If God Is Sovereign, Why Bother Voting?
I get it. You are sick of hearing about the scandals and the lies and immorality. The accusations and name-calling are driving you crazy. You’ve lost friends and alienated family members just by expressing your opinion or asking questions. You’ve had it with the whole political process. Neither presidential candidate is worthy of your support so you are just going to stay at home and not vote this year.
I understand the temptation. I’m not a fan of either candidate either. I wish the American people had made better choices. But we didn’t. So here we are less than a week before the election and way too many people I talk with say they are just going to sit this one out. After all, “God is sovereign so whatever He wants will happen anyway.”
I totally believe in the sovereignty of God. If I did not cling to the promise that “the Most High is Ruler over the realm of mankind,” I would have no hope. But I also know that His sovereignty does not deliver us from the consequences of our own actions. It was not God’s will to send Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, but their own choices brought consequences upon them and their children. In Ezekiel 22, the Lord describes a land full of sin that sounds very much like America today. The consequence of their sin was God’s punishment, though He did not want to destroy them (Ezek. 22:30).
On the other hand, the Lord has generally chosen to bring about His will through the hands of people. (Did God really need Moses to deliver His people from Egypt? Did He really need Joseph to provide for his family and all of Egypt in the famine?) Are you absolutely certain that the Lord does not want you to participate in bringing His will for our nation by casting your vote the way He tells you to? Have you prayed about what your response in this election should be, or are you simply making your decisions out of your own thoughts and emotions?
I have already voted, so obviously I have made a choice, I believe under the leading of the Lord.
Action Steps
- I am calling on every one of you to spend time seeking the Lord for how He wants you to vote, then going out and voting. Before you make your decision, I want to encourage you to take just 30 minutes to listen to two men of God who have examined the issues and offered their spiritual perspective. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Just 30 minutes of listening to men and at least 30 more minutes listening to the Lord before you contribute to a decision that will have consequences for you and your children and your children’s children for years to come.
- Read this letter from Dutch Sheets to his fellow believers: “Election 2016: The Christian’s Dilemma”
- Then I ask that you listen to this sermon by Rev. John Lankeit. If it is an issue for you, try to forget for a few minutes that he is a Catholic priest. His words are for every born-again, Bible-believing Christian. It is just 20 minutes. It is worth hearing. Over 600,000 have already forwarded it to their friends! (How many sermons get that kind of attention?) He makes the point that one party and one candidate promotes abortion. This is not an issue we can disagree agreeably on. This is murder of innocent lives which breaks one of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13).
Don’t believe that if you don’t vote, you are not responsible for the consequences. Your lack of a vote for the one the Lord tells you to vote for is a vote for the other person. In our nation, we select our leader so we are accountable for who that leader is and what he or she does. This is a spiritual war and just sitting it out is not an option.
