Where Do We Go From Here?

Today is election day here in the United States.  As I waited in line to vote, I was filled with gratitude that I live in a country where I can exercise my voice and express my desires for our country's future by casting a vote.  Though the lines were well out the door, the people waiting in line to vote were very pleasant.  That is how elections ought to be.  Exercise your right to vote and be nice about it.  

However, this election has been weighing on my mind for several months.  The outcome certainly weighs a bit on my mind, but the outcome does not change my faith one bit.  The weight is what happens after the election.  How are people going to react?  To be honest, I do not remember an election that had this much tension.  It's like the garage door spring I replaced several years ago.  As I was winding the spring, the tension was so great that just one slip and I was going to be in a world of hurt.  There seems to be so much tension surrounding this election that I have heard and used the words "civil war".  Let me be clear, it was not used in a context calling for it, but a context of fearing it may happen.  The tension seems so great that one slip may cause a lot of hurt.  So what is going to happen after the election?  I don't know, but let me implore followers of Jesus to weigh carefully how they will respond no matter who wins the Presidency or what party  controls the House or Senate.  Consider this passage from the Psalm 20:7...

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God."

It is so easy for us to pin our hopes on the right people being in power or think that if the wrong person is elected then all is doomed.  It is true that elections have consequences on earth, but at the end of the day, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we have a higher calling.  It is a call to trust God as kingdoms on this earth rise and fall.  It is a call to trust that God is in more control than you are and is not caught off guard by the results of any election.  He knew the results before time began.  God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:17).  He makes them rise for a purpose and can make them fall at the drop of a hat.  Even the thousands of evil kingdoms (which all are to a degree) were allowed to rule and were in fact established by God.  For what purpose?  That I could not tell you.  I could speculate that God allows people to have their way in order to show the chaos of evil, and lead people to repentance.  I could speculate that God does so to show that our only hope is in Him.  I don't really know for sure why God does what He does, but I trust Him.  I trust in His assurance that hope is not gained nor lost by a human election.  I trust in His wisdom that grace, forgiveness, and love are better than anger, bitterness, and hate.  I trust in His plan that all things (including elections) work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  Let us not get caught up trusting in chariots or horses (elections or the balance of power) as if our hopes are dependent upon them.  Let us trust in the name of the Lord our God.  

So the question is, how will you respond?  Anger?  Violence?  Anxiety?  Fear?  Bitterness?  or Trust?  Will you be able to love those that think differently than you or have voted for a different candidate?  Will you rise above the kingdoms of men and answer the high calling of God as a citizen of His Kingdom?  Advocate your values, vote your conscience, but at the end of the day, trust in the Name of the Lord our God.  Our hope is not so fickle that it rests on an election!  As the hymn writer so wisely expressed, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness!"  Where you go from here matters!

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