My thoughts for this 2016 Election Day

Dear Christian friends,

I pray that things have been well. This Election Day marks the end of long process which in my humble opinion brought out the worst in a good many folks, and what a relief it is to know the election season has passed.

I hope that you did indeed vote today, plan on voting, or have already voted early. Voting is certainly a civic calling that Christians in the United States ought never pass up. God has set things up in such a way that we are living right here and right now in this epoch (Acts 17:26), and it just so happens to be in a land where citizens are called upon to vote for their leaders. We are given a voice, and we can speak out at the polls.

We do have a say in the appointment of our leaders, the lawmakers who will set the laws that govern this nation. That is a good thing. Law defines the way we as a people will view right and wrong. Our laws can then promote the common good.

Troubles do come when we declare something that is wrong to be right or right to be wrong. 2+2=5 is a slogan used in George Orwell’s 1984, wherein a totalitarian state may declare something that is utterly false as fact, and to anyone who dissents a thought criminal. Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20). Make no mistake, the stakes are high when it comes to who gets appointed into the office with the power and authority to create and enforce laws that shape the way a nation thinks about right and wrong, i.e. morality. All legislation is morality and somebody’s morals will be legislated in the wake of the 2016 election, for better or worst. Participation in the election process is then a way we can play a part in promoting the common good.

One thing certain thing about Election 2016 is that some of our Christian family will see the candidate they voted for become the next President, whereas others will not see their candidate take office. (Perhaps the candidate that some of our brothers and sisters thought would be a good President never even got onto the ballot.)

Above all, I want to encourage you Christian that ultimately God is high and lifted up seated in power and glory. The prophet Daniel said that God “changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan. 2:21). Likewise, Mary the mother of Jesus declared, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble” (Luke 1:52). Moreover, Jesus Christ is the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). God is in control. Nothing that occurs in this earthly realm outside His providence. The extent of every earthly leader’s rule is never beyond what the Lord grants to them.

We may find ourselves with a leader like the Pharaoh of Joseph’s day, wherein God arranged things up so that we can cooperate with civic leaders to benefit the common good, in Joseph's case it was preparing a nation for a famine, and saving countless lives from starvation, the descendants of Abraham in particular. On the other hand, we may find ourselves with a leader like the Pharaoh of Moses’ day—the maniac who wages relentless war against God and His people. The Almighty can save us from that sort of darkness too. Whatever the situation, God is faithful, and we as God’s people are still connected to a supernatural power which enables us to thrive in any circumstance. “Those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet. 4:19). Be encouraged. God got us through the election process, and He will be the one to help us move forward.

Peace of Christ be with you,

WGN

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