I’m discouraged by several Christian friends who are continuing
to vow tonight “Never Trump.” I’ve been saying now
for some months that we would ALL do well to remember the wisdom of Gamaliel.
“Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them
go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it
is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find
yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:38-39.
God has OFTEN used
despicable men and unlikely rogues to achieve His divine purpose. This is
nothing new and it should not shock any Christian who knows his Bible. Whether
it’s for blessing or for judgment we cannot know for sure. But Trump’s
candidacy has had all the earmarks of divine inertia for many months now:
Everyone from career Republicans and professional Democrats to the liberal
media to the intelligentsia and academia to the most despised world leaders
such as Kim Jong Un to the elite of Hollywood have united to oppose Trump–and
yet his momentum has continued to grow exponentially. None of those groups has
a track record of opposing evil and embracing good.
Among those who were learned in the law, Gamaliel offered the ONLY
wise counsel. Let’s continue to watch this thing play out and make SURE we
don’t find ourselves fighting against God in our pride and certainty that we
know what can and cannot be from the Lord.
I am genuinely concerned for Christian friends who are unable or
unwilling to allow for the possibility that God has once again chosen an
improbable and unlikeable vessel for His divine purpose. AND- I recognize that
His purpose MAY BE judgment for our nation- which may be terrible for OUR
circumstances but great for His Kingdom’s explosive growth.
We know with 100% certainty what a Hillary presidency will look
like. We do not yet know what a Trump presidency will look like. I’m not even
sure Trump knows as he continues in his strutting and crowing.
All I know for certain is
that I do *NOT* want to be found fighting against God’s purpose in all this
chaos, and that people of faith have had a miserable record of discerning God’s
strategy over the course of the last 4000 years. Time and time again, almost
without exception, the Bible is filled with stories of faith-community leaders
being unable to recognize God’s divine purpose and condemning and attacking His
messengers. Even the 12 disciples come off looking like “The Three Stooges”
most of the time as they consistently jumped to wrong conclusions with fierce
conviction and remained unable to comprehend God’s divine plan even at Calvary.
We are not selecting a pastor
or an elder for our church. We are selecting someone to lead this nation.
And to be honest, we’ve elected many, MANY solid Christian men and women over
the past 20-30 years who have been unable or unwilling to stand for even a
moment against the cultural tide that continues to undermine this nation as
they have capitulated or even cooperated with those who seek to destroy America.
Let’s ALL watch and see and try
to keep our spiritual pride in check. Part of “coming as a child” means holding
our strong, prideful opinions gently and in an open-handed fashion and instead
of declaring “This CANNOT be of God- CRUCIFY HIM!” humbly saying, “I don’t
understand how this can be of God but I’ve been wrong so often before. Have
mercy on me, Oh Lord!”