This is a quick post written late at night, but it’s on my heart to say these things and not lose the opportunity to share them. Forgive the ineloquent introduction, but I don’t think anyone needs yet another recap of what the state of the nation has been in the weeks leading up to this day. So, I’ll cut right to the chase – here are seven reminders that I think are important for each of us to hold onto today:
- Voting is an honor and a privilege, not just if you’re one of the ones whose voting privileges were guaranteed by amendments to the Constitution. For every human being, the ability to have a say in the way you are governed is a privilege that people of all colors and genders have fought and died for. Let’s appreciate that.
- Understand that the people who vote differently than you are not morally or intellectually inferior to you. Everyone has different values, or sometimes similar values but different perspectives on the best way to honor those values, or a different priority system for what’s a deal breaker and what’s not. The ability to have these differences and express them is what makes our country historically unique.
- Be humble – remember that you don’t have all the answers. There’s a lot of fiction mixed in with the facts these days, so we must hold our opinions with humility – because guess what, none of us is omniscient, despite the fact that we often speak with the same level of confidence as if we were.
- The sun will come up tomorrow, no matter who wins or loses.
- This world is temporary – focus on the eternal. What seems so important and like it could be catastrophic now will be a distant memory someday. These are important decisions and times, yes, but they are a blip on the timeline of eternity.
- (Honestly, this one is the only one we really need to remember): God is still in control – He raises leaders of nations and removes them, allowing them to accomplish His purposes. He alone sees the full picture. But this thought can’t be a comfort to you unless you really know Him.
- Going forward, consider this: have you followed God as closely as you’ve followed politics lately? How about swapping some news time for some time in the Word? It will be way more encouraging, I promise!
So there is it, short, admittedly snappy, and to the point – but hopefully some food for thought. The peaceful transfer of power is a wonder of the world that I marvel at every election cycle and am so grateful to live in a country where it has existed. This nation is not perfect – we have come far in some ways and yet we have fallen so far in many others – but it is a land that I love and am proud to call mine. Let us hold onto hope and keep our eyes on Jesus, no matter what comes!
“Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer. If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” – Abraham Lincoln
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