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, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land- 2nd Chronicles 7:14 NASB

I have a hunch many regular readers of this blog did a literal happy dance when they learned the outcome of the 2024 election. 

You know who you are. 🙂

The results were what most (not all) American Christians were hoping for. There are many Christians (like myself) who have some reservations concerning Trump as a person. However, it’s simply a fact that there has been more poverty, more abortion, more crime, more war, more violence and less overall goodness in the past four years compared to the previous four years (Proverbs 29:2).  Past results are generally the best predictor of future results.  Therefore, it is not difficult to conclude that Trump (in spite of his shortcomings) is the leader who will do the most good and the least harm for the greatest number of people in the coming years (Jeremiah 29:7). And that is all we can really dare to hope for in these crazy-town times. 

I also suspect more than a few Christians reading this post also think (at least subconsciously) that this election outcome means God is happy with how everything is going in America and He’s just looking for an opportunity to bless our socks off.  

I don’t think this means that. 

Seriously. I don’t. 

Rather, I believe the God of the universe is giving us a reprieve, a break in the madness. He’s not giving us a break so we can rest on our laurels and reacquaint ourselves the delights of lower interest rates, cheap eggs and overall better economic conditions. God is giving us a loll in the craziness for one reason and one reason only: God loves people and wants them come to know Him as their Lord and Savior because revival is the ONLY route to a more moral, healthy and life-giving culture (John 3:16, 2nd Peter 3:9). 

It just is. This win is not about blessing. It’s about God giving the church a clear opening to be the church. Therefore, I want to encourage everyone reading this to take a deep breath, celebrate the win for just a little longer and then do the following:

Pray twice as hard over the course of the next four years as you did over the course of the past four-

I suspect that most Christians have prayed more in the last four years than they have in the previous twelve. Prayer is always a good thing. I would never argue against prayer. However, the motive for our prayers has been less than noble. Most of us have prayed out of fear. We were scared senseless over what we were seeing in the culture. The crime, the crushing of dissident voices, the economic chaos and the spiritual state of the younger generation left Christians in shock. It was scary as hell. Literally. Smart people became fearful and did what smart people do when they become fearful: they prayed their faces off. Churches that have never once hosted a prayer meeting were hosting regular prayer meetings. People who have never attended a prayer meeting attended numerous prayer meetings. It was a beautiful thing. More people have gotten saved in the last four years than I have seen in my lifetime. This happened because people prayed. The spiritual war is far from over, it’s probably just heating up (Romans 6:12-13). Many of us started praying in fear now God is calling us to pray in faith and see what He does (1st Thessalonians 5:17, Mark 14:38, Ephesians 6:19). 

Tell your friends and neighbors about Jesus- 

Truth-be-told, most people who voted red this time around did not do so because they care about freedom of religion or the unborn or the supreme court or the spiritual condition of the next generation. Most who voted red this time around did so because they were thinking about their own financial situation. Period. It is not immoral or wrong to think about one’s own financial situation. We live in a world where finances are a reality and its perfectly okay to care about them. However, why we choose something or someone says a lot about where our hearts are at and most of our friends and neighbors have hearts that are far from God. They need us to use this opportunity we have been given to tell them about Jesus. He is the only one who can bring real security and authentic peace in even the toughest of times (Romans 5:1, 2nd Thessalonians 3:1, John 16:33). 

And finally:

Work for the good of all people –

In Jeremiah 29:4-7 the prophet gives the Jewish people (who had been captured by the Babylonians) some advice that applies any Christians living in a culture hostile to their faith. Jeremiah commanded the captives to be good people, raise good families, to be kind and honest and to work for the good of everyone, even the Babylonians. It was solid advice we can easily apply to our current situation.  This is the time to double-down our efforts to get to know our neighbors and love them well. It’s the time to work our tails off to be a God-fearing, wise and helpful presence in our communities. In doing we will be the salt and the light our world so desperately needs (Matthew 5:12-13) and position ourselves and our world for spiritual revival that will bring future blessing.