Who can speak and have it happenif the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
Lamentations 3:37,38
Fellow Believers,

The political debate this election year is by far more heated than any previous one that I can remember. Like other good citizens, many Christians are actively engaging in it. Lest we get overly uptight, though, I think we need to remind ourselves that our God is sovereign and that He is in total control of everything. Nothing happens outside of His will.

This truth applies to the political history of this world as well as to the life of individual believers. God says in Isaiah 46:10, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." And to make sure we understand that He is not talking about spiritual developments only, He stresses in Romans 13:1, "There is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

You mean even such tyrants as Hitler and Stalin were established by God? Yes, because God had assigned roles for them to play in His perfect plan for the world. Remember how cruel Pharaoh was to the Israelites? Note what God told Moses to tell him: "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Exo. 9:16).

The point I want to make is that whoever is finally elected in November, he is the one whom God wants to be the next president. If he turns out to be someone we support, great; and naturally we'll praise God and rejoice. But even if the one we like is not nominated or elected, we mustn't fret. Though we may find it hard to understand, God has a perfect reason for it.

This does not mean, though, that we believers are not to get involved in the American political process. Both inside and outside the church, God works out His purposes through men. If He puts it upon your heart to help the campaign of a candidate who does not flaunt the word of God, then do soas long as it does not detract you from serving God in eternal matters. But remember, the battle is His, not ours. And be prepared to submit to His decision, whatever it turns out to be in November.

When Habakkuk learned that God was going to use evil Babylon to punish the apostate Israel, he complained, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?" (1:13) But when God reassured him that His plan would ultimately bring Himself glory, Habakkuk responded with this fine example: "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior" (3:18).
 

Tom Holt, Editor
NLDeditor@cs.com
Second Quarter, 1996

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