King of kings; president of presidents

Friends (at least until you read this - eek!), the Lord has already elected our president. God has prepared, positioned and appointed him/her irrespective of our involvement. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will receive judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1-2) Verse 4 says that he(/she) is God’s minister to you for good.

I am grateful for my hard-earned right and freedom to vote, and so I vote; however, my decision to vote is nothing more than an act of gratitude. It is spiritually blind to think that our vote, opinion, or lobbying determines our leaders. And this statement does not credit the electoral college with this power. The selection of leaders, particularly world leaders, is in God’s hands and God’s hands alone. Did you know that if not one single person in the general population or in the electoral college showed up to vote, the exact same divinely appointed person would still be crowned the king? The government is upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).

Our God does not do aisles; He does omnipresence (Psalm 139: 7-10). Our God does not debate; His word alone stands (Psalm 12:6-7).

Why do we think we can influence a decision that has already been made by God who does not change His mind?

The apostle Paul exhorts us “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 dignity. 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.” (I Timothy 2:1-4).

If it angers us and confuses us that God would appoint someone to office with political persuasions that are, in our view, idiotic, asinine, or even evil, we need not try to change it - we need to change us. If the Lord has appointed someone to office who challenges our every idea of leadership, we need to consider that every move of God is intended to search the hearts and minds of His people - to purify us and draw us to repentance.

Perhaps we didn’t know the extent of our contempt for people who are not like us and who do not think like us until we became subject to their authority. God’s appointment of these people demonstrates His great love toward us, to show US the conditions of our hearts, to reveal to US our pride, to unveil our ability to love is completely and utterly hopeless without the help of a Savior. He already knows our sinful hearts and was never convinced we were anything other than who we really are. The great human fallacy is that we don’t know it. Our ways seem right to us and our arguments are bullet proof. Statistics support our point of view, and looky there - the polls finally agree!!!

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14) This word from God is monumental. It takes a sacrificial amount of humility to pray for leaders who do not share our values. Most would agree, regardless of affiliation, our land… our neighbors’ land… all land, is in increasing need of healing. Our life… our neighbors’ lives… all lives are increasingly less quiet and less peaceable. And yet, we believe that if our guy or gal is elected, this will somehow change, that corrected or appealed legislation will heal our land, or even that maintaining and defending our national rights and freedoms will bring us peace and quiet. I am, again, grateful for our existing freedoms and for the lives that have been lost to preserve it to date; I am also aware of the trend toward less and less of it. This freedom is a gift we, here in America, have been given, and many of us thank God daily for His mercy and grace toward this country. But friends, WHOM THE SON SETS FREE IS FREE INDEED (John 8:36)!

Are our brothers and sisters in China, for example, less free than we are? If yes, we may be more imprisoned than we think. A visiting pastor from Sri Lanka nailed it for me a couple of weeks ago: “Is God unfair to my people that we live in such poverty when your people live in such prosperity? Or in other parts of the world, with such violence, when you live in relative peace? No! To whom much is given, much is expected. Christians in other parts of the world may have been called to die for Christ - you have been been called to live for Him!”

Accept and do not resist the fact that whoever is elected in 2016 - and in every other election year and in every other country, is elected by God. It’s the one and only powerful vote.

Rather than ineffectively debating, persuading, opining and worrying about the fate of our country - or world, we should drop to our knees and begin covering this already elected person in prayer. Le’s pray that God would open his/her heart and mind to His truth. Let’s pray for his/her counselors to be full of wisdom. Let’s pray for meaningful international relationships to develop for the benefit of all nations. Let’s pray against the deception of all people, for the revelations of God to awaken us and refine us, and change us.

All that God allows on this earth can (our choice) ultimately be for our good. There is an expanded understanding of “good” available. Good isn’t always easy; it isn’t always comfortable; it isn’t always immediately beautiful or profitable. Good is ultimately anything that points us to Jesus, which ultimately places us in the presence of God for eternity. Joseph, who was clearly elevated to his position of leadership by God against all odds and efforts of his brothers who sold him into slavery, said to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20). Let’s redefine the fight.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (I Corinthians 4:17)

I am under no misconceptions that the banter will cease - all are free to do so as I am free to express these thoughts. When this freedom is lost, however, a better freedom remains.