It’s Election Day. Normally, this day would promote mainly thoughts of patriotic duty and pride for our parents and grandparents. And I have fond memories of being exposed to the voting process as a child when my elementary school served as a voting site. I also remember a junior high project in 1968 where we had to choose a presidential candidate and explain reasons why we would vote for him. (I chose Richard Nixon.) I have never missed voting in a presential election and only occasionally a mid-term election. I vote out of patriotic duty and with gratitude that I live in a country where I have that privilege. And I have always voted with confidence that my vote is counted correctly along with the millions of my fellow citizens. I will again today.

However, Election Day has changed dramatically in the past six years. There is a palpable fear among the electorate. Will the vote be free and fair? Will the county, state, and nation be in the hands of the right people or the wrong ones? Will our country creep closer (go over) the abyss or retreat from it? Both political factions paint the other as a threat to American Democracy and themselves as the saviors. And social media has been aflame with vitriol that paints the opposing side as enemies and traitors. There is even increasing talk of the need for a second Civil War.

In reflection, I think what is driving this is fear—fear that our country is going to implode on its current trajectory. A fear that elites really do control everything and the average citizen can do nothing about it. And the fear for the believers is that where once Christians were looked upon with favor and enjoyed the accompanying benefits, that now the culture is turning anti-Christian. There is a fear that we are losing what we have had or what we imagine our parents and grandparents had. And that fear, I believe, has contributed to our anger. Often, fear is expressed in anger.

I was just reading an article this morning describing the dynamics of a Ukrainian village which was for a time occupied by the Russians and then returned to Ukrainian control. In the aftermath, villagers are accusing some of complicity with the Russian occupiers. They had been friends before, but now there is fear of betrayal. It is exactly the dynamic through which totalitarian regimes seek to control their citizens. They intentionally create suspicion and distrust. It feels similar to what we are experiencing in our nation. We are suspicious of those who hold to different political views. We think they don’t have the country’s best interests in mind or are so ignorant of reality that they are being manipulated. We get so vexed that we can lash out in anger through social media or in personal conversations. Why? Could it be that we are afraid the country is so under threat that we must do something?

I am all for activism in the political arena. That is our right as Americans. Yet, for the believer, my concern is motive. Is it truly for righteousness and justice, or is it fear?

Recently, I read Esther, the only book in the Scriptures that doesn’t mention God. Yet, the lesson of the book is that the Lord is in complete control, although in the immediate crisis, that doesn’t appear to be the case. A diabolical plot to exterminate the Jewish race is secretly hatched and has the king’s approval. An official discovers the plan and appeals to his niece, who has recently been appointed Queen, to intercede on behalf of her race. The Jews are panicked and much prayer and fasting takes place, but in the end, the evil man who hatched the plot is destroyed and everything comes right. What is striking about the story is that once you know the ending, you can go back and see God’s fingerprints all over the narrative from the beginning. He was there and in control the entire time!

The lesson I take from Esther is never to fear that somehow God has lost control of a situation and that we need to panic and to take it upon ourselves to ensure the right outcome. Esther didn’t just stand by and do nothing, but neither was she certain her actions would save the Jews. She did what she could do and then left the result to God.

I think this lesson is appropriate for us on Election Day. We can vote for the candidates we think are the best, but then we can leave it to the Lord to work with the results. If they are disappointing to us, still we need not fear or panic. We can be at peace. The Lord is still in control. He always is, as the Scriptures continually assure us.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.