This election is different from all others in that apparently God really is in control. I mean there’s no doubt about it this time.
Even my free will friends, after a difficult, heated discussion about our election choices, put a hand on my shoulder and say, “don’t worry about this; God is still on his throne.” Among believers struggling to vote for Donald Trump, and knowing, of course that if they don’t, Hillary Clinton will win, they count the costs, wrestle with their decision, imagine the Bill of Rights utterly destroyed — and then remain uncommitted, cryptic, opaque. They breath deep and comfort themselves with this reminder: “God is sovereign, brother.”
Ponder that response in virtually any other difficult human situation:
- “Honey, I forgot our anniversary; was that meant to be? Can we take some solace in God’s sovereignty, here?”
- “The ship will run aground if we don’t study the channel map. What say we just leave it up to God?”
- “Chemotherapy or prayer? Maybe neither? God’s in control, after all.”
Gentle reminder: God is no fan of fools. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” We don’t get to wrestle with a difficult question, see the possible consequences, pass it off to God and then just head up into the grandstands to watch the decline of Western Civilization, even as we’re cheering God’s sovereignty. God works through His servants, and our actions have consequences. Calvinists and Arminians agree: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!”
From the very beginning of the #NeverTrump movement, I was startled by its sheer carelessness. After the lamentations about Trump’s lack of character, his alleged failure to champion conservative values, I was expecting to hear some heartfelt call to come to the barricades with a Howard Phillips type. In the old days of Quixotic protest vote, that’s what we used to do. (“Yes, I know there were only 120 people at the national convention, but we can do this!”) No, the Glenn Becks and the Ben Shapiros and the Al Mohlers seem to be aware that this only makes them look even more unhinged. Third parties don’t even work if you have a charismatic billionaire out in front. They know that, and, as a result they are content to have no plan at all. They are concerned about their “credibility” after the election, even as they advocate a path of utter destruction.
This isn’t Biblical, folks. This is not sound battle planning. We can’t just look at the likely outcomes of a Hillary Clinton presidency, check out, let go, and let God. A very good friend, and a marvelous intellect, thought that perhaps we could hope for the best from Hillary, that perhaps we were not trusting God to turn her heart. I asked him “do you drink poison and expect to live?”
He didn’t reply.
Try to concentrate, friends. Since 1852, America has elected either a Republican or a Democrat. This particular Democrat has promised to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which, by some estimates, will increase the number of baby killings by 33,000 a year. She has promised to appoint judges based on their “life experiences” and not their respect for the Constitution. That means both your first and second amendment rights are in dire jeopardy. Visualize yourself having to make a decision: go to jail for preaching the full range of scripture? Go to jail (or worse) for protecting your 2nd amendment rights? Forego entirely your right to seek private health care? Submit yourself and your children to government health care? Stand by and watch unrestricted Islamic jihad become the new normal?
You know all of this. You also know, that despite his questionable past, Donald Trump has picked a profoundly Christian running mate who values life and the Constitution. You know that Donald Trump has declared support for the church, in exempting it from IRS tyranny. He has declared an intention to end to ObamaCare and support for choice in education. He has a longstanding record of defending the 2nd amendment
You know all of this, but you can’t stand him, and yet you have no plan.
God, indeed, IS in control, but He works through you. You can be part of the audience or part of the army. If you become a part of God’s sovereignty that recorded — for all eternity — your failure to act, your failure to make a reasonable decision, you have joined the timid bystanders, the vanquished.
There’s a better way. You can join the fray. Not everyone likes each other in this army, but our cause is just, and we won’t be remembered for how well we surrendered.
