Good News Voters –
God Is Still In Control
The election is
over and all the tallies have been totaled. Many are disappointed because only
one can fill the chair and the elected official enjoys the success of victory.
From the dawn of time man has positioned himself into places of authority and
power as nations rise and fall. Some seek power and fail while others gain notoriety
unknown but through the circumstance of position. This process of rule is found
in the ruthlessness of dictators and despots to the freedoms enjoyed by a
democratic society allowing citizens to choose their kings and presidents. We
are blessed with the privilege of voting for a candidate and hoping they will
win. To cast a ballot is to cast a choice.
As the dust
settles over the election of this year one thing will remain constant that has
been true since the beginning of time. It is best explained by King David long
ago when he wrote, “For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the
nations” (Psalm 22:28). Whether we understand the workings of God the final
truth rest upon the hand of God upon all the nations of men (Psalm 47:8).
Daniel reminded
King Belshazzar that it was God who had established Nebuchadnezzar as ruler of
a kingdom and gave to him “all people, nations, and languages” that would
tremble and fear the Babylonian ruler (Daniel 5:18-20). He also told the king
that God holds the breath of all men in his hand (Daniel 5:23). No king can
escape the power of God nor shall any man. “That the Most High rules in the
kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of
men” (Daniel 4:17).
In the city of
Athens the apostle Paul said that God “has made from one blood every nation of
men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should
seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though
He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our
being” (Acts 17:26-28). As Creator the Lord God has made all men and determined
the boundaries of their power. No man shall ever rule the earth as many of
tried and failed. God’s will is accomplished in every nation.
If God is in
control does this suggest there is nothing I can do about those elected? This is
much like prayer as someone may ask why pray if the Lord knows what we have
need of before we ask (Matthew 6:8). Prayer is the manifestation of my faith
toward God seeking His blessing and as prayer can change the course of events
(James 5:13-18) so can my involvement in government help to sway the course of
history. Why else are we admonished to offer “supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who
are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)?
What happened
Tuesday finds itself in our part as people of God to those elected to office. “Therefore
submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the
king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is
the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as
bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor
the king” (1 Peter 2:13-17).
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