Welcome to another episode or podcast of Struggling Well. And this morning, I think you're going to hear the bulk of this podcast from Jimmy because a lot of thoughts have been racing through his head as we approach election day.
Yeah. So, we're inside a week to go when you hear this to maybe the most contentious election that we've ever had. it's just I don't know how to put it. It's just nasty what people are saying about each other. I don't care whether you're a Democrat or Republican, liberal, conservative. We just are saying a bunch of nasty things about each other and behind all that I really think is fear and it's fear of change or fear of no change or whatever. It's what we go through in our country cycling every four years. but we're not the only people who have feared change. and I go all the way back to the Bible and I go all the way back the Old Testament and I go back to the prophet Isaiah and this is a verse that you need to understand the context. It says in this Isaiah 6:1, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated upon sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple." Now, that's a great it's a great verse, but what's the context there? Well, Uzziah was a king in the southern kingdom of Judah, and he was a good king. He really did seek to follow the ways of the Lord, and he had been on the throne for 52 years. And while at the end of his time on the throne, Uzziah had done some things that had not pleased the Lord. And so he was struck down with leprosy. But the point is this. The nation of Israel knew 52 years of relative peace and relatively good things because of the way this king walked in the ways of God. And now there was change. Nobody likes change. And I'm guessing there was a lot of fear that went on at that point in time.
You say the word change and I get like the heebie-jebies because you know I don't like I don't like to move the furniture because I wonder if it's right. It just stresses me out. So as I'm looking to the election coming up and know that either way whomever wins the change is going to be I think cataclysmic and it's frightening on one hand.
Yeah. And so what is important to me about what Isaiah who was one of the prophets who prophesied during the time of Uzziah as king What he does is in the year that he dies, in the year that fear could be amplified, people running scared, he said, "I saw the Lord sitting on upon a throne high and lifted up." And I think it's a reminder for us that in this times of change, which none of us like, and this feels like a big change for us in our country, instead of being afraid, lift your eyes up and see God. God's still on his throne, which means he's still in control.
Yeah.
And I don't want to find myself running with fear. I have my opinions. We all do. And no, we're not going to tell you our opinions here on this podcast, but we have our opinions.
I wrote your name in, Jimmy.
Yeah, you wrote my name in.
That would be a change nobody would want. but can you find a sense of peace, legitimate peace, when you lift your eyes up and you see God seated on his throne, meaning God is still in control.
You know, in light of that, I think as believers, we have so much we have such a foundation of knowing who God is. We it's in God's word. He tells us who he is. And unfortunately, right now, we've seen a lot of articles and heard a lot of things that Christians aren't voting and that they're, you know, they can't vote for the lesser of two evils, whomever that may be. it's like why as a believer would you be running scared when the God of the universe who created it, who puts people in power and takes them out of power is in control. Why is our default to run in fear? And yet that seems to be what's going on.
Yeah, it is. And here's the thing is this has been I mean this is God's story. It's been going on for thousands of years. It's not but we've turned I think more than we want to admit, our Christianity has been branded as a Western American Christianity. And so the things we're fearful of are losses of things that our country has given us. And we fail to remember that we're also citizens of his kingdom.
Yeah.
And I don't have any guarantees in this world. I don't have any guarantees in this life. I have no guarantees in this country. But then again, the gospel isn't about preserving my way of life. The gospel is about preserving the kingdom of God. And at the center of it all is the great news that Jesus died for me and made it possible for me to be a citizen of God's kingdom.
And we have to keep in mind that regardless of how this election turns out, again, we are we don't know who you would vote for. We're certainly not telling you who we have already voted for. But this is the truth. God is still God. He's still on his throne. He know knows what's ahead. He is not, you know, taken a vacation and is all in a tizzy because, you know, the election's out of hand or whatever. We have to remember that he is still God. We are not. And if we have to make a we have to make a decision. Either we're going to trust in his sovereign rule as God over the whole world or we're going to run around and panic. So, we urge you to trust in the only one who's trustworthy. But in the meantime, you are a citizen here temporarily. Get out and vote. Don't be a non- voter because you can't figure out who's the better candidate. Outside of Jesus himself, there is no perfect better candidate. So, get out and vote. Express your opinion through your vote, but be kind and loving towards people who disagree. We've watched on TV a fair amount and in the news, a fair amount of people stealing signs from the their the opposing party and all sorts of craziness. Everyone's so angry and so intolerant of one another's opinions. As a believer, that is not how we are to be described, nor is it what Jesus modeled. So, vote.
Yeah. And I'm going to just second what Suzi said, and we'll leave you with this. Make sure that your behavior represents the kingdom of God. Make sure your behavior is Christlike towards those who disagree with you and not filled with anger and unkind and even untrue things to be said. So, should be an interesting week leading up to the election. Have a great day.