Christ Wins!
6 min read
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!Psalm 66:16-20
For those who fear God, the testimonies of what God does for His people because of His love are powerful and encouraging. For those who do not fear God, those testimonies are meaningless. For the latter, the testimonies of the saints are delusional. Nonbelievers think that Christians are superstitious, attributing luck as being the hand of God. But us saints know better. At least I hope we do.
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory, I have seen two kinds of postings on social media by Christians. One kind of posting declares that the end of the world is at hand—at least, the end of the United States as a global power, or maybe even a country. The other kind of posting (the more common one) has Christians reminding people that God is in control and that we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom more than we are citizens of this world.
Of course, I completely agree with the postings that profess the sovereignty of God in all political affairs (Romans 13:1). And maybe that truth needs to be proclaimed in the social media square. But any person who hates Donald Trump is only going to interpret those postings as self-righteous gloating thinly disguised as humble spirituality.
I did see one posting proclaiming the sovereignty of God from a person whom I would guess voted Democrat. And I appreciated this saints acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over political ideology.
At the same time, I wonder if her genuine proclamation is lost on most, if not all, nonbelievers who hate Trump. In fact, I wonder if nonbelievers who hate Trump see these postings from Christians as a “humble brag,” as if to say, “Donald Trump won because I am righteous and I prayed for Donald Trump to win.” And it really doesn’t matter what political party any Christian supports. The public narrative about Christians is that we are predominantly Republican, just because of the abortion issue.
Maybe I’m just being too sensitive on these matters and overblowing the point. But I’m pretty sure that Donald Trump did not win simply because the “more righteous” Christians prayed for Donald Trump to win. Who knows, though? Do I speak for God?
What I do know is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). What I do know is that everyone cherishes sin in their hearts in some way and to some degree.
I don’t want to disrespect any brother or sister who expresses their heartfelt opinion or theology in social media, especially if their theology is correct. That is their right. But as for me, it is better that I be quick to listen, slow to speak (James 1:19), and to let my words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:2), except to pray in Jesus’s name in repentance for myself, for my family, for my community, for my nation and that His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Father, help us now. Protect us from the evil one. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth and in my life and in this nation. In these volatile times, establish peace according to Your sovereign love. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
