What Do These Things Mean?
Well, this year's elections are over. Finally. The signs can come down and, most mercifully, the ads can stop running on television. More than any other year I remember, I grew so tired of the nasty political ads. I was thankful for my DVR so that I could fast forward through them most of the time!
Pundits will spend the next few days, maybe even weeks, discussing what the election results mean. Some incumbents were voted out of office, some were retained, some elections were close and some not so much. And I'm sure we'll grow tired of hearing results analysis, though the news networks don't seem to tire of analyzing.
I don't know everything that this or any other election means, but I do know a few things. For one, I know that I am again thankful to live in a country where we can peacefully and in an orderly way elect our officials, those who govern us. I am thankful that, even when we think we might have made a mistake with this leader or that, we have a chance correct that error (perceived or real) in just a few years.
I know this, too: no matter who is in the Oval Office or the Senate or the House or even in our state and local governments, God is still on his throne. Nothing can shake that. God is still Lord over all, creator and ruler of the universe. I remember a friend of mine coming to me after an election that didn't go the way he thought it ought to, and he was in great distress. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. There was great fear in his voice, but fear disappears when we remember and hang onto the fact that God was and is still on the throne. God is still God, and can handle anything we throw at him.
Many years ago, Christian songwriter Twila Paris sang it this way:
And there is one other thing I know: we are called to pray for those who are in office, those who lead us, no matter what our political party or theirs. Our calling is to pray, to obey (as long as we're not asked to disobey God in order to obey the government), and to be good citizens. I hope you had a chance to vote yesterday. But more than that, I hope you'll pray for our leaders. At all levels of government, they need it. And that, even more than a vote, will affect the flow of history.
Pundits will spend the next few days, maybe even weeks, discussing what the election results mean. Some incumbents were voted out of office, some were retained, some elections were close and some not so much. And I'm sure we'll grow tired of hearing results analysis, though the news networks don't seem to tire of analyzing.
I don't know everything that this or any other election means, but I do know a few things. For one, I know that I am again thankful to live in a country where we can peacefully and in an orderly way elect our officials, those who govern us. I am thankful that, even when we think we might have made a mistake with this leader or that, we have a chance correct that error (perceived or real) in just a few years.
I know this, too: no matter who is in the Oval Office or the Senate or the House or even in our state and local governments, God is still on his throne. Nothing can shake that. God is still Lord over all, creator and ruler of the universe. I remember a friend of mine coming to me after an election that didn't go the way he thought it ought to, and he was in great distress. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. There was great fear in his voice, but fear disappears when we remember and hang onto the fact that God was and is still on the throne. God is still God, and can handle anything we throw at him.
Many years ago, Christian songwriter Twila Paris sang it this way:
God is in controlWe believe that his children will not be forsakenGod is in controlWe will choose to remember and never be shakenThere is no power above or beside him, we knowOh, God is in control!
And there is one other thing I know: we are called to pray for those who are in office, those who lead us, no matter what our political party or theirs. Our calling is to pray, to obey (as long as we're not asked to disobey God in order to obey the government), and to be good citizens. I hope you had a chance to vote yesterday. But more than that, I hope you'll pray for our leaders. At all levels of government, they need it. And that, even more than a vote, will affect the flow of history.
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