In approximately three months Americans will determine the next President of the United States. This can be a worrisome time for people, myself included, because there’s a lot riding on this election. And the commercials certainly don’t help. Most of them are narrated by a man with a deep, imposing voice, and go something like this:
Are you aware that John McCain/Barack Obama voted to give hand guns to children under the age of five? And he proposes that all senior citizens should be put to hard labor in central Kansas. Is this the kind of man you want for President? That’s why John McCain/Barack Obama is the right choice.
The man who sits in the Oval Office next year will make decisions that affect the economy, gas prices, and most importantly (in my mind), the abortion debate. I deeply desire to see abortion come to an end in this country, and the thought of a President who sanctions abortion both saddens and worries me.
But recently I’ve found comfort in the book of Ezra. Ezra tells the story of exiled Israelites returning to their homeland and rebuilding the temple of God. The thing that’s so astonishing about the story is that the exiled people didn’t secure their freedom through violent uprising or cunning politics. Rather, the Persian king Cyrus willfully set them free. Why would Cyrus do such a thing? Listen to the words of Ezra:
Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem… (Ezra 7:27)
God himself stirred the heart of Cyrus to free the Israelites. God rules over the hearts of kings and presidents, and he steers them whichever way he chooses. Our glorious God will accomplish his good, sovereign plans no matter who rules the country.
So on November 4th, I’ll pray and I’ll vote, but by God’s grace, I won’t worry. In one sense, it matters very much who is elected. But in another, much bigger sense, it doesn’t matter at all. God will accomplish his plans, and neither John McCain nor Barack Obama can stop him.
+photo by JOE M500
Thank you for the reminder. With all of the media it is easy for the whole thing to get out of proportion.
Great post! Its something I often consider every time a vote comes up in N.Ireland. Ultimately God raises & brings down leaders, He moves their hearts and the direction of their leadership.
Upon the next elections here, I’ll be sifting through your archives to link to this!
Thanks for providing well thought & written posts
Wendy – I’m glad you found this post helpful! The media does tend to blow things out of proportion.
Boaly – When is election time in Ireland?
I agree with you that abortion is an awful thing. The only thing that worries me about making it illegal, however (I’m not sure, to be honest, if it’s legal or illegal right now), is that I believe women will still choose to have abortions, and back-alley abortions are way worse in my mind than non back-alley abortions. Is there any merit to this argument? I’ve heard a lot of scary stuff about metal coat hangers and back alley abortions :[ I’m honestly not sure which is worse.
Pretty much whenever the current political proccess falls apart and they want to re-establish it under a prettence of being new
We’re fortunate here, that we don’t have abortion clinics, though I do reckon they’ll arrive. Though people do head to mainland britian to have them, but I guess one reason why we’ve such a high teen pregnancy rate; they don’t have abortion at their fingertips – Praise God! (Praising for the life of children – not the teen pregnancy…)
Rachel – Women will still choose to have abortions, but with the law against them I believe it may be a deterrent. I think the biggest thing is that we need to plead with God to move upon the hearts of people to bring abortion to an end. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
A Biblical insight at theamericanview.com with the article by Scott T. Whiteman, Esq., “Yes, God Does Tell Us Who To Vote For.”
JOB 42:2