Today is the last day that I will fret over this election. As I go to the polls, I will be disgusted by the barbaric policies of the left and the ignorant inarticulate rantings of the right. I will be sad that the nation that I love has allowed itself to be swayed by opinions instead of principles. I will wish that civil discourse would return to the public square, and that the major candidates would lead that effort. I’ll cry over dying babies, the perversion of marriage, violence in the streets, broken families, sex trafficking, ISIS, pornography, pervasive ignorance, injustice, and that I will be held in contempt and seen as weak minded because I happen to believe in a literal view of the Bible. It will bother me that friends reading this will think less of me because of my views. I will hate that I am lumped in with people who represent Jesus Christ when they have no business to. I will grieve over how far America has fallen. But I will not fret.
Why?
Has Jesus Christ changed or weakened because Hillary Clinton is a liar and has utterly wrong views on abortion? Is God’s Word diminished because Donald Trump is a fool? Will I trust God less because as a Christian I am now a member of a minority of people who are grossly misunderstood and seen by the mainstream as bigots and haters?
Is anything new under the sun? Nope. It’s just new to us. Think Joseph. Daniel. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Ezekiel. John the Baptist. Jesus Christ. Every single Apostle. Peter exhorted, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-14).
Yes, we are in a strange time. Something strange is happening to us, to say the least. But 1 Thessalonians urges us to “encourage one another and build one another up…”
So here you go:
Hebrews 13:8- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Matthew 28:6- “He is not here. He is risen…”
James 1:17-“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Psalm 18:30-“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
Isaiah 41:10-“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Exodus 34:6-7-“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…’”
Genesis 1:1-“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
Daniel 2:21-“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…”
And then there’s this:
Colossians 1:15-23
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven…”
Jesus Christ is supreme. He is risen. The Throne Room is not empty. God’s hands are not bound by the wringing of them. So as I go to vote-and I will vote-on November 8th, for the joy set before me I will do so with a spring in my step, a smile on my face, a prayer on my lips, and great anticipation in my heart. See you at the polls!