Your Choice on Election Day

"Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. ⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. ⁷ "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. ⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."

Jeremiah 17:5-8

In Australia the upcoming United States presidential election is big news.  People ask me all the time for my thoughts on the election "as an American."  As someone who has called Australia home for six years, I feel a bit distant from the pulse.  But I tell you the truth:  the problems facing the United States are beyond the capacity for any man or woman to change for the better.  It is not primarily a social, racial, medical, or financial problem but a spiritual one.  Even government authority and godly leaders established by God cannot by themselves affect positive change in people who have placed their hope in man.

After God birthed the nation of Israel and He established them in Canaan, it wasn't long before they wanted a king like all the nations around them.  They would not have God rule over them any longer and wanted a man to lead them and fight their battles.  It wasn't long before they resembled the idolatrous and weak nations around them.  The passage in Jeremiah explains the progression well:  when a man trusts and looks to men for strength his heart departs from the LORD.  He will find himself under a curse, dry and thirsty "like a shrub in the desert."  Looking to men for strength causes a man to find himself parched, not able to receive the good things God desires to supply.  Years of drought will cause him to wither, fear increased heat, and be anxious at the prospects of drought.  When you consider a potential 8 years of President Clinton or Trump, do you think America will resemble an oasis or a wasteland?

Yet consider the different picture of the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is not in man but in God!  No matter the social or economic circumstances this one will find rest, abundance, and fruitfulness in the LORD!  A tree does not stockpile food, weapons, or ammunition in fear of an uncertain future, nor does it threaten to leave a country if a particular man or woman is elected president.  Followers of Jesus Christ shall be blessed even when the heat comes, when there are decades of godless leadership, even when a peaceable life seems impossible.  Your vote or voice may not seem to be heard by men unworthy of trust, but God hears all who call upon Him in faith.  Hope from God does not depend upon Republicans or Democrats, on Presidents or Prime Ministers, on government policies or welfare payments. The scripture says blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and cursed is the man who trusts in man.

Choose this day if you will be cursed or receive God's blessing.  If the outcome of this upcoming election shakes you to your core, confess and repent before God you have placed hope in men, and find a firm foundation in Jesus Christ to set your trembling feet.  In Him is life, Living Water, and rest for your soul.  You can be like a well-watered and fruitful tree no matter the political climate when you trust in God and make Jesus Christ your hope - or you can be weak, dry, not seeing when good comes, afraid, anxious, and fruitless.  I pray you make the right choice this election day and always!