What is the view from my place of this upcoming election? My convictions are rooted in Romans 13:1, which instructs me that “there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Therefore, whoever wins this election will be “God’s man” or “God’s woman.” The same God who directed Samuel to anoint David, a man after God’s own heart, had centuries earlier raised up the pharaoh who oppressed the Lord’s people in Egypt. Of that pharaoh, the Lord said, “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Romans 9:17). The Lord displayed His power and exalted His name through a ruler who openly and stubbornly defied Him—a ruler so consumed by personal pride that he was willing to sacrifice his entire country. This ruler was the son of the pharaoh who had ordered the death of all newborn Israelite babies.
This brings to mind another powerful moment in biblical history. “When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, ‘Are You for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ He replied. ‘I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.’ Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, ‘What does my Lord have to say to His servant?’ The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:13-15).
The Lord was on neither “side” because He has His own agenda, and whether through compliance or defiance to His word, His purposes will prevail. I believe He also wants us, like Joshua, to remove our sandals—our worldly perspectives or idolatry of ideology—and worship Him as the only Sovereign of this present world and the King of the world to come.
Yes, I have my own political views and preferences, and I care passionately about the upcoming election. But whatever the outcome, no matter who takes the oath of office on January 20, 2025, my prayer is that all the Lord’s people will remove their sandals and worship Him. Because God will still reign, and His agenda will prevail – just as it always has.
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