Reveration Blog
11/8/2016 Voting for Our LeaderAngst is probably a great word to describe the mood of hundreds of millions of people who wearily wonder who their next leader will be. After a political process that takes too long, an ugly trail of tawdry politics and professional dirt-slinging, most of the nation just wants this election to be over. Compounding the problem is the almost universal cry, “With over 323 million people, these are the bestcandidates to emerge?” It would seem the world’s third largest nation has a huge problem when it comes to electing a leader with integrity. Those of us who meet the requirements for voting, and who carry out the responsibility to vote, will cast our ballot and hope for the best outcome possible. While we might not always like the choices available, or feel good about the state of our political system, we ought to always remember the following. Meditation
Proverbs 21:1—A king’s heart is like streams of water in the LORD’s hand: He directs it wherever He chooses. God is unconstrained by whom we choose or do not choose to elect. He made us and He is forever omnipotent. He is perfectly capable of leading leaders to accomplish His will despite their views, despite their power, despite their capabilities or shortcomings, and despite all other combined factors. Consider this passage: In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The LORD put it into the mind of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it into writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of His people may go up, and may the LORD his God be with him(2 Chronicles 36:22,23). This passage is remarkable. First, Cyrus was a pagan king. Second, releasing Jews from his kingdom cost him revenue and the skills they contributed. Third, Jerusalem was well-known as a center of rebellion and, therefore, to do anything good for that collapsed city constituted a potential threat to Persia. Fourth, Cyrus recognized that his sovereignty was the result of God’s doing; remarkable humility and a potential indicator of the prophet Daniel’s influence. Fifth, Cyrus understood he was serving the Lord—incredible, given the king was not a Jew, nor, as far as we can tell, a worshiper of Yahweh. We are not to be people of angst. We are to be people of hope. Our God has given us the privilege of directly communicating to Him. He calls us to live noble lives. He shows us how through His Son. Whether persecution or prosperity awaits us is not our concern. Rather we should love God with all our heart, strength, mind and soul; love our neighbors as ourselves; be responsible citizens; and rest knowing that He turns the stream in the direction He desires. Inspiration Theism is the belief that there is a God both beyond and within the world, a Creator and Sustainer who sovereignly controls the world and supernaturally intervenes in it.—Norman Geisler in Christian Apologetics ©2016 Daniel York ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause. If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box. Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice. Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth. (Holman CSB) Comments are closed.
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles