Have you asked yourself that question in this election cycle? What if Kamala really does win? Is it all over? Is the USA finished? Others of you are asking the same question, slightly modified – what if he wins? Is democracy finished? Will we have to call him Supreme Leader Trump and put up a picture of him in our living rooms? (sidenote: I hoped the title would grab your attention, but as you just read, I am asking this question from either side depending on your perspective. The rest of this is about something much more important and interesting than merely who wins the presidential election).
What’s going to happen? Is America done? What will happen to our kids and grandkids?
So much to worry about, so little time.
Worry is the vibe of lots of Christians this election season, in spite of the command not to worry numerous times in Scripture. In terms of frequency, numero uno of all commands in the Bible is “do not be afraid.” This is the negative, of which the positive is, essentially, be glad. “Praise the Lord!” How can we be happy in God and His millions of gifts if we are relentlessly focused on what might happen in the future? Short answer: we can’t. It is impossible to be glad when we are worrying.
Jesus told us not to borrow future troubles for today (Matthew 6:34). We have enough to rejoice in and work on during the current 24-hour period – why import stuff that may or may not happen tomorrow, or next week, or in a couple years? How many times have you worried about something that ended up not happening? Once, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand times? Each one was a waste. Fearing the future doesn’t improve a bit, a lick, or a whit of our lives. Think about how insane it is to worry about the future – it obscures the view of the beauty of the leaves and the clear October skies with a dense gray fog of impenetrable what ifs that we can’t control. It doesn’t change the future, but it does hinder the present.
Paul told us to only be anxious about elections not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7). I repeat: “do not be anxious about anything.” And this from a guy who was in prison awaiting execution. Imagine you are Joe or Jasmine Smith hearing the elder read Paul’s letter in church one fine Sunday in 1st century Phillipi. Your mind is distracted by all the things you have to do this week – plan for the board presentation, write the proposal, plan dinners, pick up the groceries, mow the lawn, get to the dentist appointment. You’re starting to fret about how much there is to do, with so little time, and without nought but a chariot for transportation. And then you snap out of your anxious reverie to hear what this dear man Paul wrote, the guy who led you to Christ, the guy who is suffering for the Gospel in prison: “don’t be worried, in all things give thanks, then ask God for help, and he will give you peace.” You don’t have to be Joe or Jasmine in 1st century Philippi with Paul as your pastor to hear it. You heard it just now, because these same words, written by Paul to Joe and Jasmine of Philippi, were also written to 21st century you.
Peter told us to cast our cares on God because He loves us (1 Peter 5:7). We will inevitably have cares – worries about things happening now, or that might happen tomorrow. Instead of giving them free reign over the entirety of the gray matter between our ears, we cast them upon God, whose shoulders are slightly broader than ours.
If you are not a Calvinist, you should be. The relevant invaluable truth (among several) that Calvin recovered, driving down the theological highway back to Augustine, en route to Paul (Romans 9, Ephesians 1) and Jesus (John 6) is that God is 100% in control of all things in our universe, every one of them. Butterflies and bruises, nations and nature, elections and eternity. Nothing is outside his power, control, or loving purposes:
For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’ (Isaiah 46:9-10).
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps (Psalm 135:6).
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).
Is God sovereign over all things? Absolutely.
Have you repented of your sins and placed your hope Jesus? If yes, then you are a Christian. By definition, this means that you love God, and that you have been “called according to his purpose.”
And if this is the case, you have no reason to worry. None whatsoever. God is in control, He is always good, and He is working all things out for the good of His children.
And if this is the case, you have no reason to worry. None whatsoever. God is in control, He is always good, and He is working all things out for the good of His children. That doesn’t mean that we will enjoy all the things that happen, any more than a toddler who wants 15 cookies for breakfast will enjoy being told no. It also doesn’t mean we will understand everything that happens, at least not yet. But it won’t be long until we will.
The poet Samuel Coleridge wrote: “Calvinism is a sheep in wolf’s clothing” – great phrase! It seems all doom and gloom – God chooses who is saved from eternity past, we have no control over our salvation, the Holy Spirit must convert us. These truths sound scary and unfair. But they end up being pure solace, the most joy-filled, gratitude-inducing, peace-promoting doctrines ever. God is in control of the future, and my salvation, and our nation. He’s given me marching orders: join the best mission ever, fight the good fight, be courageous, share Jesus, be obedient, be glad in His manifold gifts, laugh at the days to come, speak the truth in love, be fruitful and multiply, create and build useful things, be potent and productive, give thanks in all circumstances, etc. etc. Because He is the author of salvation, the same God who began this faith in me will absolutely finish it (Philippians 1:6).
None of this means, of course, that the presidential election will turn out the way you vote. You might be utterly disappointed. Me too.
How could God allow such a thing? Was His will thwarted?
It is important to understand, as best we can, the will of God in its complexity and fullness. There are two aspects of the divine will:
- His revealed, or moral, will (what He commands);
- His secret, or decretive will (what actually comes to pass).
God’s revealed or moral will is shown in His commandments. Are those commandments kept? Not even close! They are broken daily by everyone. Our sinful, broken selves break God’s Laws all too regularly.
God’s secret or decretive will cannot be thwarted or obviated or contradicted. Not even close! His hidden will stands with absolute certainty. He has promised.
Because of this, we don’t need to worry about elections or anything else.
Perhaps our culture continues in its insane direction, denying God and common sense. If this happens, God is simply allowing our country to wander further afield from soundness and strength, and closer to the precipice. Well, then we pray that this wandering will eventually lead to a massive outbreak of humility and genuine repentance for our pride, greed, murder of innocent babies, maiming of confused kids, unrestrained lusts, and many other sins. No nation is chosen, like the Israelites of the Old Testament. When Jesus sent the Spirit, the Church became God’s holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), a nation which transcends nation-states.
We should pray for great leaders to be elected to lead our country. It honors God to love and be loyal to the nation we call home (flaws and all), because our nation is a gift from God. But if our beloved US of A continues to stagger down the path of the looming cliff above the jagged rocks 1000 feet below, we will courageously shine the light of Christ and truth as we go, pointing everyone back away from the cliff, back to the source of all joy and hope and peace. Hopefully we will have a good measure of courage, speaking the truth in love to those who hate to hear it, and if we are punished at work or socially or in some other way, we will remember that Jesus told us there would be a cost (Luke 9:23), and we will also remember how blessed we are to suffer, in whatever large or small ways, because of being known as Christians (Matthew 5:11). Either way, God will be glorified. He will be glorified in the downfall of a once great nation such as ours, or He will be glorified in its turnaround, beginning with repentance and faith in King Jesus, and the ensuing revival and restoration. That ultimate hope is not dependent upon or tied to any candidate.
I am not saying it doesn’t matter who wins. I think it really does. But I am also saying that God is in control, so we need not worry.
Pray hard, and then sleep like a Calvinist next Tuesday night. Let’s not worry about it. It’s in the hands of our great and awesome and loving and completely sovereign Father.
Pastor David
(Full disclosure: My post above was assisted greatly by Doug Wilson’s blog here, even though I don’t agree with everything he wrote in it)
