I offer a few thoughts of what I think the results of the U.S. Presidential election mean for the future, not only of the United States, but also of the Great Commission.
I know that many fellow believers were deeply disappointed by this outcome and are distraught. I have heard some say that the results are a sign to them that the Second Coming of Christ must be very near.
For me, the disappointing results are actually a blessing. Many people have prayed for revival of the church in America. At the same time, they have hoped for a different outcome in the election. This indicates to me that they have prayed for revival, not truly knowing the sorry state of the church. Such prayers that lack true knowledge have little power with God.
Praise God, now we know what we have not known before! Now we can pray with real focus because we actually see how badly the churches’ walls have crumbled.
Until he witnessed the crumbled walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah did not pray in earnest, if at all, and nothing happened. Only when his eyes were opened did he pray with power that moved God to act. God’s intervention brought rebuilt walls, both physically and spiritually, to a defeated and demoralized people in a way that Nehemiah could never have foreseen.
Do the election results portend the imminent return of Jesus Christ? Not necessarily. Matthew 24:14 plainly tells us that Jesus Christ will not come again until the gospel is preached to all peoples. Clearly, that Great Commission vision is unimportant for most of America’s professed believers. That will not change any time soon, unless…
The faithful remnant of God’s people who see the crumbled walls of a church and nation become like Nehemiah. They must mourn before God, confessing their sins, the sins of their forefathers and their corporate failure to wisely occupy the land with which God has blessed them. Instead of blaming secularist and godless people for the decay, they must admit they have welcomed godlessness through their own failure to “occupy until He comes.”
When we take upon ourselves humility, confession and repentance, God will act. Franklin Graham recently wrote, “Elections matter, but to change a nation, repentance and submission before God matter more.”
In a way, we should not be surprised at the election’s outcome. We who pray for revival must know that revivals come from the hand of God, and God shares His glory with no man. It is very likely that a different outcome would have resulted in mixed messages and delayed the very revival for which we pray.
God knows what He is doing. His first concern is for His people and the spread of His gospel. These things give Him greatest satisfaction and glory. In that spirit, may God grant us all wisdom to pray better and wiser prayers, knowing that our prayers are heard and can still ultimately lead to the best years we have seen yet.
From the Desk of Valson Abraham 