Romans 8:28 (NLT): “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Hi. I’m back, and I want to share a story because it’s time…
The Old Testament book of I Samuel, chapter 8 introduces us to the nation of Israel turning away from God and asking for a King (to rule over them) in His stead. At the time, God’s representative—Samuel—was aging out of his appointment. Despite Samuel’s righteous heart, his two spoiled sons were dishonest men. The people didn’t want either of those characters to fill the roll of their father once he was gone, so they demanded that Samuel appoint a King to lead the nation after him. Israel had seen how the other nations of the world governed themselves, and wanted to be just like everyone else.
Naturally, Samuel was pretty put off by this ridiculous request, so he consulted the Lord, rather than make any emotional decisions. He went to God through prayer. And you know what? God answered him, basically saying (translated in Ennis vernacular),
“Hey, don’t worry about it, Sam. I’ve got you. You go on ahead and do whatever it is they want you to do. Just know they’re not disrespecting you or your service. No…they actually have the audacity to disrespect Me with this foolish request. So, you give the people what they want, but I want you to tell them precisely what they’re going to get, as a consequence of this request.”
And so it was, Samuel gave them permission to elect a king from among themselves. The people chose Saul. And God allowed it to happen. Saul was a handsome specimen of a man and honestly, that trait won him the position; that’s just about all he had going for him. Eventually, what Samuel warned against came to fruition in Israel’s first king. He did such a bad job at God-honoring leadership, that God removed His Spirit from Saul and placed it over a young man who would go on to be called, “A man after God’s own heart”. That young man was king David.
America was supposed to be built on the principles and beliefs of God-honoring men. Now, history is rife with instances of those same founding-fathers failing to uphold God’s two most important decrees (Love the Lord your God with all your mind, soul, and spirit and love your neighbor as yourself), but they at least attempted to somewhat build our country around some version of what they decided God’s word meant to them. Again…not even close to perfection, but that’s another discussion for another time. As time marched on, our nation has strayed farther and farther away from God’s word. In the process, we’ve somehow managed to redefine what it means to be Christian. Our culture has successfully interwoven into the very fabric of our faith; so much so that the average person can’t recognize many self-proclaimed Christians by their behavior anymore; by their fruit. We are just like everyone else in the world, instead of being world changers.
The saga of the current administration leading right into the present days following the election, reminds me of the story of Saul. There are Christians among us who vehemently support the idea of God appointing the current president to office. And you know what? I would agree with them, but for extremely different reasoning. God did (in fact) put him in that seat, within the oval office. He did so, just as he gave Samuel permission to appoint Saul as Israel’s first king. He did so, just as he appointed king Nebuchadnezzar power to take into captivity the southern kingdom. Now to be fair, Israel didn’t ask for King Nebuchadnezzar. He was sent as punishment. The point I’m making in including him, is that God was—and is—always in control.
Our current president is a flawed man, just as all men are. None of us are perfect. By the democratic process our country is privileged to have, he was nominated and elected to be our commander-in-chief. In truth, we all knew what type of character he possessed long before he was appointed. Yet, despite the warning, he was given an opportunity to lead this country in a God-honoring way.
Many of my Christian brothers and sisters out there have stood behind him and supported his every decision. Just as King Saul had loyal subjects who saw absolutely no wrong in his leadership, Christ-followers were (and are) willing to ignore many of the president’s character flaws to support his politics. Today—at this very hour—the sanctity of the democratic process is being challenged by some of those very followers choosing to overlook character flaw for personal victories. The man in charge is attacking the democracy which placed him in power.
But it’s really not the politics that disappoint me right now. It’s the way we’ve all deteriorated into treating one another, as a result of the politics. This political climate has really revealed what is in the hearts of each and every one of us. It’s downright scary. It’s shameful. It’s the opposite of what it really means to be Christian.
I’ve personally shouted to the heavens, “Forty-five is not my president!”. I’ve unfriended many people that I once felt safe speaking to. I’ve argued my points, rebutted differing opinions and stopped speaking with close friends. Family, this is within the body of Christ I’m talking about here! It’s not just me either. It’s all of us. Right now, if you’re taking the time to read through this, you’re thinking of someone you’re disappointed in; someone maybe you had to block; someone who shared a different political view than you. We’ve all lost sight of what it truly means to follow God.
In the last few days, I’ve seen Christians hold emergency prayer meetings in favor of the president retaining his position, lest the challenger win, and the world goes straight to hell. Likewise, I’ve seen Christians hold emergency prayer meetings in favor of the former vice-president winning the election by landslide to ensure the utmost humiliation of the current administration. The social media memes are by far the worst. Christians are mocking opposing camps in deplorable ways. To add insults to the many injuries, Christians from both sides of the political line are calling on like-minded brethren to pray for their specific candidate’s victory, while simultaneously calling on all Christians to pray for God to heal our land.
Really?! What’s that got to do with God’s will being done?
Saul—despite his many victories in battle—was a major failure when it came to serving the LORD. He used the people to his advantage, and still they followed him. Yet, God allowed this to happen. He gave Israel exactly what they asked for. Today, we are reaping what we’ve sown in this country for generations. We’ve turned our backs to God, and He’s given us exactly what we’ve asked for along with everything that comes with it. Despite these hard facts, we’ve still chosen to put our faith and prayers into these two candidates first, while continuing to hate and ignore one another because of our differences in opinions. Satan…right now…is winning. Don’t kid yourself, believer. Right now, while you’re awaiting the victor of this 2020 election, the real winner is him. We asked for him.
What do you want to do about that?
Honestly, I don’t need you—any of you—to agree with my thoughts. But I need you to think about your own heart for a moment, and really consider where it is…right now.
Some of us are leaving our home church over race relations. Some have stopped speaking to brothers and sisters because they have different political views. Some have decided that there’s nothing wrong with our nation that wasn’t caused until (insert whatever). Some have simply decided that Christianity is a sham, based on how we’re treating each other. So, the question still stands.
What do you want to do about that?
Romans 8:28 is special for me, because it puts my life into perspective. If I love God, then I have to believe that all things—all things—will work out ultimately for my good, because I’m called according to his purpose. That means, instead of me praying to God to put my choice in candidate into the oval office, I’m going to pray that His will be done, no matter what that might look like in my eyes. His vision is a lot stronger and longer than mine ever will be. I’m not going to pray for what I want. Rather I’m going to pray for what God wants, and I’m simply going to choose to accept His decision. History has proven, if I turn my back on Him and He gives me what I’ve asked for selfishly, the results can be quite disastrous.
Destiny's Journey 