The Test

Yesterday our school participated in an election for the presidential candidates. (I believe they will find out the results of that election tomorrow!) At the end of the school day I was in a second grade classroom where the students were reading a Weekly Reader about the election process. The kids were all buzzing around with chatter, when I heard a small voice from the back of the room say, "I hope Biden wins." 

I turned with a smile to see a small boy sitting quietly at his desk. 

"You hope Biden wins?" I asked him.

"Yes, but I know he's not going to. Everyone else in the whole class voted for Trump." The boy looked down in defeat.

Maybe it's because I'm a mom, or maybe I just genuinely love all of the kiddos that I get to work with every day, but I really wanted to scoop him up like one of my own kids and give him a big hug. Obviously that's not something I can do in our Covid-conscious existence, so I settled for my hand on his shoulder. 

"It was very brave of you to vote for someone different than the rest of your friends," I assured him. "I'm proud of you."

I couldn't have cared less in that moment who the boy voted for, but I cared very much for the way he was feeling. Does a little elementary school election have any consequence in our world? No. But what it teaches could definitely have an impact on small lives as they grow and learn about how our country works. How we teach and model love and compassion during victory and defeat will certainly have an impact on them. 

We are tested the most when someone different than us needs our help. 

We are tested the most when someone with opposing views needs our compassion. 

We are tested the most when we are called to "love our enemies." 

We will never be perfect at this. But that's why we are tested: To stretch, to grow, and to have it revealed to us when and where we could use a little more help in a certain area. The God who created you did not make you to stay the same your entire life. You are meant to continually learn and to grow even closer to him as a result as you do. Learning to love "the enemy" will certainly grow you closer to Jesus. No one loved his enemies better than he did. 

Elections always seem to bring out the worst in people don't they? I have literally seen people that I know called racists just for voting for a specific candidate. Sadly, treating people badly has become the cliche of an election year. "Here we go again!" More hateful political ads. More neighbors yelling at each other. People stealing signs and vandalizing. We seem to have reached an all-time high this year as businesses begin to board their windows in anticipation of riots. We have simply come to expect bad behavior. Is it even possible to change at this point? To stop this giant train barreling towards complete chaos?

    "If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Ahem, that "plague" one is seeming awfully familiar this year....

But who is God calling upon here? It's certainly not the world at large, he's talking to His people. Christians, you're up! This is all you. The change will start with you and only with you. God said so Himself.

We are not physically capable of changing the hearts and minds of people to be good and moral. That is simply not part of our job description - way above our pay grade. Our job is to appeal to the One who CAN change the hearts and minds of people, who is in the heart changing business, who can open someone's eyes from darkness to light and cause them to see truth. How do we get in touch with this One?

Step One: Humble ourselves 

Whew! Okay. 

This is a tough first step, because typically we don't see ourselves as the ones with a problem, haha. We want to change the other people, right? They have the problem we are trying to fix! And God is on our side - right??!

Well. Let's just see about that.

Joshua, the leader of God's people, is just about to get his instructions for how to defeat Jericho...you know, that place with the big wall around it.

"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Joshua 5:13-14

Say what? We know in this passage that this was likely Jesus himself who appeared to Joshua, as he will soon tell Josh to take off his shoes because he's on holy ground in His presence. That's not something a typical angel would say, and it mentions here that we are talking to the commander-in-chief of God's army: Jesus.  

But if this was God's people, why wouldn't God say he is for them?

Because Joshua asked the wrong question. 

Christians: God is not on your side. Let me say this again. God is not on your side.

Christians, your question on issues should NEVER be, "Is God on my side on this one?" Rather, your question should ALWAYS be, "Am I on God's side on this one?"

Humbling ourselves means putting aside all of our preconceived notions, all of our opinions, all of our ideas of how WE think things should be, and seeking out what God has already said should be. We do this by reading his Word and finding out what He has already told us. If we ignore the Word of God, if we cherry-pick the "nice" things we want to believe and ignore the hard things because they don't line up with what society tells us should be "right," we are not humbling ourselves before God.

That means some of us are going to have a hard time getting past step one. But we must! Our world depends on it. Remember, it is you and only you that God has called to start the cogs of change. Are you up for this challenge? Even if that means changing what you think is right?

Step Two: Pray

Praying in itself is a humbling act, because it is proving to God that we know He is in control and we need His help. We wouldn't pray to Him if we didn't think it was actually going to do something. We need to capture the attention and the ear of God. How do we do this?

First of all, God is NOT going to take our prayers seriously if we are treating our neighbors like dirt. We are like a two-faced friend of God's when we do this, acting one way when we are in the world and another when we are speaking to Him. We need to humble ourselves first of all and admit to him our mistakes and that we need his forgiveness. He already knows. But He wants to hear it from us...just like any friend or parent would.

Then we lay it all out for him, there is nothing too big or too small to ask. We need to pray, pray some more, and keep praying until something happens. Our prayers are powerful motivators, just like I talked about in this post.  Please check that out if you want more information on how to pray! (And believe me, God hears your heart even when you don't know what to say.)

Step Three: Seek God's face, Turn from your wicked ways

This is about our motivation and our future action. What is really in our heart? Not just what we are saying with our mouths, what is our real motive? Is it selfish gain, or is it the will of God?

Our ways are naturally wicked. No one has to teach a child how to lie, or to steal, or to throw a fit when they don't get their way. It comes naturally. Instead, they have to be taught how to be honest and how to share and be patient. So God telling us to turn from our wicked ways means we have to start living our lives in HIS will. Turn away from what is natural and turn towards the supernatural power of God. It is the only way to defeat our powerful enemy...the one who is really behind all of the violence and hate we see today. It is the kind of power that allows us to love our enemies. We can only do this if we have first experienced the love of God ourselves, which is likely why God has called His chosen people to be the ones to cause change. It takes a special kind of love to show kindness to someone who is hurling hate towards you. I'll be honest, it's nearly impossible without the supernatural power of God on your side. 

God equips the called. If you are a genuine believer, if you humble yourself, pray, seek God's face and turn from your wicked ways, you will have everything you need in your arsenal to stand firm in a world that feels like it's spinning into anarchy. Then you leave the rest up to God, because guess what? He's got this. 

Now how do we apply this to the days ahead, in light of a very heated election?

We love our neighbors...no matter what...because God loves us.

We forgive our neighbors...no matter what...because God forgives us.

We show grace to our neighbors...no matter what...because God shows grace to us.

We have patience...no matter what...because God is patient with us.

When they yell...we remain calm. As Jesus did when they were killing him.

When they hurt us...we do not retaliate. As Jesus laid down his life.

We pray, we praise, we hope. We offer up this world to the One who made it. We trust that He is control. No matter who wins the election, we trust that God has a plan. And we do not spend our time fretting or worrying about it. We are the clay, He is the potter. He is in control. 

How do we know it wasn't God's plan all along for one of these men to be touched by God while he sits in the White House? What if God's plan for his life was leading him to the highest arguable power in the world to humble him and show him his need for a savior? You just never know. 

So as the name of this blog suggests...be still. Know that He is God. It's going to be okay. But if you are a Christian, do your part.  Be humble, pray, give your life to God. Voting is your civic duty...being salt and light is your eternal duty. They are both important. Which one do you think is more important? Which do you think has the longest lasting consequence? Will you pass this test?

Love!