Post-election should we be Fist Pumping or Hand Wringing?

About half the people in America are yelling “Four More Years!” – and the other half are just yelling.   Some are pumping their fists in victory, others are wringing their hands with worry.

As you read through the history of the Old Testament, it’s amazing how things went back and forth for the people of God – led by a horrible king who worshiped false gods, then back to one who rediscovered the Word of God.  America is not exactly the new Israel, but the point is that even for His special nation, God allowed both kinds of kings to come and go.  And yes, things weren’t always great for God’s people under the bad kings. And things weren’t as great as they had hoped under the good kings.  Either way, there was always a remnant of people who held fast to God, loyal to Him above all, no matter what, good times and bad.  That was our job on Monday.  It’s still our job on Wednesday.  Be the Church.

You may think Barack Obama is like the evil Pharaoh, or you may think he’s more like God’s friend, King David. Either way God is still the one in control.  God made a king eat grass (Daniel 4:33); he can still do whatever he wants. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD: he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1  As my friend Tim Harlow says, “Whether you are happy or sad, if you think the country is on the right track or the wrong one – God is still in charge.”

Amen.  Listen to what Eugene Peterson says. He’s the author of the Message paraphrase of the Bible:

Eighteen hundred years or so of Hebrew history, capped by a full exposition in Jesus Christ, tell us that God’s revelation of himself is rejected far more often than it is accepted, is dismissed by far more people than embrace it, and has been either attacked or ignored by every major culture or civilization in which it has given its witness: magnificent Egypt, fierce Assyria, beautiful Babylon, artistic Greece, political Rome, Enlightenment France, Nazi Germany, Renaissance Italy, Marxist Russia, Maoist China, and pursuit-of-happiness America. The community of God’s people has survived in all of these cultures and civilizations but always as a minority, always marginal to the mainstream, never statistically significant.

So, as we move forward, we do so remembering 2 Peter 2:13-14

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. I Peter 2:13-14

The Apostle Paul calls on the churches to pray and to show thanksgiving for kings and for “all who are in high positions.”

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. I Timothy 2:1-2

Instead of pumping our fists or wringing our hands, we need to be folding our hands in prayer. 

Whether you are happy or sad today, one task before us is to pray for President Obama, Congress and the Senate, and live peaceable and godly lives.  And remember Titus 3:1-2:

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”

And remember:  regardless of who is in the oval office, God is on the throne. It’s not about the one in the White House, but Him who is on the White Horse.

Here is where our trust ultimately lies:

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.  Psalm 13:5