Everybody loves them – second chances. Certainly, everybody needs them, or will need them, sooner or later. Fortunately, the Lord is the God of second chances, and He has provided second, third, and even fourth chances for many of us. It seemed like President Trump fought like a roman gladiator for his second chance at the Presidency of the United States and won in perhaps the greatest political comeback in our country’s history. His effort was beyond commendable, or impressive – it was spectacular, Olympian, Herculean, even heroic, and required similar commitment and sacrifice from his whole family. Staggering to consider and bigger than life. Personally, I don’t believe a human being could sustain such sacrifice and drive against such odds at such personal cost for such a protracted period without the miraculous support and strong assistance of Almighty God.
While appreciating the incredibly successful campaign of President Trump for a second term in office and pondering the strength of character demonstrated by the man, I felt conviction come upon me that turned my thinking and my heart toward Jesus. Christians in America had been so deeply disappointed when then President Trump failed to win reelection in 2020. There are probably a multitude of reasons for our disappointment. Not the least of which was the apparent fragility and possible corruption of our national voting systems and processes. The inaccuracy and even bias of broadcast media added to our disappointment. How could this happen in America? We all wondered. What could be done to repair the situation? No one knew. Many more unanswered questions arose from every corner of the country. As I am writing this piece, my mind is focused on a question I hadn’t asked myself or anyone else until today.
“What were Christians hoping President Trump would have accomplished with a second term in office?”
Once again, answers to my question might be many of which I don’t profess to know. But as I sit in my office this evening, I do know one thing; whatever a second term of President Trump might have accomplished in 2020 it wouldn’t have been enough, and it won’t be now either. Because no government or political party can replace the Body of Christ on the Earth and her mission to proclaim the manifold wisdom of God to principalities and powers in heavenly places. None but the Church of the First Born of the Redeemed can heal and deliver the multitudes and re-establish the plum line of the Word of God in society.
Frankly, contemporary Christians would do well to assess their generation on the Earth with an eye toward positive critical adjustment. We should be honest with ourselves concerning the state of our country in terms of character, culture, and faith. It’s easy to see the trans problem, the drug problem, the broken nuclear family problem, the economic insolvency problem, the illegal immigration problem and many more. It’s easy to blame those problems on the devil, or the government, or even a political party. Probably, each of those had a share in the unraveling of our societal values and morality. However, Christians also contributed to the situation. Not by adding negative value to society, but by failing to add positive value. Had the Church behaved more like our forefathers who lived in much more difficult times, would the landscape of America appear as it does today? Would the Church look like it does today?
Please do not hear condemnation in my writing. Rather, hear exhortation to rise to the occasion and do what we failed to do during President Trumps first term in office. The door of opportunity was opened for us, but the Church failed to capitalize, so to speak. The opposition against the president was so vicious and vile that we stood back and waited. Covid struck and governmental institutions and their vendors violated our personal rights, intimidated and reviled our resistance, so we stood back and waited. Honestly, the Church had allowed these circumstances to develop long before President Trump ran for office the first time, probably stretching back several decades. We’re getting a second chance.
Dutch Sheets suggested that President Trump NOT being reelected in 2020 may have been the hand of the Lord. President Trump’s circumstances for taking office in 2025 are far better than those of 2020. He has a Republican House and Senate for example. Wouldn’t it be great if he had a powerful, focused, united, motivated Church with him also?
All that to say, timing is everything when it comes to obeying our Heavenly Father. He is in this now. He has moved Heaven and Earth to bring these circumstances into being now. His Spirit is already at work in ways we only dreamed of not long ago, but they are happening now.
Let the Church respond as a single voice now. Let every Believer put his hand to the plow now. Let every valley be raised and every mountain laid low that the paths of the Lord be made straight. Let our generation not miss our opportunity to shine in the radiance of His glory moving upon our land in revival, salvation, and reformation.
Grab a brother or sister in Christ and encourage them today and every day. We’ve been praying for such a time as this.
Peace on the Path