If you are like me, there are three primary thoughts running through your mind following this election: “What happened to the red wave?”  “How can so many people be so fooled by the party of death?” and “What is God doing?”

The last question is the most important and the most difficult to answer.  I will address it in a bit.

First, I would like to look at a couple of things I observed in the days prior to the election and during the presentation of the results following.  Am I the only one who noticed that in spite of the  rumblings across the political spectrum and media that there would be a “Red Wave” of epic proportions on election day, the talking heads on the Leftist media appeared unperturbed and simply repeated the mantra that the election would be very secure, and that “election deniers” were dangerous to democracy.  (This in spite of the fact that Stacy Abrams and Hillary Clinton remain big-time election deniers).

What did these people know that gave them such peace in the face of what appeared to be imminent disaster for their cause? I don’t expect that it was the peace of God! Yes, what did they know that the rest of us didn’t know? Hmmm.  Just asking!

There are other possibilities, of course:

Did voters hear too much about a “Red Wave” and decide at the last minute that they didn’t want a two-house majority for Republicans having witnessed the sorry consequences of the Democrats holding such a majority for two years?

Did Republicans and conservatives err in their messaging over the last few weeks assuming that everyone connected Democrat policies to the disasters they caused? For example, did they assume that people understand that government spending is the major cause of inflation, and thus think all they needed to say was “Inflation bad” to convince people to reject Democrats?

Are there still so many people who do not grasp that killing is a really bad response to an unwanted pregnancy? Are millions of Americans so superficial as to listen only to the rhetoric of the Left and not dig deeper into what words mean? “Choice” is a pleasant-sounding word but we’re not choosing whether to put cheddar or mozzarella cheese on a sandwich. We are choosing to end a human life! Is human life now that cheap to millions? Did the pro-death crowd really come out in record numbers due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision?

Are the political “machines,” which are in place across America, especially in major cities, so powerful that they are, from a human perspective, unbeatable? Are people either so indebted to them, or so intimidated by them that they do whatever they are told to do?

Have so many wise and weary people left states like Illinois, California, and New York that there are no longer enough right-thinking people to defeat the Leftists? This certainly contributes to the bad election results. Reports suggest that millions of others wish to leave these states but cannot as family and jobs make a move difficult or costly.

One or more of these things may have affected the election results, but there is a more important perspective which we must consider.

Most people throughout history have lived under the tyranny of dictators and thugs, men who ruled for their own benefit, acting as gods, (many actually claimed to be deity), caring nothing for the people they ruled. One must ask, “did the people not mind the oppression? Were they passive to the brutality of the ruling class? Did they have no ambition to be free?” Anyone paying attention should notice the similarity to our major cities where violence and death are so common as to be ignored, yet in our case, the ones most oppressed and abused routinely reelect their abusers. Is there such a thing as “Battered Citizen Syndrome?”

This darkness and bondage are not America’s intended destiny! From the Founders to the present, nearly a million men have sacrificed their lives that we might live free. They understood that tyrants always lurk in the wings, seeking an opportunity to take the reins of power to themselves.

So, what about God? Are these results His intention? Where is He in all of this?

America is not Israel and thus we do not have the same earthly promises Israel has. We do know that there is perpetual enmity between God and Satan, and Satan is called the “god of this world.” We also see in Scriptures a time when God will give mankind precisely what they have been striving after for 6000 years or so: God’s withdrawal from active participation in man’s affairs. This “Time” is called the “Great Tribulation,” in the Bible, and what a time it will be! The Spirit of God will withdraw His restraining influence to allow people to live as they want. It is certainly the spirit of this present age, and the direction America has been heading in recent years. Remember that this Nation, and particularly, the Democrat Party, kicked God out of America’s political and cultural affairs decades ago, and such actions have consequences. God is gracious, but we have no guarantees as to His response in the face of such brazen hatred and wickedness ultimately other than judgment.

