6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
We have selected a new President, as well as members of Congress, but our ultimate devotion is not to a politician, although the Bible does instruct us to pray for and submit to our authorities. We are called to surrender to a mighty King, the One who is seated on the throne, Who holds all things together by His mighty power, who works His purposes throughout the earth in accordance to His will. We humble ourselves before our mighty King today, as in the days before.
In chapter 2 of the book of Daniel, we find the words of Daniel, who had just taken on the responsibility of interpreting a dream for the king. We read:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
23 "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king's demand."
An October Gallup poll measured respondents' answer to this simple question: In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time? Only 28% of those surveyed said they were satisfied; 70% said they were dissatisfied. Even though that number is down from 82% in July, nevertheless, people do not like the way things are going in this country.
Many of those, I would imagine, cast a vote for change yesterday, and Donald Trump will take the oath of office as the 45th President of the United States in January.
Can he correct the numbers? One would hope, but there is plenty of work to do. Trump may think he can "Make America Great Again," but he has to recognize the value of the people who make America.
Ed Stetzer of Breakpoint This Week, in a column on the Christianity Today website responding to the election results, writes:
On November 9, we hold true to the sovereignty of God - He has given us the President that He intends - Daniel is clear that he exalts and deposes leaders. And for a nation that has faced a wholesale rejection of the principles of God in so many ways, some may say that Trump is the President we deserve. There are those that have asked throughout the general election cycle, "is this the best we can do?" Now that one of two unpopular candidates have garnered millions of votes, we have to ponder what God might be saying to us as a nation. This may not have been the result many wanted, but it's the outcome that He has intended.
But, a President's power is limited, but the power of God is unlimited. Again, you hope that the faith leaders that have served as advisors to his campaign will continue to have a place at the table and speak truth to power. And, those faith leaders who have vehemently opposed his campaign will also continue to be purveyors of truth. Because, honestly, they're both right - Trump was and is a person who has demonstrated questionable and even offensive character who also represented a variety of policy positions that resonated with a number of Christian voters. His personal character did not. God has chosen a flawed individual and given him the opportunity to be used of Him - and isn't that just like the Lord, just like characters we see in the Bible?
Finally, we have a political leadership change, but our allegiance is to Someone greater. As Dr. Ronnie Floyd, former President of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote before the election:
+++++
In chapter 2 of the book of Daniel, we find the words of Daniel, who had just taken on the responsibility of interpreting a dream for the king. We read:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
23 "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king's demand."
An October Gallup poll measured respondents' answer to this simple question: In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time? Only 28% of those surveyed said they were satisfied; 70% said they were dissatisfied. Even though that number is down from 82% in July, nevertheless, people do not like the way things are going in this country.
Many of those, I would imagine, cast a vote for change yesterday, and Donald Trump will take the oath of office as the 45th President of the United States in January.
Can he correct the numbers? One would hope, but there is plenty of work to do. Trump may think he can "Make America Great Again," but he has to recognize the value of the people who make America.
Ed Stetzer of Breakpoint This Week, in a column on the Christianity Today website responding to the election results, writes:
There are many Evangelicals who voted for Trump, and many Evangelicals who advised him. It’s time to advise him now that immigrants are made in the image of God, women are not tools and toys, racial and religious prejudice must be confronted, and so much more. The answer is not for us to change our views on character, it’s to help a flawed candidate become a President of character.
Evangelicals elected Trump. Now they need to call him to a better way.It's a thoughtful column, and makes some strong cases for what to do going forward. Stetzer also wrote:
We’ve spent months talking about the things that matter. Don’t cast off issues that came to the surface in this election. Just because we aren’t talking about debate questions or party platforms on Facebook doesn’t mean we stop standing up for the unborn, raising our voices for religious liberty, caring for refugees, pursuing racial reconciliation, and more. It’s easy to go back to our own lives and become self-focused when we don’t have a reason to think about these issues. But they matter. And casting our votes doesn’t mean our job is done. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and share the love of Jesus in an angry moment in our culture.So, I say that even though leadership may change, the mandate for the Church does not. Evangelicals played a part in electing Trump, but we don't need to look to him, or any other political leader, to do what God has ordained the Church today in our culture. And, those concerned about matters of life and religious liberty and who voted for Trump may feel a reprieve today, but we have to recognize that prayer and prudent action are necessary components in seeing those matters turn more in our direction. I would hope that Mr. Trump was not just using the Church as a means to an end, as politicians have done for years - people I trust within the Christian community supported him, and I would hope that they would continue to have influence as he moves into the nation's, and I dare say the world's highest office.
On November 9, we hold true to the sovereignty of God - He has given us the President that He intends - Daniel is clear that he exalts and deposes leaders. And for a nation that has faced a wholesale rejection of the principles of God in so many ways, some may say that Trump is the President we deserve. There are those that have asked throughout the general election cycle, "is this the best we can do?" Now that one of two unpopular candidates have garnered millions of votes, we have to ponder what God might be saying to us as a nation. This may not have been the result many wanted, but it's the outcome that He has intended.
But, a President's power is limited, but the power of God is unlimited. Again, you hope that the faith leaders that have served as advisors to his campaign will continue to have a place at the table and speak truth to power. And, those faith leaders who have vehemently opposed his campaign will also continue to be purveyors of truth. Because, honestly, they're both right - Trump was and is a person who has demonstrated questionable and even offensive character who also represented a variety of policy positions that resonated with a number of Christian voters. His personal character did not. God has chosen a flawed individual and given him the opportunity to be used of Him - and isn't that just like the Lord, just like characters we see in the Bible?
Finally, we have a political leadership change, but our allegiance is to Someone greater. As Dr. Ronnie Floyd, former President of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote before the election:
The testimony of the gospel is serious business. One’s involvement in the political world today does not bring harm to the gospel. We are called by Jesus to be the salt and the light in this darkness. We should do so both wisely and courageously. God will use this kind of testimony.
This I do know: we live in a sinful world. The gospel is the only answer, not politics. Yet, we must still engage and operate in this sinful political climate and in this evil world. Our hope should never be in a politician or a party, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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