Whoever our next President is, he has been appointed to that office by Almighty God. And whoever it is, we all need to pray long and often for him, and we all need to submit ourselves to and honor the governing authorities.
Appointed by God, did you say, pastor? Yes, I know how the democratic process works. You vote and the guy with the most votes wins. Maybe. Except for that whole electoral college thing, which may mean the guy with the most votes didn’t win. So if we the people are the ones voting, how is it that God appoints a person to such a position?
Here’s how the Bible answers that question in Romans 13:1-2: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”
The real authority above all authorities, then, belongs to God alone. Apart from His sovereign purposes and divine wisdom, no king on earth has ever reigned.
Sometimes those authorities God institutes among nations are good and upright men who bring a blessing to the nation. Other times God institutes evil rulers to bring a means of trial or judgment against a people.
Even the Egyptian Pharaoh who enslaved and cruelly oppressed the Israelites was a man whom God appointed. “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16). Pharaoh was an evil ruler whom God raised up and used for a greater purpose.
You may also remember the story of Israel’s king Solomon. Though Solomon was blessed beyond measure by the Lord early in his reign, that favor disappeared when the king did evil in the sight of the Lord. God was angry with him because his heart turned away from the Lord and he did not keep God’s commandments. It wasn’t long before the kingdom of Israel was divided, with God raising up an enemy to lead a campaign against His own people for a divine purpose (see 1 Kings 11).
God has the sovereign authority and ability to appoint whomever He ordains into office, and to use them for whatever purpose He desires. That may be to bring blessing, or it may be to bring judgment. There are times when God, in bringing judgment against an unholy and disobedient people, gives them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels – and to face the consequences of their sin. And He may go ahead and appoint the ungodly leader they want to let them keep leading ungodly lives. And if that’s the case, then may God have mercy on that nation!
Whatever the outcome, part of our responsibility as citizens is to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2). We are also commanded to “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men,” and “honor the king (1 Peter 2:13, 17). That doesn’t mean we have to agree with everything they do, nor does it mean we sit idly by and allow unrighteousness to go unchallenged. It may even mean that we choose to obey God rather than man if the two conflict. But respecting and honoring authority ought to mark the people of God who recognize that it is God who appoints leaders, and who sometimes also brings them down to accomplish His purposes for His glory.
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