Who’d have thunk it?
Our 2024 Presidential ballot may look eerily similar to the one we cast in 2020. I don’t know many people who could have predicted our present political situation, or the road we took to get here. It’s been a bit of a strange one, to put it mildly.
You don’t need from me any more political commentary than what you already have available from much more reliable sources. You don’t need my best analysis of any of the issues. You don’t need me to put in my two cents, because my political opining would be worth about – well – two cents.
But what you might need from me is a little hope.
When Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father, “Deliver us from evil,” He gave us quite a gift (Matthew 6:13). I don’t think that you and I would have figured out that request on our own. We would never have known our need to prevail in the spiritual realm had our Lord not opened our eyes to the truth. That’s because we can’t see into that realm. We know it’s there, but its ways and its weapons transcend human understanding. Sometimes God gives us glimpses into the world of spiritual warfare – I think of Elisha and the chariots of fire – but most often you and I are left to pray and to trust.
In American public life, the obstacles which confront us are becoming too numerous and too colossal to count. I don’t have to tell you that. And, on top of all of our problems both foreign and domestic, we are a nation deeply divided. Divided to the point that it pains nearly all of us.
Poneros is the Greek word that gives rise to the English word “evil” in Christ’s model prayer, but this word is better translated “the evil one.” Call me an alarmist if you wish, but I see this as the explicit instruction of Jesus that you and I should pray for protection against Satan himself. I think that Christ is reminding us to ask our Father, on a regular basis, to protect us from the full fury of Satan’s assault. Our enemy is tireless in his mission: “to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” In effect, when we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” we are saying humbly to the Lord, “I want to be in Your hands – please don’t let me fall into the hands of the enemy!”
It’s so easy for us to forget who our enemy really is. I’m not sure why we forget so readily, but it seems to be an amnesia of universal proportions. Paul reminds us that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” but – once again – that seems to go over our head. Before you know it, after ten minutes of our favorite media outlet, we’ve landed on a new enemy – an enemy who then gets all our attention. This ought not be. I’m not claiming that we don’t have any earthly enemies – political or otherwise – but I’m simply underscoring for us our deep and fundamental need to keep our focus on the only One who can deliver us.
Let me say it like this: U.S. Presidents make horrible Messiahs. You can take that reality to the bank. They all have feet of clay. They’re all dogged by pride. They’re all manipulated by power. And I’m not saying these things because I don’t like any of our politicians. I have a few earthly heroes just like you. But my point is that every political leader is entirely human, entirely fallible, and entirely (to steal the words of the English Dissenter and Baptist scholar, Robert Robertson) “prone to wander.”
“Lord, I feel it.”
It’s not just in politics, or in politicians, is it, friends? It’s in me. I’m the one who’s “prone to leave the God I love.” When I pray as Jesus has taught me to pray, I’m also asking the Father to deliver me from the wickedness that resides in my own heart.
As far as I can tell, this is where you and I find ourselves. Right now. The proverbial ball has been teed up, and the climate is perfect for us to be filled with rage between now and November. But what a waste of time and energy that would be!
I need a new vision.
I need a vision of the One who reigns sovereignly over every nation on earth.
I need a vision of the One whose steadfast love endures forever.
I need a vision of the One whose truth is marching on.
I think that I’ll borrow Elisha’s words, and apply them to all of us: “O Lord, please open our eyes that we may see.”
Pastor Charles
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