The Divided States of America

Well I'm sad to wake up this morning with a tear in my eye, rather then a skip to my step. The thing is - when I pulled up Drudge Report at 5:30 this morning to see who had won the election, I saw this:

With the headline: "The Divided States of America."

It didn't even say who won the election. I had to actually click on the article to find out. My heart was sad to read the news though. And truly it's not because more of my tax money will be going to the government to pay the insane debt or because the dollar lost value overnight or even because of the amount of people who will lose jobs over this win. Though each of these is unsettling, to say the least. I'm sad because it just shows how far our nation has strayed from the Lord and what makes Him glad.

I stole this from a friend --

I will vote for the most pro-life candidate, because God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Prov.6:17).
I will vote for the most pro-Israel candidate, because God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who don’t (Gen.12:3).
I will vote for the most pro-debt reduction candidate, because the borrower is servant to the lender (Prov.22:7).
I will vote for the most pro-work candidate because God says if a man does not work, let him not eat (2 Thes. 3:10).

I will vote for the most pro-marriage candidate, because God is for marriage as defined in Genesis 2:24.
I will vote for the candidate who most closely believes government’s purpose is to reward the good and punish the evil (Romans 13).
I will vote based as close as I can on God’s Word (2 Tim.3:16), knowing that whoever gets elected, God is the one who puts all men in authority (Dan. 2:21).

I do know of a handful - maybe two - of believers who voted for Obama. It truly baffles me. It's not about Democrat versus Republican but about who will best lead our country in the ways of the Lord. (Note - I absolutely do not believe that Mormanism is Christianity. But the ethics are similar.)

All this said, I hope you know that our hope is not in a presidential candidate. Our hope is in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. (Proverbs 21:1)

This morning as I was actually looking for the Proverbs 21 verse above, I accidentally turned to Psalm 21. I was so confused because it was talking about a king who fears the Lord being blessed, and that was not the Proverbs 21:1 verse that I had remembered and was looking for. But how fitting it was that I turned to Psalm 21, speaking of a king with unwavering trust in the Lord, a king whose faith is rewarded. (If you have a moment, read Psalm 21.)

The Bible is clear that no man is king (or president) unless God has put him in that position (Rom. 13:1). I don't get the reasoning here, but I will choose to trust (Jer. 17:7-8). Over the next four years, I will be committed to praying for our government and our president because the Bible commands me to (1 Tim. 2:1-4, 1 Pet. 2:17).

Join me in praying for our country? If you want a little guidance and structure, sign up for the American Prayer Initiative.