Truth

This was written by a very wise young (20-something) lady. She hit the nail on the head. Warning: This will change your heart...

You probably remember where you were and how you felt when you heard Brian Williams announce from your TV screen that Barack Obama would be the 44th President of the United States of America. If you were like me, you probably felt physically sick. Maybe you sat in silence as you watched the cheering crowds in Chicago as they welcomed their elected president onto the platform. Or perhaps you turned off the TV in disgust. Then again, maybe you felt a sense of pride that your choice had been elected and history had been made. No matter how you felt, it was an emotional moment.

For many of us, this is the first time in our adult lives that a democratic president has been elected. I voted for the first time in 2004 for George W. Bush. It was a very uneventful election compared to this one. It contained the usual political banter. Each candidate accusing the other of failed policies, blatant lies—nothing particularly out of the norm. But for all of us, the past year has been nothing but a political mess of rumors, manipulated facts, and pointing fingers. I will admit that I got caught up in the riff raff. I found myself listening for every new incriminating fact against Obama, just to boil my blood. I would turn on my radio each day in the car to Talk Radio and nod with every statement Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh made. By the end of this election, I found myself bitter at every American even considering voting for Obama. I would get frustrated at the mention of his name or the sight of an Obama/Biden bumper sticker. I was even downright hateful at times when referencing him.

I had forgotten I was supposed to be different.

I don’t admit these things with pride, but rather humility. When I heard the finality in the voice of the newscaster on November 4 at 10:00 PM I was filled with a lot of emotions. Fear, dred, doubt. None of which should be attributed to me as a believer in Jesus Christ. I found myself frustrated and confused. How could God allow this?!

I had forgotten He is sovereign.

I wish I could say that at that announcement I felt a peace. A sense of comfort knowing that the God of the Universe was still on the throne as my Pastor had preached from the book of Habakkuk just 2 days prior. But I wasn’t relying on God’s promises at that moment. I was relying on my own rationale. I was relying on all the things I knew about Barack Hussein Obama. I had already resigned myself to the downfall of our great country.

I had forgotten God was in control.

The next day I was still angry. I felt like our hope as Christians in America was gone. I didn’t care that he was African-American. I didn’t care that he was young. I didn’t care that he dressed in modern clothes. None of those things had affected my vote. My concern was where he stood on the issues. I was overwhelmed with his liberal stance on abortion, same-sex marriage, Israel, the war. What would our nation become? What would become of our morals and freedoms?

I had forgotten that His ways are not our ways.

It wasn’t until later that day that I found myself completely humbled. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought I had been justified in my anger. I thought I was right to think that he didn’t deserve this and that anyone who voted for him was wrong. Then, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t anything major that would normally catch my attention. As a matter of fact, I probably would have gotten frustrated about it any other time. It was a group on Facebook entitled “One Million Christians Praying for President Obama.”

Wow.

That’s when God spoke. He didn’t yell. He whispered. But it was so powerful I wanted to fall on my knees and cry. I was disgusted with my actions and my thoughts. I had been just like the world. It is not my place to decide the fate of this country. It is not my place to judge others choices or to hold bitterness towards those with different values. It is my place to trust in a holy God. It is my place to respect my leaders and to pray for them. It is my place to love everyone unconditionally. It is my place to be different.

As Christians, it’s easy to get caught up in the cares of this world. The fact of the matter is, we should be different. We shouldn’t be tossed to and fro with the waves of change. We shouldn’t allow anything to discourage our faith and hope. Our faith and hope doesn’t come from this world. It comes from a Holy God in Heaven who was and is and always will be. Our strength comes from Him.

I realized at that moment that God was up to something. Something big. For so long, we as American Christians have been so complacent. We have had it easy, living in a nation so often labeled as a “Christian Nation”.

Now that is being challenged.

We can no longer rely on our government to take a stand for us. We can no longer look to our President as a “spiritual” leader. Now is our time. Now is our time to take on this task with resolve like we have never had before. It is not the responsibility of our government to stand for what is right. It is ours. We are called as believers to stand firm for what is right, no matter the opposition.

Change is inevitable at this point. Our nation is going to face some alterations that may not be in our favor. What will we do? Will we throw in the towel and give up hope? No! Our responsibility as believers is to call on God and rely on His leadership. We cannot expect our nation to change for the better if we aren’t willing to make changes in our own hearts. We must each take on the responsibility to be Lights in the dark world.

This transition of power should not be a call to fear as Christians. This should be a call to prayer. A call to action. It’s time that we lay down our pride and stop putting our faith in a Presidential candidate. McCain couldn’t have saved this country or anyone else for that matter. Our only hope for a morally strong country is for each of us to take up our cross and follow Him. If McCain had gotten the office, would our faith have been challenged? Or would we have been prideful and sat comfortably back down in our cushy lives?

Now it’s time for us to step up and show the world what it means to be different.

The world fights back. We are to pray.

The world talks back. We are to be silent before His throne.

The world argues and hates. We are to speak words of hope and to love.

Undoubtedly, we are going to face some opposition. Some laws will pass that we don’t agree with. But that doesn’t mean we stop working. That doesn’t mean we stop praying. The Bible commands us to pray for our leaders whether it’s who we voted for or not.

Let’s walk and faint not. Let’s show the world what it means to be a child of a Holy God. Maybe your reaction to the election wasn’t as intense as mine. But whether or not you struggled with this, it’s every Christian’s responsibility to pray for our President.

So, for me, I’m gonna break my Sean Hannity addiction. I’m gonna keep my ears from the political analysts. I’m gonna pray for Obama when I see a bumper sticker with his name, instead of thinking to myself how ignorant the driver must be. I’m gonna choose not to click on that article that I know is just going to distract me from what really matters—being a follower of Jesus Christ.

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”-Acts 20:24