The Election Is Over, Now What?

I have no idea what God is doing nor will I even attempt to understand His ways and His plans. But watching the coverage of the Presidential election left me humbled. God did what the world thought was impossible. How. like. God.

How like God to take an unlikely and move a nation. Don’t we see all through His Word how He loves to take ones we wouldn’t choose and use them for His purposes?

I found myself convicted throughout the process of the past several months. I began as a never Trumper. I was certain our candidate should look and act a certain way, to fit into my mold. I prayed against Trump, not considering God’s Will. Rather I wanted my will be done.

When Trump became the Republican choice, I began to pray earnestly. That is when God began to work in my own heart. He began to break my pride. That was step one. During this season of prayer, I had a dream one night. I was sitting on a back row of a press conference type gathering where Donald Trump was speaking. The room was filled with important people and I watched from the back with my critical eye on Trump. To my shock he was nothing like I had judged him to be. In fact he was kind, courteous, and gracious. In my dream, I said, “He is NOTHING like I thought.” Then I woke up. And I heard God whispering to my heart, “You don’t see what I see.”

During the campaigning a friend said to me, “They are beating Trump up over things he did and said a decade ago. I can’t imagine if anyone used things against me that I said 10 years ago.” That statement struck me. 10 years ago I was a young believer. Honestly, most of the time I didn’t act like much of a christian. I didn’t know my Bible very well. I knew I’d placed my faith in Christ, but I didn’t know how to live a godly life well yet. I did and said things now that grieve me. Then going further back into my past, I hate to think about the days before I knew Christ as my Savior.

Today you will read a great deal of words on the internet about thoughts on America. The majority of evangelical christians voted for Trump as he aligned with our christian values when placed against the Clinton platform. Regardless how today had turned out, our nation would be split.

You will see some Hillary supporters lashing out or passive-aggressively making comments. You will see some Trump supporters gloating. But let’s do neither. Let’s praise God. And let’s pray as fervently today and everyday as we did to get here.

I don’t think in history, christians have prayed as fervently and as united as we have over this election. A friend and I got on the phone at 5 am this morning to praise God together in prayer. She mentioned how Franklin Graham was pivotal in this process. His Decision America tours gathered us to unite in prayer to call out to God, to repent, to plead for our nation. I joined Franklin Graham’s live Facebook prayer. Chills covered my body as I watched the numbers climb and thought when in the world have believers ever had the ability or used it to unite like this in prayer. This is the power that changes history. This is the power available to us that we often fail to use.

Today, I challenge us to not let out a sigh of relief and sit back in our seat of complacency glad it’s all over. Instead let’s keep the pace of prayer we’ve held. Let’s pray without ceasing. Let’s continue days of fasting for our nation. And let’s be the people He’s created us to be in a hostile world.

Let’s pray for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Let’s pray for the Supreme Court appointments. Let’s pray for God’s cleansing of the evils of our country and the world. We can’t stop praying now. In fact, our prayers should actually increase now.

Let’s show the world love, grace, and kindness. As we watched the election coverage last night, one of my boys said, “I don’t like like this process because it makes me judge people. When I know people like someone that I think is against Christians, it makes me think less of them. And it makes me not really see their heart which is what I need to see.”

I thought about that. There is truth in his words. We all pretty much think we are right. Our enemy wants to divide us over issues. We have a choice with what to do with today and each day after. We can let him win by allowing gaps in our relationships over views. Or we can decide that our relationships are more important.

One final thought. I want to go back to my first statement in this post. I don’t claim to know God’s purpose and plan. Trump might be an incredible President. He might be a horrible President. We don’t know. But it’s obvious that God appointed him as it is only of God that he is where he is. Trump is surrounded by godly counsel and wise men and women. Whichever way Trump goes, doesn’t mean God wasn’t in this. We need to pray for these leaders.

I’m reminded of a post I wrote last fall. I’m calling out to us to be rebels for God. I wrote these words last year and believe in them even more now:

“Do we believe God is full of compassion, abounding in love, and slow to anger? Yes!!! Do we believe that often God shows mercy when we show repentance and withholds His judgement? Yes!!!

What can we do? How can we change the world? It’s so easy. It’s so easy, yet we forget. We pray.

Tim Keller says in Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy With God, “Prayer has been called ‘rebellion against the world’s evil status quo.’”

It’s time we lead a rebellion against the world’s evil status quo. We can’t stand by and watch this nation fall under the hand of God’s judgement when He is in His great mercy giving us time to turn back to Him. He desires we return to Him.

Here’s how we can’t lead a rebellion. With words of anger or hate, with words of fear and condemnation, with violence. Our God has never shown us that as the example of bringing His people to Him. It’s His loving kindness that brings us to repentance.

Will you become a rebel with me? A rebel in a good girl’s skin? A rebel in a good man’s skin?

Our nation can’t tell its right hand from its left hand right now. We need to boldly proclaim a message of repentance. We need to show fierce love by pointing to the cross. But the very first thing we do is pray. We pray for God to change the hearts of our nation, for God to open up eyes and stir up desire to follow Him and His ways. Pray for God to reveal and manifest in ways to His people that draw them to Him. Pray for a turning back point where our nation honors God and follows Him wholeheartedly.”

Last night was a victory in many ways. But we can’t stop praying now. Pause, praise, pray. Pray without ceasing for this great nation. Pray for the lost to find hope in Christ. I still believe the end is nearer than we believe.