In the coming days you will certainly see plenty of blog posts and articles about this election, and in time there will even be plenty of books written to try to explain and understand this election. This post isn’t hoping to do any of that. Instead, this is intended to be a few thoughts about how we might want to consider responding to this (or any) election.
- No matter how you feel about the results of this (or any) election, all the way from the president down to the school board and everywhere in between, we need to pray for our leaders. God commanded it (2 Timothy 2:1-2)… and they need it. Some suggestions for which to pray:
- For them to have wisdom to know the right thing
- For them to have courage to do the right thing
- For them to have humility to put the good of the electorate ahead of themselves
- For them to have an ongoing encounter with the living God that molds their character after Christ
- For the selection of wise counselors (the president-elect appoints over 6000 positions even before taking office!)
- For wise judicial nominations by the president
- God was in control on Election Day… and He will remain in control tomorrow. He sets up rulers and he removes them. In Isaiah 45:5 & 7 God declares, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God… I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” Whether you think this election represents well-being or calamity, or somewhere in the middle, God is still God! This gives us, as believers, the ability to move forward in the world without fear.
- Our protection, our purpose, our provision, and our identity do not come from our government. So no matter who wins an election, we must continue to trust in the Lord for those things. We already have a rescuer and He was not voted on by anybody.
“Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7) Our trust rests firmly on God, and it is secure there and there alone.
- This election cycle has shown that charity, kindness, respect, and the ability to disagree without moving into personal attack are sorely lacking in our nation. We have an opportunity as the body of Christ to put Jesus on display in how we respond to those with whom we disagree. We can be respectful as we disagree with others, even more so when we disagree with fellow believers.
Love is not something that always comes easy to us, but God is and has always been loving. Before the creation of the world He lived in a loving unity within the Trinity. Since creation, God’s love has continued; as believers, with the Spirit of God residing in us, we can love with His love.
This love is how we need to relate to the world, including those we disagree with, even if we disagree with them strongly, and even if we disagree with our leaders strongly.
I was reminded yesterday of the passage in Isaiah 9 which foretells Jesus’ eventual coming and describes what kind of a king He will be:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
This is the king we all long for. If our longing for that king is transferred to a human government, be ready to be disappointed. But this king, Jesus, stands with arms wide to welcome all who would come to Him and enter into His kingdom
Scott Berkey, University of Illinois Cru Staff
Cru at the University of Illinois 