By Rev. Bob Gilberg, The Olive Branch Community Church of Firebaugh
Contributing Writer
Trust is elusive. It takes a lifetime to earn and it can be destroyed in a moment. It seems to be that we have trust issues in the nation we live in, trust issues that become amplified when we enter election season.
The opportunity to vote is much more than a right, it’s a privilege. It should be something we embrace, treasure and uphold with great honor and respect. It is a responsibility that as Christians, we should accept with utmost seriousness.
To participate in the election process as a Christian, it’s an opportunity to grow more deeply in your faith. Often we allow ourselves to be captivated by personalities, for better or worse and allow our emotions to dictate our decisions.
In the heat of an election cycle, we will be subjected to every influence. Ways and means will be taken to sway our opinion and earn our vote. So, we’re left to ask ‘In whom I will trust?’
Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5.
Boldly and confidently trust in the Lord, in His word, and in His ways. How quick we are to rely on our own merits and wisdom, trusting more in human wisdom than the wisdom of God.
Solomon instructs us not to rely upon our own knowledge and understanding, but “In all thy ways,” he writes, “acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths,” Proverbs 3:5-6. The Hebrew word for ‘acknowledge’ is ‘yada,’ which is more accurately translated as ‘to know or recognize.’
To know God experientially is to spend time with God daily. It means to pursue Him earnestly with a desire that is beyond your own, and intentionally set aside time for Him each and every day. One must do so with great expectation and anticipation, in word, prayer, worship and fellowship.
Faith is more than belief and hope. It’s a living relationship in which we know God as we are known by God. And in knowing God, we come to know His character and His attributes. We come to know what He desires and requires from our lives.
As Christians, it is our responsibility to participate in the election cycle. We must faithfully witness God by voting, not according to human wisdom, but by His wisdom. Every vote we cast is to be weighed according to the Word of God, according to His system of weights and measures.
Our responsibility is to vote, each according to his or her conscience and as Christians, to vote according to the Word and will of God. James writes, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you,” James 1:5. For our God is faithful in all of His ways.
Our responsibility is to vote according to the will of God, and then, to trust God with the rest, for God remains sovereign over all things. The Prophet Daniel tells us that it is God who changes the times and the seasons; Daniel writes, “He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning,” Daniel 2:21.
The Apostle Paul writes, “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God,” Romans 13:1. Our part is to be faithful to vote in a way that brings glory to God and to trust His wisdom. Our part is to submit to the authority, the dominion and the sovereignty of God, for He is the one who ‘removes kings and establishes them.’
“For a hope that is seen is not hope; however, if we hope for what we do not see, then we wait for it with great expectation, with great eagerness,” Romans 8:24. “And we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” Romans 8:28.
In this, we have no reason to fear. For our God is steadfast and faithful in all His ways. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is in Him alone that we trust and find our hope and peace, the assurance of salvation. Praise be to God!
