What do we do?
(2 minute reading time)
This week’s devotional will look a little different.
I’m going to share a few thoughts and some applicable scripture, and then I will lead to a post by Jim Dennison I’ve found especially helpful this week!
First, I want to share something out of my prayer journal from the morning of January 6th:
“Abba I need you. I feel scared about our country. I am putting too much hope in this election, and I have been for too long! You are sovereign over our country - you alone. Not Trump. Not Biden. You. Abba please help me refocus - also help me give grace to others and to myself for being concerned. Just don’t let it consume me please.”
Prior to praying this prayer, I read Proverbs 1, and I felt especially drawn to verses 10-16:
“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse’ -- my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.”
Second only to “unprecedented”, I’m beyond sick of the phrase, “whatever side you’re on” but alas, it applies here. Whether on the left or the right, BOTH sides are being enticed by sinners. And while their cause is different, the same Enemy needles, connives, and distorts Truth.
So while we might be as divided as ever politically, both sides have commonality in our Enemy, and both sides have commonality in our Savior.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
There is but ONE who can drive out the darkness, and His name is Jesus.
What do we do though?
We need to repent. I need to repent. You need to repent. Are you excusing what happened on January 6th? Repent. Are you pointing fingers at what happened at the Capitol and acting holier-than-thou? Repent. Are you checking the news throughout the day more than you’re checking in with God? Repent!!
God Almighty is still on the throne. This is not said as Spiritual Bypassing, it is stated out of a need for me personally to stand my feet back on the only solid ground. I bawled crying to Crawford on the evening of January 6th, “I don’t know who to trust! I don’t trust anyone! I’m so scared.” And as these words came out of my mouth, I remembered my prayer that morning. I asked God to help me refocus, and boy did He. HE ALONE is worthy of my trust. ONLY HIM. If I start there, I can be in the world, not of it the way He wants me to be.
We need to pray for our leaders and we need to pray for each other. This means praying for your enemies. Think of a leader you despise. Pray for them. Think of a friend whose political views differ from yours. Pray for them. Pray!
Read the Bible! Start with the daily suggestions below, &/or read a Proverb a Day. Just start somewhere and commit.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil and he will FLEE from you.” James 4:7
Leaving you with this article by Jim Dennison I found incredibly helpful for how to navigate these uncharted (unprecedented ;) waters.
Abba we need you. Help us. We beg you to mend our broken country. Call out leaders of Truth and cast out the Enemy! Stir our hearts for YOU. Let this be the biggest turning point back to Truth in the history of the world! You can do anything, God. We exist to build up YOUR Kingdom. You are on the throne, and we trust you -- thy will be done. In Jesus’ name we humbly pray, Amen.
This Week’s Scripture Suggestions:
Sunday/Monday: Proverbs 1:10-16
Tuesday: Matthew 5:43-48
Wednesday: Ephesians 6:12
Thursday: John 17:14-19
Friday: James 4:7