Parched

Rachel and I walked across the brown field at the campground.  The grass crunched beneath our feet and continued to shrink under the intense heat of the sun.

“We had a friend who used to say that the physical mirrors the spiritual,” I told her.  “Considering how things look, I’d say we’re having a spiritual drought.  The Holy Spirit is sometimes represented by water and rain.”

“Does that mean the Holy Spirit isn’t here anymore?” she asked, aghast.

“No, He’s still with God’s kids.  It just means God is staying His hand and giving people what they think they want.  Which seems to be a world devoid of Him.”

People, well meaning and some Christians, say God is in control.  If God is in control then why is our world in the mess that it’s in?  We are in control.  Contemplating that tends to make a lot of people angry.  I figure it’s because we don’t want to accept the responsibilities of our choices.  I mean, if God is in control then all of this chaos is His fault and we’re free from blame and can go on living as we see fit.  Only, it isn’t His fault.  It’s ours and we’re immature brats who won’t take responsibility for it.

Here’s why I think the way I do.  In a nutshell: God made Adam and Eve.  He gave them dominion over the earth.  He gave it to them to enjoy, love, and tend.  They sinned thereby negating their authority and basically handed the earth over to satan on a silver platter.  About 4,000 years later, Jesus came on the scene, kicked satan in the the head, and won back humanity’s authority.  Read the Book, you’ll see.

However, we have just as much free will (choice) as Adam and Eve did.  God is in control to the extent that I let Him be in control.  I must make the effort to fellowship with Him and hear His voice and obey it in order to reap peace and blessings thereby.  That seems crazy to some people, letting Him be in control.  Why?  No one loves us unconditionally like He does.  I think people are crazy for trying to run their own show.  I’ve seen it too many times and it’s often to their own demise.

God is sovereign.  He is supreme in authority, rule, and power.  I know that these things are hard to wrap our minds around, they seem contrary, but they aren’t.  Although God wants to be involved in the affairs of men, He won’t impose Himself.  He is like any parent — He wants to be chosen.  When we choose Him we loose Him.  We get rain, not drought.

I’m going to pause here and speak to my fellow Americans.  Over 4 years ago the primary election was loaded with wanna be candidates.  A young, first time voter asked me who I would vote for.  To be of a truth, at that time I had no intention of voting for Trump.  I told her I would pray about it and I meant it.

I vividly remember the day that I got my answer.  I was sitting on the porch steps, taking a break from chores and soaking in some sun, when a scripture suddenly came to me: I will use the simple to confound the wise.  On the heels of the scripture came an immediate thought: the media was slamming Trump for not having any experience being a politician.  In other words, simple.  The more I let the scripture and the thought marinate, the more open I became to hearing the heart of God. 

I sought out other media outlets.  The more I listened to what Trump said, unedited, the more I heard someone who loved the country I loved.  I heard someone who cares for U.S. citizens and the unborn.  I heard someone who could not be bought and would not yield to the elite whose concern is only for themselves and their selfish gains.  I heard someone with common sense, a rare commodity in the political field.  I heard someone who would die protecting my constitutional rights to freely worship and protect myself against intruders and a tyrannical government.  I heard someone say we should have the right to keep our hard earned money, plan our own future, and choose our own health care.  I heard someone who wants justice.  I heard someone who desperately wanted to protect our nation from unwanted invaders such as criminals, drug runners, and sex traffickers.  I pushed past the sometimes crude speech and listened to his heart.  Trump sounded like someone seeking after the heart of God for him and his fellow countrymen; he sounded a lot like me.

Bob came home from work one day this week and told me a little of his conversation  with someone who won’t vote for Trump because he “doesn’t like him”.  I’ve heard of that happening a lot.  I’m not even going to sugarcoat this one: That’s a stupid reason not to vote for someone.  We must put aside personality preferences for platforms.  What candidates most closely reflect your values?  That’s who you vote for.  After all, I don’t know of anyone who would turn down a gift of a million dollars from someone simply because they “didn’t like them”.  Again, that’s stupid. 

In Trump we have a President who’s been gnawed at by leftists and their puppet media since he arrived on the scene.  He’s still getting the job done despite them.  Taxes are lowered and businesses are returning; a wall is being built and sex traffickers have been caught; he respects Israel and our other allies; he believes that we shouldn’t be the world’s police and nations indebted to us need to pay us back; he respects the lives of the unborn and their right to live.  I tell you that someone who does not respect the unborn will not respect you.  Again, I’m not going to sugarcoat this: if that doesn’t entice you to vote for Trump then you do not hold dear the values of God. 

I don’t usually write so forcefully but the soul of the United States of America is at stake.  No, I’m not exaggerating. Nor do I want to stand before God and say I squandered my vote, which is my voice, on the premise of clashing personalities.  That’s not a viable excuse.  God has thrown us a lifeline in Donald J. Trump.  We haven’t experienced the kind of evil that will be unleashed on our land if we refuse. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t address those of you professing Christ.  This election is different from any election I have known in my lifetime.  Our choices are literally divided by righteousness and evil.  If you vote on the side of today’s democratic platform, you are siding with evil and are thereby inviting a curse to come upon you, your family, and your descendants.  Like I said, I do not usually write so forcefully.  I would much rather encourage you and love on you because life is hard and people are broken.  It is not my intent to cause harm.  But, it is because I do not want to cause harm that I am telling you the truth.  I also do not want to be held accountable for withholding the truth.  The outcome of this election can not be overstated.  You are free to choose who you want, but be advised that choices come with consequences.  Choose evil, you’ll reap cursing.  Choose righteousness, you’ll reap blessing.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

I want to thank all of you who have been praying for America, whether you live here or abroad.  I ask that you continue to do so beyond our election.  There is much demolition and rebuilding, in the form of repentance and revival, that needs to take place.  Maybe I’ll lose some followers over this post but at least I won’t lose my soul.  I wish to God more people were concerned about that. 

I don’t know about you, but we need rain both physically and spiritually.  Join me in voting and praying for righteousness so that it may rain.

p.s.

It is currently raining here. I will take that as God’s smile upon the work of my hands. My family and I, we will have rain. Will you?