God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” C.S. Lewis

Yesterday I had a very interesting conversation with someone. They were absolutely worried about the presidential election that is going on here in the US. To be honest, I was as well. Almost to the point that I was losing sleep over it. My worry is mainly for the myriad of soldiers in my family. This week, I will have 2 sons deployed in service to this country and let’s face it. There are times when it just feels like the world is on fire. To add more to that worry, very soon our twin boys will be graduating college and commissioning as officers in the military. That will be 2 more deployable sons to add to the mix. Now, I know they signed up for it, but it does give cause for more than a little worry. 

I was letting my mind dwell in a bad place

I was daily consuming political podcasts and wondering if indeed they were telling us the truth about the world. I’ve always been a little skeptical about news, social media and all of its trappings. Where is a Walter Cronkite when you need him, right? A lot of people may have never heard of him. He was a newsman for about 20 years, from about 1962 to 1981. He was often referred to as “The most trusted man in America.” I don’t really have any memory of him, I was a baby when he left his job but my parents always talked about him. I work with seniors at a senior center, and they often bring him up as well. They lament that they knew he was just reporting the news to them. I think I’d like that too, or in the words of Jack Friday of Dragnet fame, “Just the facts, ma’am.” 

The bad dwelling place made things worse

All that consummation of podcasts, news and social media really worked me up into a tailspin. I must interate, I am not saying you shouldn’t worry, but rather we should do what someone told me last week in my worry. “No matter who the next president is, Jesus is still the King.” When she first told me that I was completely silent. I realized I had lost my way in all of this mucky mess of politics rather than taking the first step of someone who says that they are a follower of God. I should pray, not just here and there but every single day. Jesus said that He left us His peace, did he not? Not as the world gives but His peace. He also added that we should not let our hearts be troubled and not be afraid. 

That small phrase gave me an awakening

Last week I wrote about the possibility of a Great Awakening. That was an awakening moment for me. The most common phrase in the Bible is various forms of the words, “Do not be afraid.” For a while there was a little rumor that it was in the Bible 365 times. It’s not, I’ve read numbers between 70-117 times. That is not 365 times, but isn’t it reassuring that it is a common and repeated phrase? I was letting fear take over my faith. I had cast my eyes in the direction of the world rather than cast my eyes to prayer and meditation of scripture. 

Immerse yourself in Prayer for the country and the world

Should we vote? Yes, absolutely. Should we immerse ourselves in the slime and ooze that comes with politics? No. In my conversation with my fearful friend she reminded me that Jesus was a revolutionary, He came to buck the system. She is absolutely right. Every time Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees, broke the law, or questioned Jewish traditions it was simply because they had become quite corrupt. He wanted to bring people’s focus back on to God and not the corruption that had seeped in. Last week I wrote an article about all the names of God. In those names you see His character is laid out, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our Peace. Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals. Yahweh M’Kaddesh, the Lord that makes holy, to name a few. 

Dwelling on God’s character can help bring us inner peace

Those names are really a place to bring our focus when we are fearful. In Revelation Jesus is described as wearing a robe dipped in blood. On that robe His name is written, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” He is the King. Absolutely. When I find myself crawling back into the slime of politics, I am going to remind myself over and over that He is the King. No matter who wins and He knows the future. In my awakening article I talked about the song, “Because He Lives” being sung at revivals around the world. What are some of those words? “Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He Lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.” 

I leave you all with this quote: “If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations. When there is order in the nations, there will be peace in the world.” ― Confucius