Not surprisingly, America is now going the way people want it to go and reaping the consequences. So many want to live however they wish to live without God and without truth. Pleasure has become the Nation’s god, but so few understand the human cost of this paganism. One would think that the tragic death toll from drugs alone over the last several years would discourage such idolatry; but so far, few seem to notice or care. We have gone from Mayberry to a war zone over the last sixty years, and it is not by accident!

For any young person reading this, I hope that it is now crystal clear that Utopia is not arriving any time soon, so, I encourage you to ask what God is doing, and what He seeks from you? He is the very embodiment of all that is good, and His delight is to share His own goodness with us. If we reject Him, the result is eternal separation from Him, of our own doing. Therefore, His method is first grace, then warning, then discipline, and finally judgment. His desire is that we love and enjoy Him, but He will not force Himself upon us, for love cannot be coercive. In the end, if we do not come to Him, He will allow us our own way. I believe we are in the discipline/judgment stages.

Therefore, now what, If we would see as God wants us to see and think as God wants us to think?

First, we are to trust Him and yield to His sovereignty over every area of our lives, including America’s culture and politics. Trusting Him is not merely putting up with trials or patience in the face of opposition; it is gratitude for His working even when things seem to be dismal or contrary. Romans 8:28 reminds us that for those who love God, He is active on our behalf making everything in our lives work together for our eternal benefit. Lessons learned in suffering bring eternal rewards.

Second, this world, as we know it, is quite brief. Earthly kingdoms and nations all have an end. God intends that we be thinking eternally, looking beyond the events and troubles here. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:17 that “our light afflictions” here are “but for a moment,” meaning that we are not to be distracted by them. Our tendency is to despair when things go badly, but we must remember that the best is yet to come (His Kingdom), and it will last forever!

Third, God has many promises for us, but the greatest may be that those who love Him will be like Him! This promise applies, of course,  only to those who satisfy His criteria.  And what are those criteria?  Peter tells his readers to “pursue. . .holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Therefore, nothing could be more important for us than to search for and secure holiness!

Being with Him and being like Him are interdependent, for John tells us in I John 3:2 that “when we see Him, we shall be like Him…” To receive this promise one must repudiate sin, that is repent of it, stop practicing it, and turn from it to accept by faith His gift of forgiveness. America is in this condition of chaos, conflict, and confusion because we, as a nation, have turned against God. (Who would have believed that America, created upon Christian principles and blessed above all nations by God, would turn against the best, most gracious, and loving Creator, Jesus Christ?)

This act of turning from sin to trust in Christ is called the “new birth,” and brings with it eternal life with God Himself. This is the fulfillment of God’s plan for mankind and goes far beyond all that we imagine or experience here. The terrible things we endure while on earth will be forgotten, and the best things we enjoy will be eclipsed by the wonder of all God will provide for us.

Therefore, by God’s grace let us trust the infinitely good God, do what we can to oppose the wickedness of our world, help raise the downcast eyes of the discouraged to see Jesus Christ more fully, and live in a way that the light of Christ shining through us exposes the evils of sin, yet lights up the pathway to the Savior!

And who knows what good He may still have in store for America if we turn in faith to Him?

We are all familiar with the expressions, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” or, “A stitch in time saves nine,” meaning it is wise to catch a problem early, while it is small and manageable, rather than to wait until it has grown and become a serious threat. We understand this with things like weeds in our garden or cancer.  But somehow, we neglect it in the arenas of politics and culture.

James Madison lamented that Americans waited until a situation became a crisis before they acted. Politics are so wide ranging, and solutions seemingly beyond the reach of the individual, so most people simply throw up their hands and hope for the best. This must change if America is to survive the Socialist onslaught it is now facing!  “Now is the time,” as Patrick Henry admonished, “for all good men to come to the aid of their country!”

If you are at all aware of what is going on in America, you know radical changes are occurring. This nation was founded on the novel idea that if people are adequately taught in Christian virtues and are self-disciplined, they can govern themselves. Is it not transparently clear that if people govern themselves, they need nobody else to govern them? America is the only, or at least best, example in human history of a self-governing nation!

