my beat-up Chevy Blazer and a tiny Craigslist apartment with two guys and a cat. But it was good to be in D.C. for a few months. And it was good to have some time to wrestle with what on earth I was going to do with my life.

But by the time my job was wrapping up in late July, I wasnt any closer to figuring things out. I knew I had a growing love affair with my faithI had come to know Christ years earlier as a sophomore in college and became an associate pastor at a small churchand I wanted my vocation to be tied to my spiritual walk. I also knew I wanted to help folks who were strugglingmy grandmother was active in the civil rights movement and my parents had made sure that working for greater justice and mercy in the world was in my bones. And finally, I knew that I had some serious student loans to pay back. What I didnt know was how to balance all three.

Late one dayJuly 27, 2004I walked a couple blocks from the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill to my favorite neighborhood dive, a local spot named the Hawk n Dove. There was always a happy hour burger special going on there, and the TVs played more Red Sox games than Yankees. As a Boston sports fan, this suited me fine.

I settled in to my food when the place became quietand the Hawk n Dove was never quiet. There was some guy was on television, an Illinois state legislator named Barack Obama. And he was in the middle of delivering one heck of a speech.

I stopped and listened. The state senator touched on themes I had loved for a lifetime, of justice, of fighting for the vulnerable and sick, of patriotism and country. And then he said, almost out of nowhere, We worship an awesome God in the blue states.

For some reason, that phrase hit me in my gut. It immediately blasted me back to childhood days of standing at bible camp in the Shenandoah Valley, arms raised, belting out whatever hurt and pain I was feeling with the mighty refrain of the worship song, Our God... is an awesome God.

Amen, I said to myself.

By the end of his speech, the purpose of my summer in Washingtonand the trajectory of my lifegot a little clearer. Progressive Democrats dont normally quote worship songs, I thought. And God doesnt generally reveal his purpose over a half-pound burger and fries at the Hawk n Dove. But that evening I realized two things: first, this guy, Barack Obama, was pretty special, and I wanted to work for him. Second, and more important, Christ can show up anywhere. In anything. There is an opportunity to hear his voice in every mundane moment of our lives. Sure, it helps when were looking for it. But even when were nothe still surprises.

I went back to Princeton to complete my second year of graduate school and promptly sent a letter to Obamas campaignand got a form-letter response. So I waited until after he was elected and drove down from New Jersey to the Senators Washington transition officeand got turned away at the door (too many applicants, they told me). A few months later I tried again, another three-hour drive each way. This time before rejecting me, they let me speak with a senior official in the senators operation, who turned out to be the IT guy. Returning to school with my tail between my legs, I prayed hard and sent a last-ditch email to the senators office, making a pleading case for why I was meant to work for Barack Obama. And, at long last, I got a response. After one phone interview and one in person, they were ready to hire me to write letters to Illinois constituents and eventually lead Obamas outreach to the faith communityat $29,000 a year, plus benefits.