Estimated reading time: 3 minutes:-)
Yesterday I went to church, where the congregation is almost 100% composed of Trump supporters, the day after Biden was declared as President of the United States.
I usually don’t post twice in a week, but I just couldn’t wait to share a message God has put on my heart and an observation I made yesterday until then, so here we are.
Before church on Sunday, I expected my friends that attended there would be discouraged and frustrated. I expected sadness and irritation. Ranting. I expected a message hindering on the verse, Romans 13:1 – “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God established.” I expected the worst.
But what I saw in church yesterday was entirely different.
The mood was obvious. I could tell on many faces the desperate hopefulness that still sat there, the irrational, stubborn wish for something better. But that faint hope was overpowered with a stronger discouragement and hopelessness that settled their eyes and slanted their eyebrows into expressions indicative of sadness and frustration. I could tell everyone there felt heavy.
But they didn’t vocalize that heaviness to the church. They didn’t whine about reality. These people truly believed they lost, and yet their response was entirely different than the looting, rioting, and violence the Democrats expected.
We worshiped God.
We praised our true king.
The worship band played “It Is Well,” too, and I’ve never heard so many voices raised in such passion and faithfulness. So many broken, disappointed voices assuring their hope in Christ alone. It was moving.
The message didn’t even surround the election. Sure, there was encouragement in it, as there always is. The gospel. But we didn’t dwell on the present. Instead, my church, who is attended by almost all Trump supporters, fixed its eyes on Jesus, our true king.
I only wanted to bring this up because this is our testimony.
The way we react to the results of the election demonstrates our faith in Christ and our character because of Him just as much as anything else. And when we aren’t looting and burning and destroying as the world expected, the world notices.
Remember your mission: to share Jesus and his love and good news to those around you. The way we respond to loss, utter defeat, is what the world looks at when weighing our testimony. And if we choose to worship Jesus in the face of defeat and hopelessness, the world notices even more.
And I think that opportunity was intentional.
I understand many people believe the election isn’t over yet. If that is true, and even if it isn’t, I believe this apparent defeat, these few days of mourning, were given to us as blessings. Because our reaction to loss is our strongest testimony to the world right now. The world that refuses to listen to a single word Jesus has to say.
So I urge you: this week, show those around you Christ’s love even in politics. Even in defeat. Even in frustration. Show how Jesus’s love was so radical, he loved even those that killed him. Even those that pinned him to the cross. Can’t we try to emulate a love such as this?
If you supported Trump, this week is hard. Saturday was hard. Each day that goes by without justice is hard. But remember: your reaction to this hardship is what everyone is watching. And since everyone is already paying attention, show them Jesus.
Thanks for reading my tiny PSA, it means a lot:-) Hopefully, it helps you set your eyes on Jesus this week.
Blessings!