After the Vote

This morning I'm going to do something that I have been careful to not do so far. I'm going to talk about the presidential election, but I want to make it clear that I'm still not attempting to dip my toe in politics.  I'm compelled not by a great desire to share my political opinions, because I think we have been inundated with WAY too many opinions from WAY too many people.  I am instead sharing my faith, my beliefs and my thoughts on how we as believers are to respond to any election at any time.  

Here's the deal: for me, nothing has changed as I wake up this morning, and I don't mean that because the president has been re-elected.  Had he lost, I would be saying the same thing.  I vote because it is my duty and privilege to do so as an American.  I have voted in every presidential election since 1992 when I was 18 years old, and as a black woman I'm extremely aware of the fact that people fought and died for my right to vote.  I do vote.  I do not vote with the belief that any candidate is my hope.  I place my trust in Jesus Christ, not in men.  Yes, I understand that men take actions that impact our nation, but I trust even more that God directs every man whether that man is aware of it or not.  If He can use Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, surely he can use a US president. 

As I stood in the voting booth, I saw a choice between a man who says he shares my faith but has spoken opinions that are opposed to the Bible and a man who doesn't share my faith at all.   I knew God's direct intervention was going to be necessary with either candidate.  When the results came in last night, I didn't think, "Well, now I really need to pray."  I thought that months ago, before I knew who would win.  I started praying then and last night, I just continued to pray.  

I pray because there is too much hatred among Americans.  As believers we are not supposed to be haters, but prayers.  We are to stand for God and what His Word says is true, but we can do that without beating the tar out of others verbally or physically.  I pray because we have a government that talks a lot, but can't seem to get anything done.  I pray because people who were unemployed yesterday are still unemployed today, and they need to work to care for themselves and their families.  I pray because women are making the decision to abort their pregnancy not because of a political belief, but out of desperation, ignorance, and a false sense of a solution, with no clue that this decision will be one they grieve until the day they die.  I pray because marriages are failing and families are being destroyed every day.  I pray because each day on the news there is another story of a man, woman or child being brutally murdered by some sick person out there.  I pray because people are going to hell, completely unaware that the sinful choices they are making each day are keeping them separate from God, and that Jesus Christ is the only way to bridge that gap.  

I love being an American and I'm proud of our country, but I never forget that our nation exists in a fallen world and is flawed and damaged as a result, just as every other nation in this world is. That being the case, you're not going to hear me despair over a particular candidate, you're going to hear me despair over the state of our world.  In a fallen world I vote every four years for the candidate I think is best, but I put my trust every day in the Savior of this world!

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.       1 John 4:5-6