What to say on a day like this?
Well, I certainly am glad that Mrs. Hillary Clinton will not be the next president of the United States of America. There should be no doubt about my happiness on that.
However, I am not ecstatic either. Bro. Bro. Mitch Hasty's classic sermon has been ringing in my ears since yesterday evening. "When You Get What You Want, Will You Want What You Get?"
If President Trump calls me to preach in the White House every Sunday, will I go? Yep, just like I would have for President Obama. Will he call? Well, if President Obama called, I must have missed it.
The next four years were going to be interesting and challenging either way. But I am very curious to see how Christians that loved candidate Donald Trump respond to President Donald Trump when he does exactly as he has always done. The oval office does not make a man moral, spiritual or even appropriate. More likely the power of the presidency amplifies what a man already is.
What do you do with elections that go your way? You do the same thing with them that you do with elections that do not go your way. You get up the next morning and you serve God.
The day after President Obama was elected in 2008, I had the unenviable task of preaching the chapel service in a Christian school. The kids were in an absolute daze. Most of them did not remember any other president besides George W. Bush and they thought the end of the world had come.
I preached to them "The Truth About Elections" that morning. I posted it here the first time in 2012. I have updated it this morning.
The truth about elections.
Truth #1. God established that we should have government.
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Romans 13:1
There can be no doubt that God’s plan for humanity included that we should have government. The Bible is plain on this subject.
Truth #2. According to the Bible we have certain rights and responsibilities to that government.
We are to be submissive to our government to the full extent that our relationship with Christ will allow. I Peter 2:13-14 and Titus 3:1 are two examples.
We should pray for our government and I believe we should participate in our government. We should participate in the national conversation and make our voice known by voting.
Truth #3. Elections do not always go our way.
The first election that I was fully aware of was 1976. I was terribly disappointed in the outcome. After that election I became accustomed to elections going “my” way. 1992 hit me hard! I remember exactly where we were when we heard the results of the 92 election.
There have been lots of times since then that "my guy" lost and I was disappointed again even though most of the time I was not even very enthused about "my guy."
I am not happy with the path that many of our presidents have led us down at all. We are not in a good place morally, ethically and many other ways. But...
Truth #4. We need to make sure that we keep the enemy in proper perspective.
There are spiritual forces at work. There is a real devil with a real agenda against all that is good and right. There are men in our world system that will do their dead level best to fulfill all of satan’s will. But man is not our enemy!
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) II Corinthians 10:3-4
President Obama is not my enemy. His policies are liberal. His tendencies are socialist. His loyalties are questionable. His intentions are debatable. He has governed in a way that seems haughty, aloof, arrogant and proud. But even IF all of this is and much worse is true, President Obama is not the enemy. He has damaged our country, in my opinion, but he is not the enemy.
Mrs. Clinton is not my enemy. If she is guilty of everything she is accused of and more, she is not my enemy.
We are not fighting flesh and blood! The enemy is not a person. The enemy is the devil! We must keep that in perspective.
Donald Trump is not the enemy, nor is he our savior. We did not elect a savior, we have one of those, we elected a president. That is what we do every four years.
Truth #5. God has a divine plan.
We must remember that. God has a divine plan. You do not know what that plan is. I do not know what that plan is. The president, your congressman, your senator, not even your mother knows what that plan is.
It amazes me how many people are very sure every election that they are on the inside of God's plan. Most are not. God tends to keep those things to himself and that is evident in the deafening silence when man's plan goes haywire. It will happen again, just give it some time.
This election is a good example. The world is in shock. The media is in shock. Hollyweird is in shock. But God is not in shock. He was not surprised in 2008 or 2012 either. God has a divine plan.
Truth #6. God’s plan will prevail.
You can not side track God’s plan. The president can not side track God’s plan. A "bad" election can not side track God’s plan. A thousand "bad" elections can not side track God’s plan. God does not need a "good" election to salvage His plan. God will prevail, my friend. God will prevail.
What is the truth about elections? The truth is they matter to us. They matter deeply and I think they should. But elections do not affect God. God was not voted in or out yesterday. God is still on the throne. God is still working His will in our lives. God still has the whole world in His hands, including you and me and our new President, Donald Trump.
You can rest in that, friend. God has got this under control.
Davy Boggs
