Pastor’s Post

“God and the Election”

(Keep on the
side of Jesus)

As you read this, chances are that the date of the election has already passed, aside from a few races that may take much longer
to decide due to recounts. How do you feel about the man or woman in office?
Did your political party come out on top?

   Whether it’s you or someone else, somebody is unhappy with how the elections turned out. Did you know that the person put
into office, was put there by God Himself? Rom. 13:1 tells us “there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that
exist have been established by God.”.  This authority has been established for men to follow, until it goes against what God wants. In both Acts 4:19 and 5:29, Peter and the other disciples make it clear that they are to “obey God rather than man.” There was a price to pay in
doing this. They were put in prison, and later threatened, but they refused to submit.

  Along with “submitting to those in authority over us” (Rom. 13:2), in the book of I Timothy (2:1-2) Paul wrote that “requests,
prayers, intercessions (Going to someone, God in this case, on behalf of someone else) and thanksgiving be made for…and including “those in authority over us”.

  If the elections went “your way”, I know (from experience) that it’s much easier to pray for the person in leadership that I voted for, so please pray for them. Everyone in a leadership position, whether in church, at work, teachers, or politics, needs prayer.                                              

  It’s just as important to be praying for the person you didn’t want in leadership over you. Remember God has a plan for that person in authority as well.

  In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, the prophet Habakkuk finds himself, along with the nation of Judah he is a part of, on the verge of being taken over by the enemy nation of Babylon, and he had no say in it. Throughout this short 3-chapter book, Habakkuk has a Q&A session with God as to why he would allow the enemy to defeat his people.

   God reminds Habakkuk that He is in charge and will also take care of the Babylonians. By the end of the book, Habakkuk
commits to trusting God in spite of his circumstances. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

1.         Be encouraged to take the attitude Habakkuk had, and in spite of how the elections turn out, “rejoice in the Lord, be joyful in God your Savior”.

2.         Be in prayer for those in authority over you as Paul wrote about.

3.         Be steadfast and obedient to the Lord even when the world tries to stop you as the apostles were. Aiming to do the same,

                                                                                                                        ~Pastor Josh