November 6

A Steady Heart During Elections

“For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.” (Psalms 112:6-8)

This morning I reached over for my 20-ounce mug of coffee and knocked it over, spilling most of it .I was annoyed at my carelessness in reaching for my mug without looking. I was impatient and unsteady—unwilling to take one extra minute to do something carefully. Today I am somewhat preoccupied with a young relative of mine who may or may not have a seat in Congress tomorrow. Some of us are in the habit of rushing to the next thing. And some of us are habitually afraid—worried about someone, a work deadline, an undiagnosed illness, or the expectations of others and failing to live up to them. Psalm 112 speaks to our fears, reminding us that those who belong to God need not be afraid of bad news. I know that God has a plan for my relative, so I need not fear that things will work out, win or lose. But this is easy to say and much harder to do when it comes to the important people and work in our lives. Sometimes I wonder if we who are Christians worry more about our unbelieving family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors as if our worrying about them will somehow bring them closer to Jesus Christ. We fear that they will not come to faith, that they will be lost forever. Praying for them and talking about God’s truth is our effective means of outreach, but our anxiety opposes God’s wisdom. “Whoever listens to me [Wisdom] will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” (Proverbs 1:33)

There is no reason for any Christian to remain fearful of anything of this world; Christ’s perfect love casts out fear (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18). John Gill writes, “His heart is fixed; on the love of God, and is rooted and grounded in it; and is firmly persuaded of his interest in it, and that nothing can separate him from it: it is fixed on Christ the foundation; his faith is fixed and settled in him, and so are his affections; and nothing can separate from his love to him, Romans 8:35; or his heart is prepared; to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments: he expects tidings of evil things, and that he shall receive evil things, as well as good, at the hands of the Lord; and therefore is not afraid of them, or surprised at them when they come; as well as his heart is prepared by the Lord to serve him, and is ready to every good work.” *

Steadfastness in Christ is the antidote of anxiety about life and whatever is coming next. As we vote and wait for our election results today, let’s remember and pray for God’s will and his spiritual, redeeming election for our candidates. Let’s ask the Lord to humble the winners and lift up the losers, refreshing all of them for whatever is next in their lives. I pray that we’ll hear testimonies of faith in Christ during speeches of victory and defeat because God wins, every time.

* John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Psalm 112:7https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/psalms-112.html