Today is an important day. It marks the end of the political ads, election talk, and “choose between the lesser of two evil” memes. No matter who is declared the winner of the election tonight, there are realities that those who bear the name of Christ are to keep in mind.
God knew all along
Yes, it is important to vote; we are not shy about speaking out on that issue. We believe Christians have a responsibility to give the biblical worldview a seat at the table of government.
But regardless if Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, or Mr. Rodgers with his red sweater sits in the White House, God is still in control. If your candidate did not win the election, whoever your candidate was of the 1.5 million candidates running for president this election cycle, this is not a night to fret over the future. Has Christ not said, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they” (Matthew 6:26)?
In that context, Jesus is speaking of not worrying for your immediate needs. But if we are to have faith in God for our immediate needs, how much more we should place our faith in Him for our future needs.
The election results are not going to catch God by surprise causing Him to strategize in an effort to make His plans come about. He knew who would win before anyone even pledged to run. Not only does He know who will win, He also knows how His name will be glorified in the outcome.
Our responsibility is not over
It is easy to believe that once elections are over the work of the American citizen is over. That false belief should have no room in the life of a believer. Look at the Jewish people in their Babylonian captivity. They were told, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease” (Jeremiah 29:5-6).
Jeremiah was instructed by God to tell the people to get comfortable and prepare to live out their lives in a place that was not their home. But notice God’s next command in verse 7, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
This land is not our home, but it should be better for having Christians in it. America may not be the utopia you want. Let me rephrase that; America will never be the utopia you want. As a believer, your home is waiting for you in eternity. But while we are sojourning in this land, let us serve it and leave our mark, not so we can earn status and respect of man but so that we may glorify the name of God who placed us in this land at this time.
Get to work
What does this look like? It looks exactly like Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
We have God-given responsibilities here. God has prepared works for us before we even knew about them. Part of that may mean being politically active and holding your elected representatives accountable, even if you did not vote for them.
For me personally, if Hillary Clinton is pronounced president tonight, I will continue fighting every advance of abortion, something she has stated she wants to strengthen. However, she has also stated she wants to fight human trafficking. I will help and be active in assisting her fight against that evil in any way possible.
Pray for your country. This land is not our home, but as Jeremiah said earlier, “In its welfare you will find your welfare.” I desire for America to be a country that embraces freedom in economics, speech, and religion. I would love to see our country get out of the economic slump we have been in since before I started paying attention to the economy. At this point, I have stopped seeing it as a slump and begun seeing it as normal. And even is a slump, we are still one of the most prosperous countries in history. But I pray for God to bless our country.
Lastly, live as though this is not our home. Yes, we have responsibilities here. But they are not our ultimate responsibilities. Our ultimate responsibilities are to God. So let tonight’s results remind you of the fact that you are not ultimately in control. But take heart that you know the One who is. He does a much better job of running the world than we could anyway.
