GOD in Politics?…YES!
God first. That’s a popular saying especially amongst Christian. But ask yourselves, are we really putting, ”GOD first”? Do you see the evidence of that statement in your personal lives, your communities, our society as a whole? The total deprivation and decline of morality, the rise in lawlessness, the lack of basic decency and expression of genuine love towards one another, towards ourselves period; that the answer is clearly no.
The fact of the matter is that although we would like to say that GOD is first in our lives, the end result we can clearly see is quite the contrary. It’s the lack of GOD that brings forth the fruit that we see manifesting at an alarming rate today. We cannot ignore that there is a spiritual warfare going on. A fight between good and evil. A battle for our souls. It’s imperative that we start getting accustomed to the ways that these battles are fought from a spiritual perspective. Because as the Bible clearly states…
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” Ephesians 6:12 KJV. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. 2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV.
The LORD did not leave us abandoned without remedy. The problem is we do not have the wisdom nor the knowledge, that the men and women of the Bible had back then. And although the battles may be different in nature, the strategy to overcome and conquer them are still the same. I can name several accounts in the Bible in which the authority, leaders of the people, took decisive action. Their actions in faith resulted in the LORD not only coming to their aid, but also giving them the victory.
Let’s start with the prophet Jonah. A prophet in the book of Jonah, who was quite reluctant to say the least, to follow what the LORD wanted him to do. But in the end, as the story unfolds, he’s left with no choice but to follow the LORD’S counsel. Jonah, finally delivers a message to the people of Nineveh. A message of warning and the need for repentance back to GOD. And although the LORD was going to destroy Nineveh because of their wickedness and disobedience, the king heeded the prophets warning. Not only did the king repent, but he also ordered the people of Nineveh to repent with him. He proclaimed a time of prayer and fasting.
“5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Jonah 3:5-8 KJV.
Because the king, and the people repented, the LORD did not destroy the city of Nineveh.
God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Jonah 3:10
We can also look at the book 2nd Chronicles chapter 20. In this story, King Jehoshaphat had been given a message that he was going to be attacked by multiple armies. He became fearful because he knew he was outnumbered and would ultimately be defeated. So what does he do? He proclaims a fast throughout the land of Judah, and sought the LORD. All the cities of Judah, set out to seek the LORD’S help. In this story, the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of His people and spoke through them, giving them direction, hope, and encouragement.
“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” 2 Chronicles Ch. 20:15-17 KJV
In the morning king Jehoshaphat, went with his army to where he was instructed to go by the LORD. All they found were dead bodies. The LORD heard their prayers, spoke to them, and rescued them.
In the book of Esther, the queen is put in position to save the Jewish people, who were to be killed by order of one of the king’s court official named Haman. Simply because all servants were to bow down to him, but Mordecai, the Queen’s uncle, would not. So she puts a plan in motion by telling her uncle Mordecai, to instruct the people to fast and pray. She would go and speak to the king. She did this while knowing it was against the law for a woman to go to the king.
“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. “Esther 4:16 (KJV)
Haman was killed with the same gallow he built to kill Mordecai. The Jewish people were saved.
They were not your average men and women. They were kings, Queens, Judges, like in the book of Judges. A woman named, Deborah, who was not only a Judge but a prophetess. She would give counsel to her husband, a military leader, assisting him in decisions for battle. He would eventually ask her to accompany him in battle. She led her people with great wisdom, revelation, and discernment.
They were great men and women of power and authority. But whom also possessed the quality of humility. They knew that with all their power, there was still a power and authority greater than they could ever be. And in a time of great turmoil and distress to the people, all they needed to do was REPENT, humble themselves, and he would rescue them and heal their land. He would come to their aid.
“If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV.
God has always been in politics. For whatever reason, we have taken him out of it. And the path without him has been and will continue to lead towards chaos and destruction.
Leaders like President Trump, members of Congress, the Senate, local level government officials, need to get back to basics. Turn back to the one person who can help them strategize, and deal with the issues and/or obstacles that may occur while on the job. It worked for kings, Queens and Judges back then, there’s no reason to believe that it won’t work now. Remember, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever”. Heb.13:8. Which means he is unchangeable in His ways. They need to be praying before meetings. Organizing a day to proclaim a fast. Start with half a day, work your way up. Fasting is a discipline that you have to build on. But that’s just another very vital tool other than prayer, that we need to implement into our lives. The Lord is looking for effort not perfection. But that’s a topic for another time.
Ask yourselves, why would our GOD not be readily available to us in our time of need, to help us in any way we may need Him to, if He loves us the way he does, which the Bible clearly says He does? We need to start doing as the wise leaders did back then. We need to seek counsel from the LORD in all matters. As we can see, without Him both the church, the state of our country, are in a total state of Anarchy. He’s given us the tools to be victorious with every battle we face. All we have to do is truly start putting, “GOD FIRST”.
May the LORD open our hearts and minds to his wisdom and his understanding. That he may bless us with the knowledge, Power, and Peace that is Him. In the mighty name of our Lord, Jesus Christ I pray.
Amen