Unusual Thoughts on the election

I'm going to admit right now to a bit of election angst. I've always pretty much voted with one particular party, however, there are a number of things this party wants to implement that really scare me. However, the other party is no better. I'm terrified of a few things they want to implement.

A friend of mine and I were talking and one of the interesting commentaries that came out of it was the question, how is this a democracy when our only choices are the lesser of two evils? When the choice is to choose which policy will hurt our families and countries the least?

I don't think we really have a choice. I don't think this is democracy.

Because I really don't know what the answer is, I decided that the best answer was to pray. To say, God, I want to cast the right vote, but I'd really like to look beyond my own self interest and conflicting feelings to choose the right candidate.

The answer surprised me. It was, simply, vote for the candidate you don't want to win.

WHAT?

As I prayed and reflected on Scripture, the reasoning was pretty clear. Do I trust God with the election? Do I trust His sovereignty and know that regardless of who takes office in January, HE will be in control? Throughout history, we've had good rulers and bad. Biblically, we've seen examples of life under persecution and life under reasonable peace. God had a plan.

God still has a plan, whether we greet President Obama or President McCain after the election. He's got it under control.

But because part of our responsibilities as Americans is that we are to vote, we need to vote on election day. We do need to educate ourselves on the things we're voting for or against. However, we also need to recognize that when all the votes have been counted, the hanging chads argued over, in the end, God is still God. No matter who ends up in the White House, this is still His country.