The Final Vote Has Been Cast

November 05, 2020

Pastor Ken Brown Jr

Hi, this is pastor Ken…and these are my thoughts on a Thursday… Tuesday night after I voted, I stayed up late as I have done for nearly 40 years to discover the results of the election. I have to admit it felt a bit anti-climactic to have to go to sleep around 2 AM not knowing the outcome. I was actually one of those who thought we would have a clear winner, and possibly one called by the self-proclaimed expert pundits relatively early into the night hours. To have to go to sleep unable to be satisfied with an answer was difficult, and I must admit, though usually known to be a highly patient person I was somewhat disturbed to find on Wednesday morning that it may be any number of days before we know anything for sure. It is sadly reminiscent of the debacle that was the 2000 election that essentially went undecided until settled by the Supreme Court in mid-December. Though I may be a bit frustrated, I assure you it is simply due to being left without an answer I desire to have, not because I am worried about one outcome over another. One could rightly ask; how can that be? Don’t you care about who wins? Of course I do, I mentioned earlier that I did indeed cast my well thought out vote. I just understand that ultimately elected and appointed governmental officials don’t have near the power the think they do. Though I may greatly agree with one’s position and policies over another’s, I understand how little influence they actually wield over the course of the nation. Several people have asked me this year what I think will happen in the election and thanks to Daniel Chapter 2 I have been able to give a solid answer that no polls could ever sway or change. My answer, “Americans will vote, but God will decide”. You could argue that answer to be a cop-out, but I would say it is in fact a shoe-in. Daniel 2:20-21 (NLT) says, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for He has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; He removes kings (or presidents) and sets up other kings (or presidents). God is in control. One could challenge this statement with a question of free will and its effect on a free electorate to choose the next occupant of the White house. My response to that is simply this…our free will does not trump (pardon the pun) God’s sovereignty. He is all too capable to work within our free will to accomplish His will. The Bible tells us that we make our plans (cast our votes) but God orders our steps (decides the outcome). I like the analogy my dad uses to illustrate this principle. I might say I choose of my free will to go out the front door of my house, but if God wants me to go out the back, He is fully capable to strike the front door with lightning setting it ablaze, and all of the sudden I change my mind and decide of my free will I will choose to go out the back door. God’s power is not limited to influencing who we might vote for. He is also fully capable of swaying the mind of any leader to accomplish His will. Proverbs 21:1 (NLT) tells us that The king’s (The President’s) heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He guides it wherever he pleases. God has a plan for this world that is so much bigger than our nation, and we can be sure of this...God’s plans will not be thwarted by the desires of mere man, His creation. As Psalm 100:3 (NKJV) points out Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves... It’s high time we begin to recognize the order of that relationship. Jesus pointed this out to Pilate when Pilate made the claim that Jesus should be more respectful of him seeing how he had the power to have Jesus crucified or set free. Jesus succinctly noted this was all true…but only because God had given the power to Pilate. Jesus was in effect saying, you only have the power because my Heavenly Father has need of you to judge as He wills you to. Ultimately God holds the balance of all of our lives in His hand…even those of the candidates. In the final analysis, He will have His sovereign will and way. Finally let me say this, God has been using leaders of nations to accomplish His will for all of history. American history is no exception. The fact that we don’t always know what He is doing nor why He is doing it…is simply an indictment of our inability, not His. Our view of time is infinitesimal in comparison to His. Our frame of reference by which we decide what is good or bad for our lives, our nation, and the world around us is but an 80 or 90-year speck in time while He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Our understanding is infantile in comparison to His as He stated in Isiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. With all that I don’t know…and I will readily admit there is a lot I do not know or understand, I do know this. God is still supreme. King Jesus still sits on the Throne of Heaven. And the Holy Spirit abides with Christ followers and offers to them grace and a peace that surpasses their understanding in light of any and all the circumstances they may at times face. Furthermore, I also know that there has never been, nor will there ever be an election that will change any of those three facts. Whoever wins this election, or any to come…only wins because God has chosen to use them to accomplish His ultimate sovereign will, and I trust Him, so I am secure. So now, trusting in the One who has never failed to fulfill His promises to you…Go be awesome!