This year’s presidential election elicited a host of emotions across the political and theological spectrum. Trump’s rhetoric of violent retribution, misogynistic and xenophobic name-calling, and apocalyptic consequences, and Harris’ warnings about threats to democracy and the mental instability of her opponent inspired anger and fear among the faithful on both sides of the political spectrum and exhaustion among the bulk of Americans nationwide. As a result, some were elated at the results of the election while others were despondent. Some see a bright future while others anticipate dark days ahead for our nation and world.
The psalmist seems well acquainted with the angst of such times and offers a couple of helpful songs to offer perspective and hope for the people of his day and ours. In Psalm 146 he sings:
Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD their God! (Ps. 146:1-5)
The psalmist reminds us that no mortal – no prince or president – is the one who will save us. It is God alone who reigns, God alone who endures across the generations, God alone who is the source of our help and our hope. God can work in, through, and despite whatever leaders are chosen, for the Lord is God of all! In the 46th Psalm, he offers this encouragement:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult …
“Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Ps.46:1-3,10-11)
Any new president will bring about change – some more than others. As I have said many times: in the Valley CHANGE is a four-letter word – and that word isn’t HOPE! People are anxious around change. The psalmist reminds us that in the midst of all change, God is a constant – there to support us, there to calm our fears, there to reassure us that God still reigns and offers to us a refuge from the disruptions of whatever changes may come. As you look to the coming years, be it with great anxiety or great expectation, do not lose sight of God’s promises for us and God’s expectations of us: to be faithful where we are by loving the Lord with all that we are and loving our neighbors as ourselves, to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.
By doing so, we may find that what unites us in Christ is greater than anyone or anything that might divide us, and we may find hope and peace, trusting the God of the psalmist who is our God too!
— John Peterson
