Elections, Reactions, and the God We Say We Believe In

So last night, our nation elected her next group of leaders.  It’s quite the amazing thing to watch every 2-4 years, if you think about it.  Democracy in action…and mostly quite civil, at that.

Me?  I went to bed before anything was final.  I wasn’t about to waste precious sleep agonizing over something to which I had already played my small part. What good would it do?  And to be honest, the way my son had been sleeping…errrrrr…not sleeping the past few nights, I was far more interested in uninterrupted zzzz’s than in the election results.  Again, really…what good could it do?  My cards had been dealt and I was just waiting for the house to call in the bets.

When I woke up early this morning, social media was already ablaze as the results began to pour in.  Depending on your party, you were either elated or on the verge of despair, or so it seemed by the comments and op-eds people were throwing out.  You know what shocked me the most?  The despair, gloom and doom thrown out by Christians.  Because, as a Christian, my first understanding of this election is that God is sovereign over it, just as He is sovereign over everything.

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.  And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings.” (Daniel 3:20-21, NKJV)

We do our parts.  We play our roles and vote as we are led, but in the end, God is in control of HIStory, and He does what pleases Him.  I can trust Him, because I know He’s good, and I know He is love.  That should trump any political feelings I might have.

And beyond that, what does my reaction to the election say about my trust in Him?  How many of us throw out Romans 8:28 in every situation, except when it’s one that doesn’t go our way?  Has He ceased causing all things to work for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose?  Or are we upset because what God purposes doesn’t always line up with what we desire?

Consider Paul’s words to Timothy:

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”  (I Tim. 2:1-6, NKJV)

Are you praying for President Obama?  Are you praying for your representatives?  Your governors?  Your mayors?  Christian?  Are you?  He doesn’t say agree with them.  He says to pray for them.

And then he gives us a dose of true perspective:  God wants all people to be saved, to come to know Christ.  Politicians aren’t going to carry that message to the lost.  The church is.  The only true hope for change, the only true hope for all of us is not found in any politician or leader, but in “the Man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”  That’s what we need to be about as believers, sharing the gospel.  Telling the good news!  Holding out the only real hope there is.

So, Christians, can we work on that instead?