The Day After the Elections

Years ago my two children and I innocently climbed onto the Space Mountain ride at Disney World. I do not do roller coasters, never have. I am a chicken and proud of it. For those who don't know, Space Mountain is inside of a man made mountain. So, from the outside, you cannot see anything about the ride. As the ride proceeded in total darkness, I knew I was in trouble. My screams were not that of fun, but terror. The strange thing about terror is there comes a time when the screams of terror move into silence. I was dead silent, fearing for my life.

Strange as that might sound to all you dare devils, I never want to experience that feeling ever again. Yet, I came close to it over the past 3 years. It began when our president just began running for office. The news media made mention of his church and that he was a Christian. This was way before the exposure of his pastor's views on America. So doing my due diligence, I put the name of the church into my browser and up came his Pastor, Jeremiah Wright. espousing the damning of America. I sat incredulous, horrified and frightened. As a result, I sent the clip to all of my friends. The rest is history as the media discovered the same thing I did, a false gospel in the name of Christianity.

These past 3 years I've been on that Space Mountain ride, fearing the death of our Constitutional America, the Pledge of Allegiance, moving from a Democracy to Socialism, the further removal of God from our country, a grand monetary depression and softness regarding the terrorist. Yesterday's election has given me the opportunity to get off that ride, at least for now. I praise God for what happened yesterday. He is giving us another chance and I pray we all become a part of the solution for our country.

Since the beginning of time, governments/kings have put people on roller coasters. Many of those rides have ended in death for millions of people. Our salvation does not come from governments but from our Lord. If you remember the "President/King" of the young Hebrew nation was God. They looked to Him for leadership, protection, food, direction etc. Over time they saw that other nations had kings. So they asked God for a king. Now sometimes we get what we ask for. The Hebrews got a king and his name was Saul (I Samuel 8: 8-22). God did warn them- and us - beforehand.

God speaking to Samuel: "8 According to all the works which they (the Hebrews) have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee (Samuel). 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king

In the Garden of Eden God gave us His first gift; freedom of choice ((Genesis 2: 16-17). The Hebrews wanted a king. God was to be their king yet they turned to a human to lead them. As God warned, Saul was not a good leader. Regardless, as far as God was concerned their choice would remain and the consequences of that king's rule would indeed come to fruition.

Down through the centuries, regardless of our will to have earthly leaders, God has worked through those leaders. Because God lives by His own rule of freedom choice, if the leader allows God to lead, He will. Conversely, if a leader does not listen to God, He allows the consequences of their leadership to fall upon that nation. We see this throughout the history of the Hebrew nation. There were godly leaders and un-godly leaders. Positive and negative consequences were experienced accordingly.

Remembering God has all contingencies covered, He is able to bring good out of an evil nation as the result of a Godless leader (Romans 8:28). An example in our time is the Holocaust. An evil leader brought about the evil destruction of millions of Jews and Christians. God used that horror to fulfill His promise to return the Children of Israel to their land. Using worldwide sympathy for the Jews, they were allowed to return to their God-given land promised to Abraham and his all his descendents.

I felt out of control during these past 3 years. Guess what? Feeling out of control is a good place to be spiritually. Why? Because I can look to God to be in control for me. One recent Sunday our pastor spoke of things we hold onto in our lives. Things we know are not good for us. At the end of the service he asked anyone who had something they wanted to turn over to the Lord to stand up. I stood. Why? I knew I had to give America over to the Lord because I was keeping myself upset and in angst. Was I still angry? Yes, as we all should be when we know we are headed for disaster. However, a peace and relief came over me as I shed tears and accepted the fact that God is in control of America.

Regardless of what party is in leadership at any given time, remember God reigns over me, over you and over our country. Even with our new leadership we are not to look to them to save us. We are to look to the one who has already saved us and bestowed upon us empowering gifts to be salt and light - Jesus Christ. We are, however, commanded to pray for them and this may be your way of being part of the solution for our country (1 Timothy 2:1-3).