The Deplorables Have Spoken – and Prayed About it, Too
President Donald J. Trump.
Against all odds.
Believe it.
Praying as the returns rolled in last night, I was reminded of two verses from the book of Daniel, verses which I’ve often heard quoted together something like this: “There is a God in heaven, Who rules and reigns in the affairs of men.”
This statement, true as it is, is really a mashup of words lifted from four separate Scriptures (Genesis 40:8, 41:25, and Daniel 2:28 and 4:17). But the thought is summarized in Daniel 4;17, which explains why the invisible God sometimes visibly acts within history: “ . . . so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people” (Daniel 4:17).
These words of Daniel 4:17 are so appropriate for what has just taken place in the election.
Let me say what the Trump/Pence victory represents, from a Christian American’s perspective: This victory (and its converse, the Clinton/Kane defeat) means a lot, including that the lives of 60 million aborted babies are not forgotten by Almighty God. Our national abandonment of morality and the increase in lawlessness have not been unnoticed by God. The suppression of what our Founding Fathers called “natural law” and “self-evident truth” has been called out by God. The cries of God’s people against the imposition of immorality by judicial fiat (I’m talking about the Supreme Court here, folks)¾ have been noted by the Almighty.
Many of us who are called to preach God’s Word, and who passionately love all people in this great nation, entered this election cycle with much, much prayer. And I assure you God has answered those prayers.
Folks, ignore the pontificators who are already at this moment warning about fascism, jingo-ism, a return to the 1950s, et al. They miscalled all of this, even up until 24 hours ago. And I am talking about some supposed “Christian conservative” writers, too.
In terms of the United States of America, the Trump/Pence win means that for a moment, the divine judgment we deserve has been potentially “stayed.” The Lord Jesus has overruled all pundits, defied the “experts,” and given this nation time to repent of sins, turn to Him, humble ourselves in prayer, and once again to experience the peace and unity that come when a nation truly seeks to live by godly principles.
You’ve got to appreciate just how unlikely all of this is!
From his desk two years ago and with no fanfare, Mr. Trump used a marker to draw up the slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Political experts promptly began calling his campaign a “clown show.” For much of 2015 and early 2016, I attended political gatherings of evangelical leaders pontificating over the upcoming election, and they wouldn’t even include Trump’s name in the list of serious candidates they were discussing.
Countless pundits who utterly missed the ascendancy and victory of Mr. Trump are already equally missing the implications of his victory. Already, some social commentators are describing this victory as being about “white angst,” “male recoil at the prospects of a female president,” and “the eve of right-wing fascism.” Um . . . no.
Their faulty analyses simply prove again how out of touch they still are. Some fellow believers have already begun to wag their fingers at us clergy who supported the Trump campaign from day one. They chide, “Politics is not religion,” and, “Remember that our allegiance is to God, not Caesar.” Of course. We know and believe the medieval church’s cry of “Christus Auctor” (Christ is the Author, or “assigner” of all things.) It is God’s world, not man’s. We know this.
Let me summarize reality in Christian love: Defying all odds, all “experts,” and all conventional wisdom, a pro-Christian, pro-religious liberty, pro-life, pro-America candidate surrounded himself with some plain-spoken American Constitutionalists, some Christians, and the few conservatives in Washington courageous enough to act on their convictions. And he has won.
Many months ago, Donald Trump met with and sought both input and support from a roomful of preachers, pastors of flocks that Hillary Clinton would later dismiss as “… the basket of deplorables … racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it.”
Well, we deplorables have spoken. The votes are in. And the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in U.S. history has been defeated. How can evangelicals not celebrate?
There is a God in heaven Who answers prayers. Moving forward, may our lives reflect gratitude, obedience, and Christian zeal. And may God continue to bless America.
