Cutting past the pat answers; Obama and another 4 years.

What do you feel? Hope? Discouragement? Sadness? Fear?
At Obama, Romney, facebook friends, tv?
To feel sad does not mean you aren't trusting God. Look at Jeremiah the weeping prophet and many others including Jesus Himself when He was about to face suffering. He sweated blood. He was sad, He was distraught. It's ok to feel what you're feeling. What matter is what you act on.

But if you're anything like me, when you're sad or discouraged, pat answers hurt more than comfort. There are a ton of emotions and thoughts raging about the election results, some ring true lining up with scripture and others just seem so naive and short-sighted. Here's my thoughts on some of them.

Some of the pat answers I've encountered:
"Trust God, He's in control."  or something along the lines of God being Sovereign.
I love the heart behind this response. A heart of wanting to comfort and encourage the discouraged. What a blessing to have these people in our lives. But just because something is coming from a sweet and pure heart doesn't mean it's actually helpful or encouraging. Sometimes those can be the most hurtful comments. 

So what does it mean to "trust God, He's in control" when you have a President who doesn't respect God and is in direct opposition to what God says is true?

My wise friend put it so well last night. "Seriously, I am just about speechless... And so troubled that people think you're just supposed to be like 'oh well God is in control' ummmm yeah He is! And in some ways that makes me shudder even more! GOD IS in control." 

This coming January it will be 40 years since we legalized killing babies. God, the Creator of life cares about that and that Creator of life is the One who is in control. Perhaps we view God a little bit too much like a fluffy candy giver instead of the One who will come with a sword described in Rev. 19. Where is our fear of God? Hearing that God is in control and is Sovereign when our country elects someone to lead us who hates the things God calls good should cause us to shudder. Do we really think God will delay forever? 

Here's another response:
 "If you honestly believe these next 4 years are going to suck, you need a reality check. If you think these next 4 years are going to be the best yet, you also need a reality check. Life goes on. Mind your own business and live your own life. I know one thing for sure...These next four years ARE going to be amazing because I get to spend them with my amazing husband, family and puppies...Not because of a Democrat or a Republican running this country." or others like it that our personal life hasn't been drastically effected so what's the big deal?

This is one of the most discouraging things I've read. Are we really so engulfed in our own life of pleasure we can't see the suffering of others? Are we so self-absorbed that the only things that matter to us is how comfortable we are regardless of right and wrong, regardless of obeying God? Maybe not everyone has felt the effects of choices that go against what God says, but everyone will. Check this out. This is the cycle of God's story, His-story, history.

You may not feel the effects now, but you will, we all will. When luxuries abound but you can't afford to put dinner on your table (like Rev. says is going to happen), you'll feel it.

Here's another, "Jesus is my King". This seems to come from people who have their hope in the right place, in Jesus, the only person deserving of our hope. But there's another side of this that perhaps is not very comforting. A very clear but overlooked reality. Jesus is in heaven, He hasn't come to earth to rule yet. He will come back to be King but with that comes the breaking of some pretty serious seals and tipping of some horrific bowls, the tribulation. So let's hope in Jesus as the King as He will rightly rule someday. But just know that before redemption comes suffering just like we see at the cross. Expect pain, expect suffering but know He has overcome the world, the pain and suffering won't last forever.

I told some friends from church months ago I truly believed Obama would get elected because that is God's will. Not because Obama is a better leader. Not because a human is suppose to deliever us. But because perhaps God is setting the world stage by giving us a President who will turn from Israel and stand let Russia and Iran attack them (among a host of other things contrary to God's heart and desires) in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.

It reminds me of Pharoah. God used him to bring freedom but that freedom came with some pretty serious suffering. Just as when Jesus comes back, the ultimate freedom that can be given, freedom from an earth filled with pain, suffering and evil, will come after some pretty serious suffering.

We probably have a lot of suffering coming our way friends but in that there is hope because in this world we will have trouble but God has overcome the world. God will allow us to experience the effects of our decisions but it wont last forever. Jesus will come on His white horse and rescue.

Perhaps God will delay no longer. Perhaps it is finally time He deliever the babies being murdered, perhaps He will deliever the little girls being sold for sex. Perhaps He cares so deeply for these weak and oppressed ones that He is allowing us to take steps down the path preparing the way for Him come to defeat evil. 

If that's the case, let's intentionally get on it! Once all unreached people groups hear the gospel He will come and rescue the oppressed. Are you fet up with babies being murdered? Are you fed up with little girls being sold for sex. I am. Let's do something about it!

We live in this incredible time where a lot of the unreached people groups can be reached on FACEBOOK. Just wow! This is a picture of the top countries with unreached people groups. And here is a website where you can discover where they live, JoshuaProject.net 

Our new book reach (www.reachebook.com) will give you ideas of how to do this. But if you don't want to spend $4.99 then just set up a facebook ad geared toward one of these unreached people groups (by checking the Joshua Project website and finding the state inside the country and gear the ad toward that country and state). As far as the ad, check out the Jesus film app or website. There are tons and tons of translations of the Jesus film. You can turn one of those into an ad and gear it to India. Or you can use the story as a facebook ad gearing it toward a certain part of an unreached country with a super high percentage of unreached people.

This is totally possible people!!

Oh sweet friends, I know I can be a bit intense sometimes. But when I see the possiblitites ahead, the possibilities of God using this to get people fired up for reaching the unreached, it's exciting. We might actually be living in the most exciting time of all time!

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