“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”
Social media has imploded since Donald Trump was unexpectedly named the victor of the 2016 presidential election. There are so many voices and opinion-pieces speaking on what a Trump presidency means, but I am concerned that many are too married to party politics to see things objectively or spiritually. We have the Liberal Left lamenting and losing it and the Religious Right reckon Trump's a righteous choice. Blah! It’s all been a lot to take in.
Yet, I’ve spent the past few days trying to sift through it all. My immediate priority has been to console and encourage the Left, as most of my friends and family members are Liberals/ Democrats. I, too, am a registered Democrat.
BUT, I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. I never was.
I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, either. I never was.
Throughout the election I've tried to see things from a spiritual perspective. I held, and still hold, the view that both candidates were (are) "evil" and this entire campaign season was about electing the "lesser" of the two. Nonetheless, supporters from both sides saw fit to utterly ignore some MAJOR character and leadership flaws in both candidates. We’re not talking about one who once smoked weed in college – and didn’t inhale. We’re not talking some youthful indiscretion that served to change them for the better. We’re talking about CORE issues with each candidate’s integrity TODAY... RIGHT NOW... in their adult lives...as business and/or political leaders - and their supporters don’t seem to care.
Each side only sees the “good” in their candidate or, at least, the good that they believe their candidate could do for them as individuals and for this country. I won’t compare a Hillary Clinton presidency to a Donald Trump presidency because it’s nil at this point. We now have a president-elect in Trump, so only his potential is worthy of further scrutiny.
I’ve seen many Trump supporters express their delight with his win. Many have even called Trump “God’s choice.” I actually totally agree with them in this regard, but not for the reasons one might think.
The way I see it, Trump didn't win the presidential election because he's holier or more qualified than Clinton to run this country. (So, let’s just get that out of the way.) While I fully accept the election results, I'm not delusional. But the reason I can confidently accept the outcome is not because I trust Trump, but because I trust God. As cocky as Trump’s supporters may be right now, they may want to pump the brakes with their celebrations because even if Trump is the "lesser of two evils" we're still left with "evil".
In the midst of what everyone is saying and what I have heard about president-elect Trump, I've sought the Lord and He's guided me through my own analysis. Practicality be still. I'm speaking all things spiritual from this point on.
Here is what I see
I whole heartedly believe that Trump is a judgment on America. (Wait! Don’t leave…stay with me for a moment.) I do believe his election is in God’s will and that God chose him, but not because he's pure at heart. No one “pure” and “holy” CONSISTENTLY speaks the way that man speaks or behaves the way he behaves. BUT, because the unthinkable has occurred (despite the popular vote and all other odds against him), I am of the opinion – nay, a STRONG CONVICTION - that God stepped in to show EVERYONE who is still in charge. While many are tempted to analyze and build theories around what went wrong, I think it’s all very simple. Our projections and stats and facts are what got us into this mess...trusting in our own wisdom is what set us up to count our chickens before they hatched. Though I didn’t foresee a landslide victory for Clinton - as the pundits projected, I did assume she would be the likely victor.
But God's wisdom TRUMPS man's conventional wisdom and even our choices, if necessary. “There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel - that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21; S/N: Anyone seeking to overturn the election results, please take note of the phrase in bold print).
I believe God has desired to get America's attention for some time and this surprise win for Trump was a way to do it - even Trump didn’t expect this outcome! Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he’s secretly scared out of his mind. The man's already requested prayer and help from existing leaders. He may be a bit more humble than he let on.
Here is God's wisdom in all of this
Despite what many wish to argue, America was indeed founded on Biblical principles. Whether we’ve always acted on them is a different post, but our Founding Fathers were of the mind that assumed the masses believed in the Judeo-Christian God, and that many worshipped God through Jesus Christ (see Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Paris Peace Treaty). As such, we were blessed and became a nation of His splendor; a way to witness to the world. He gave us riches. He made us beautiful. He gave us fame. He made us the MOST powerful nation in the world. We remain a relatively young nation, but we’ve outgrown and out-prospered many nations that might have initially counted us out. Yet, along the way we’ve behaved with arrogance. We trust in ourselves, our riches and in our systems. We, as individual citizens, have increasingly turned away from God.
