Election Jitters and Beyond
Are you uneasy about the upcoming election? Me too! Right now we are a nation holding its collective breath. Waiting, apprehensive, on edge. Events that have occurred this year can only be described as unprecedented, and November 3rd could surely follow in kind.
When I talk with people I hear concern, regardless which presidential candidate they support. Our trepidation seems to be—will the democratic process triumph or will there be chaos? And what effect would chaos have on government functioning or on the tottering economy?
What To Do?
How do you maintain your balance in the shaking, when the tectonic plates of our times groan and shift and nothing seems stable anymore? Lately I've found great comfort in Romans 8:35-39.
Paul writes, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" Somehow this list seems a more plausible reality since the events of 2020, doesn't it? The pandemic has certainly caused trouble and hardship. Incidences of Christian persecution in the U.S. are rising. Remembering the run on toilet paper, Americans can certainly imagine food shortages now. And "danger" has also become increasingly relatable. I hate to admit it, but I find myself more on guard these days because I fear the unpredictability of people who may be coming unhinged.
Paul's Secret
We may be troubled about the future, but here's the thing—Paul lived in times far more challenging than ours. What can we learn from him? What was his secret? He says, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." In the past I've always focused on the phrase "more than conquerors," but now I see that Paul's emphasis is on "Him who loves us."
This apostle and former persecutor was literally besotted with God's love. We see his passion when he tells the Ephesians that he prays that they might "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." It is this love that makes Paul willing to endure anything. It is this love that makes him unafraid, even if it were to mean paying the ultimate price. "For your sake we face death all day long," he writes.
Why We Are Overcomers
Paul encountered God and found a "love that surpasses knowledge" (Eph. 3:17). He was convinced that "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth" could tear him away from his Beloved.
When I read Paul's words, I picture him running the race ahead of us holding high the flaming torch of God's amazing love. It's why he was able to endure to the end and why we can too. Secure in our Lord, "rooted and established in love" (Eph. 3:17), we can face anything.
Prayer: Lord, what a comfort it is to be able to say, "I have found Him whom my soul loves" (Song of Solomon 3:4). And it is enough.
Practical idea to stay grounded in the days ahead: Why not devote the entire month to giving thanks! Set aside regular times for praise, worship, and thanksgiving. Meditate on all the ways you see God expressing his love to you because "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end" (Lamentations 3:22).