Worried About the Election?

A lot of people are, understandably, anxious about tomorrow. Who will win? What will that person do once they come into office? How will other Americans react to the winner? There’s a sense of extra importance to this election, even more than the past election, and it has people on edge.

What do we do? Is there hope if the candidate I don’t want wins this election?!

Yes, there is hope. Always.

But I’m not here to tell you what might happen if Trump wins or if Kamala wins. I felt on my heart to instead remind you of God’s Word and what hope (and coping skills) we have regardless of who wins.

Do Not Be Anxious

The Bible says consistently to take courage and not be afraid, in words like “do not fear”, “do not be dismayed”, “fear not”, “do not worry”, and more. That’s easier said than done, though.

Fear and anxiety keep us alive—it’s the driving instinct that make us run or fight when we see a bear, or motivates us to fortify property or leave the area when there are signs of upcoming natural disaster. Those are healthy and necessary cases of fear and anxiety. However, the Bible makes it clear by its repetition of command “Do not fear” that it is very easy for fear and anxiety to become an enemy and present unnecessarily.

As believers and followers of God, we follow the Prince of Peace, and we have His Holy Spirit within us. Jesus was talking to His disciples when He said,

“²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

John 14:26-27 (ESV).

While Jesus was talking to His disciples in the context of many things like who He will reveal Himself to, and His upcoming death and resurrection, it is true that for us too He gives peace like no other.

The Holy Spirit also works within us if we follow the Lord, and the fruit of the Spirit (what is produced in us as we walk with God) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

All to say: hand your worries over to God, for He is Peace. And His peace is far better than any peace we’ll get from the world. I encourage you to tell God your fears, worries, and anxieties about tomorrow and what you worry the election outcome will mean for our earthly futures—He can handle whatever you have to say, and He can bring us rest and refuge that the world cannot give us. If you don’t know what to say in prayer or how to express yourself, you can tell God that you don’t know how to say what’s troubling you—He knows your heart and your thoughts. And remember: whoever wins does not change the fact that God is in control.

Don’t Trust in Princes

Having our hope in humans is difficult. Man is fallible and the Bible itself is the case for how fallible and corrupt man is, climaxing in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection to bear the punishment for our sins in order to offer us grace, forgiveness, and eternal life. Though man is fallible and corrupt, God is infallible and good. King David expressed in a psalm:

I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.

Psalm 146:2-7 (ESV).

I don’t say that to discourage you from doing things like confiding in others or listening to advice from fellow believers—not at all. I say that to encourage you not to put all hope in a particular presidential candidate winning. God can and does use humans to do His will, but even if we see our leaders go astray or someone gets elected who does not act or think in line with Scripture, our ultimate hope in all things is God, who sits on the throne of the universe. He is in control, and we can rely on Him no matter the circumstances.

Don’t Hinder Yourself!

While God is Peace and He can absolutely ease your anxieties and give peace like no other, and He is in control of the universe, we can still be tempted to be anxious or fearful again. What do we do when temptation knocks on our door? In some cases, flee, but in other cases people have more emotional or spiritual maturity to be around anxiety-tempting situations—it comes down to knowing yourself and where you’re at.

For some people, watching election coverage is okay in moderation. For others, they may not be able to bear the temptation of being anxious while watching election coverage and they can only stand to see the winner the following day. That’s okay.

So, is the election coverage becoming too much to handle? Turn it off and go pray, or engage a hobby, or read the Word, or text a friend about something unrelated to the election.

If you have free time on Election Day, why not go out of the house for a while if staying at home will give you too much time to worry and stew on things? Go to the park, have a meal out, run some errands, hang out with a friend or family member.

Hopefully that gives some ideas, but in any circumstance, I’d encourage you to remember that God is in control no matter what happens.

A Final Thought

Finally, many of us have our political biases, and that’s our right as U.S. citizens. But as Christians, God wants us to be peacemakers—please, don’t let your political opinions get in the way of showing love to your neighbors or to sharing the Gospel. Our neighbor is the Republican. Our neighbor is the Democrat. Our neighbor is the politically neutral or undecided. Our neighbor is anyone we inhabit the Earth with. We can have our opinion and love our neighbors without compromising Biblical truth.

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,^[g] serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[h] Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV).

In Summary?

Give your anxieties over to God in prayer, being honest about your fears—He can handle what you have to say, He can provide peace like no other, and He will not let you down.

Human leaders will disappoint, but God will never disappoint. We don’t need to worry about who will win the election because God is Sovereign; He is always in control and we can rely on Him and take refuge in Him no matter what’s going on on Earth.

Try not to put yourself in a position of temptation. God absolutely provides peace and calm, but we still have to be wise with our actions and how we handle what makes us anxious—temptation to fall back into anxiety exists.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31), and that includes loving people we disagree with politically.

No matter what happens, and no matter who wins the election or what it means for our earthly futures, God is still on the Throne and holds us in His hands. He has a plan for all things. What a wonderful thing to remember!

And if you are not a follower of God, please know that there is a God who loves you so much that He sent His son to die on a cross then resurrect from the dead to save you from the penalty of the evil that’s in all humans, and He can give you a hope like no other (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-11).