We’re thrilled to hear devotional thoughts from Jennifer Epperson this week! Stop by the contributors page for just a bit to learn more about her.
The election season has finally ended! I am sure that many of you, like myself, are thrilled. Perhaps you, too, are breathing a sigh of relief that the political ads are on hiatus. Whew! As I age, the more I dislike presidential election years. They bring out the worst in people. Rather than disagreeing in a respectful manner, voters mimic political candidates—calling each other names and making assumptions about each other’s overall character simply based on differing political views.
Even Christians can become the worst versions of themselves as they lose their focus on the things of Christ in their need to be right and point out how everyone else is wrong. They expect non-Christians to make biblical decisions—and get angry with them when they don’t. Sometimes they forget that little tidbit in the Bible about speaking the truth in love.
And while that is quite disheartening, it’s not the worst part. Anxiety is high across all parties. Voters stress about what might happen if the “wrong person” becomes President. Why? Because, they may not realize it, but they have put their hope in their candidate and political party of choice rather than Christ.
People become so obsessed with supporting their candidate, that they forget that he or she is not the answer. Yes, it is good citizenship and stewardship to show up and vote, but a candidate is not our source of hope. We must pray over our choice, vote, and trust God with the results. After all, the person will only be in office for a time, but God is on His throne eternally.
The election outcome has made many people happy. They are confident that now our country will be moving in the right direction. But, the President isn’t a savior. Pray for him that he will do what honors God, but don’t expect him to be the answer to all of America’s and the world’s problems. Proverbs 21:1 tells us, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” No matter who is in office at any given point, we must remember that God has that person there for a reason, and we must pray for him.
As is always the case after the election results are tallied, there are those who are despondent and depressed because their choice wasn’t elected to office. When one’s hope is placed in a person or party rather than the Prince of Peace, it is difficult to be at peace when life doesn’t go as planned. But if we have placed our confidence in God, Psalm 146:5 states, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:” And Jeremiah 17:7 reminds us, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”
May God’s people remember that our source of hope is Christ—not the President, not Congress, not a political party—Christ. When we rally around a person rather than Him, we lose opportunities to share His love with others and become a detriment to the spreading of the Gospel.
Ask yourself, “Did my behavior during this election season help or hinder people from wanting to know Christ? Do they know that He is my hope and the hope of all the world?” If you know Him, you are not first and foremost a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. You are first and foremost a Christian. Let that fact guide you in how you vote, and in how you treat others around you who don’t agree with you (and who may not know Christ).
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