Tuesday, November 8, 2016: The polls nearly all showed it to be all over but the celebrating—done, in the bag, a cinch. The pundits from nearly all the mainstream media were claiming, not only victory, but a grand slam victory. Trump would be buried, banished and forgotten. Hillary would be the next president.
But as election results streamed in, something began to emerge. State after state was going for Trump. But, not to fear, this can’t possibly be; the trend will turn as more states come in. But, it wasn’t to be. To nearly everyone’s total shock and surprise (including most Trumpers), Trump was declared the winner with a comfortable margin of electoral votes.
Pundits, preachers and peons tried to second guess what happened. What happened was that God intervened in the affairs of men as He has many times, according to the scriptures (and Ben Franklin).
Could it be that God is not through with America in spite of our great sin? Our great nation was founded on Godly principles, destined to be a leader and an example to the world, and a friend of the Jews from the beginning. And, in spite of the great depths of sin to which our nation has sunk, there is still a remnant of churches and believers who believe and teach the truths of God’s word.
Looking back at that critical election of 2008, you may recall that Barack Obama unabashedly stated that, “I will fundamentally change America.” Nobody bothered to ask him what he meant, but we soon learned as his agenda unfolded.
By the end of his second term in 2016, he had accomplished a great deal of his agenda, and most of it for the worse. Gay rights were expanded, abortion was expanded, gay marriage was legalized, Christian rights were assaulted, the military was depleted, America’s sovereignty diminished, the national debt skyrocketed and the economy slowed to a crawl. And that is just the short list.
Obama also poked Israel in the eye at every opportunity while proclaiming us to be their friend. He informed enemies of Israel’s planned military strikes. He even tried to interfere with their elections in order to get rid of PM Netanyahu. Remember God’s promise to his chosen people in Gen 12:3. “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” And this has proven true down through the centuries.
And Hillary was waiting in the wings to continue to engineer this downward plunge. I shudder to think where we would be if she had been elected, and I thank God that He is in control.
But amazingly, God raises up men and women for the time and task at hand—sometimes to punish, sometimes to deliver. Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 43:10; Cyrus, Is. 44:28 (180 yrs. before he was born); Jehu, 2 Kings 9-10 who “drained the swamp in Israel (Northern Kingdom); Deborah and Esther just to name a few.
Like Trump or not (and he does have more than his share of irritating faults), it would seem that God placed him here “for such a time as this,” as Mordecai said to Esther (Esther 4:14). He also added that, if she didn’t speak up, God would provide someone else to deliver his people. What a man of faith!
Some have likened Trump to Jehu in 2 Kings 9-12. He was not of the royal line; he was an outsider; he was not a politician; he was bold and brash (2 Kings 9:20); he killed King Jehoram (Ahab’s grandson); Jezebel, Ahab’s 70 sons, the prophets of Baal, and destroyed their altars. In other words, he “drained the swamp.” He also made an alliance with a man of God (2 Kings 10:15) as Trump did by making Mike Pence (an openly avowed Christian) his vice president.
So, what are the implications for our time? It would appear that God has given America a reprieve—another chance—a window of opportunity to repent and turn to him—a revival. We had a short revival after 9/11/01, but it was not very deep and didn’t last long.
What will we do with this opportunity? Will we take advantage of it or continue serving the gods of materialism and pleasure and having a lukewarm religion?
What about you? What about me? We weren’t born in this place and this time by accident. God has “placed us here for such a time as this.”
Ed Merrick