America the Beautiful is sexually perverse and a bully to other nations and to her own citizenry. She has allowed racism and racist biases to endure – often pretending that they don’t exist at all. Through her laws she speaks blasphemies and offenses that have gone up to the Lord and made Him utterly sick. America IS Donald Trump. Donald Trump IS America. He is uniquely qualified to represent us at such a time as this. The way he conducted himself on the campaign trail was merely a personification of what we look like to God. If you were at all disgusted by Trump during this campaign season, you have a better idea of what God has been enduring with us. There are many who still support America, but they’re only on our team or tolerate us because of our wealth and power. They believe we can help them, too, obtain security and wealth. I can see a natural correlation to president-elect Trump here – it doesn’t require a stretch of the imagination or much creativity at all.
Here is God’s mercy in all of this
Instead of fully giving us over to our increasing offenses before Him, God can use Trump to truly “make America great again” in His eyes. Yet, not by his own merit, but because God is gracious and He heard the prayers of MILLIONS across the nation. I believe that a Trump presidency will prompt many to turn, or return, to God. I believe more of us, including our law makers, will truly seek Him because they realize ONLY God will be able to make this country great over the next four years under “the Donald”. Even Trump may find himself praying and learning a scripture or two to get himself through each day (and hopefully realize that there’s no such book as “TWO CORINTHIANS!”). Any successes Trump achieves is because of God's mercy on us, and I believe said mercy will be made available if we are repentant and are truly seeking Him. I believe that we are at a crossroads...if we humble ourselves and lean on God, this judgment will turn into beauty from ashes. But if we keep pushing forward in our pride and never seeking the Lord in the midst of our trouble, we'll wallow in it.
Trump may have won the election, but he’s in one of the most vulnerable positions he could have ever pursued. If he trusts in his own might and riches as he leads the free world, he will be sorely humbled. Likewise, if America learns absolutely nothing from this experience she, too, will be brought low. (Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But I’m just trying to keep it real.)
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,”
I said all of this to say…
I’m sure many reading this may disagree with my spiritual analysis. Others may think I'm out of my mind, and I’m honestly fine with that. (Because I have the mind of Christ. BOOM!) But I would strongly encourage everyone to seek God and begin to pray for our president-elect, this country and themselves to ensure we as a nation endure through this presidency.
Throughout scripture the Lord makes it clear that He can raise up leaders to bless or judge a nation, and that He can change the trajectory of His intended plan depending on whether we repent and turn to Him (Jeremiah 18:8-10, 26:10; 32:28; 2 Chronicles 7:14). If we “cry out” to God, He can deliver us from the grip of an oppressive ruler (Judges 3:9, 10:10-11; Exodus 3:9-10; Jeremiah 42:11). It is God who ultimately selects our presidents, kings and all other rulers in the earth, and He can change the heart of the king at will (Exodus 4:14; Proverbs 21:1; Psalm 75:7; Daniel 2:21). This is all for God’s glory because we were created specifically for that purpose. He, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth, can do as He pleases with His creation. But I rest in knowing that God is Love, God is Good, and God is Just. I can confidently trust Him to do what is right.
In the meantime, humility, repentance and prayer are our keys to right our standing with Him – individually and as a nation. To rebel against what God has set up is to rebel against the will of God. I believe God has set up Trump to test the hearts of the people who profess to be His and to turn more to Him. Will we trust God through this presidency and beyond, or will we continue in our own pride and protest it? Will we place our confidence in God or will we continue to place our confidence in man (and mock those who didn’t vote for our candidate)? I believe God is prepared to do great and mighty things in America, but we need to place our faith in Him as the ONLY ONE who is able to truly make us great again.