Abraham Lincoln noted in his famous “Gettysburg Address” that we have a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The point being that, as the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states, “We the People” are the government and those we send to our state and national capitals are our servants, not our masters. With the events of the last several years it appears that many of those we have sent to do our will now see themselves as rulers, not servants. President Joe Biden exposed his own personal ambition when he commented publicly regarding Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Stacy Abrams, that if the Democrat Party had more like her, “We could rule the world!”

No, Mr. Biden, the U.S. Constitution does not make politicians rulers! It makes them servants! Any American politician who establishes himself as the “ruler” is guilty of insurrection!

Good and wise leaders do not exacerbate public fears or exploit them to increase their own personal power, but rather seek to calm the public in times of crisis. Yet day after day our political and cultural leaders ignite new fires and then throw gasoline on them to arouse as much fear as possible. Sweep aside the rhetoric and anyone can see that while the pandemic has tragically taken many lives, it has not done nearly as much damage to America as the rhetoric and fearmongering have.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died in wars to enable us to be free to live according to our own consciences, desires, and abilities, but we are now being led down a path toward submission, even tyranny, ironically in the name of “saving lives!” However, virtually everything we have heard from the media and government over the last two years has proven to be either inaccurate or outright lies!  One mandate after another is conditioning Americans to the idea that our elected leaders are our masters, and we must obey them! This must be resisted!

Individually we do not have much power, and neither do our political leaders, which is as it should be. It is only as we come together, listen to one-another, find common ground, and make decisions as a nation that changes are made.

Should we be concerned that tyrants might lurk in the halls of Congress or other institutions of power in the United States masquerading as beneficent saviors?  Well, consider that Joseph Stalin studied religion as a young man, and Adolf Hitler wanted to be an artist. Basher al-Assad, the butcher of Syria, studied for a career in medicine. From these examples we understand that tyrants’ personal ambitions and brutality are generally not known until it is too late to stop them.

The adage, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” reminds us that under no circumstance can we allow individuals or small groups to gain too much power. Do we have a Hitler or Stalin walking in our midst? Do we really wish to find out? By the time we figure it out it will be too late  At times like this we should look back to patriot Patrick Henry who notably asked,

“is life so dear and peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it, Almighty God!” 

He also noted that

“the Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government-lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” 

How prescient he was!

For that reason, we must act now to prevent any person or any group from amassing such political powers.  If multiplied thousands of Americans went to their deaths on the battle fields of Europe and the South Pacific to ensure our liberties, then we must not shirk our responsibility to stand for freedom, regardless of the personal or national cost.

We were told in panicked tones that COVID-19 would take millions of lives in America, but if we wore masks for two weeks it would flatten the curve and put us on a course to defeat it. Here we are, over two years later and neither of those predictions were accurate. Such proclamations were, in fact, merely a pretext for amassing power in Washington. Sadly, a precise accounting of deaths appears impossible as anecdotal evidence suggests the government incentivized listing any death where Covid-19 was present a COVID death, even if the virus was not the actual cause of death.

And we have myriad reports of people dying who were not infected at all yet were reported as COVID related deaths. What actually happened? We don’t really know, do we? It is said that “the first victim of war is truth.” And, if you are not seeing it, understand that we are in, as some have pointed out, a “cold civil war.” Americans are terribly divided, and our leadership is largely to blame.

Actor Michael Douglas in a video made not long ago noted that our political system has been “hijacked” to “ensure that those with power keep it.” Truer words have not been spoken. Our Constitution yields very limited power to elected officials and only for a brief time. It is diametrically opposed to anyone having great power for even a moment.

The answer to the power-grab by the Leftists is not to accrue power to conservatives, but to educate all Americans regarding the necessity of diffusing power across the electorate, and the importance of informed voting. Loyalty to God and country must eclipse Party and even friends. Too much is at stake!

First and foremost, the answer for America is to bow at the feet of Jesus Christ in repentance and submission to His lordship over every nation and people!

If noble and patriotic citizens do not stand up, speak up and act, it may soon be too late.