Wednesday, November 9, 2016
It is finally over. One of this nation’s ugliest and cruelest presidential elections has come to an end. New leaders are in place and poised to take office at the start of the coming year. This campaign appears to have divided our nation in half and many voters let their differences turn into outright hate and resentment. Now, it’s time to ask God to heal our nation. After all, He is the only One who can do it. This morning some of you are glad at the results and some are sad, but no matter what side you are in, we must keep this one thing in mind. God continues to be on the throne and is fully in control. He has always ruled in the affairs of mankind and will continue to do so. In one of my favorite psalms, David wrote: “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” (Ps. 103:19)
As God’s children, and among other things, we must now do these two things. First we must accept the results and realize that the people of this country have spoken and God’s will has been accomplished. God’s grace can help us all to be gracious in victory as well as in defeat, and if we love and trust Him, we can be at peace about this all other things around us. Whether last night was one of them or not, sooner or later we will all experience things we don’t like or are not satisfied with. To me what happened last night is not much different that rooting for your favorite team. Whether it is the Super Bowl, World Series, or NBA Finals, many of God’s people pray fervently for their team to win. We must keep in mind however, that there are other people praying in the same manner for the opposing team. If we don’t know the Lord as well as we should, or if we just prefer to pout, we may get our feelings hurt or be offended with Him when we lose, thinking He let us down. What can He do? One has to win; one has to lose. Because you’re human, you may even be angry with God right now. If that is you, I pray you’ll snap out of it quickly.
Second, we must pray for our president and all those who are in positions of authority and leadership everywhere. As God ‘s children, that is our duty whether we like the person or not. Paul wrote: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.” (I Timothy 2:1-3) Let’s keep these two eternal truths in mind: (1) If God is God, He is perfect and never makes mistakes. (2) He is, and has always been in control of all things. Therefore, relax, trust Him, and be happy.
Verse for today: (Hebrews 12:28 - ISV) “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases Him.” * (ISV) International Standard Version
