Anxiety, worry, fear, surprise, and grief. I went to bed with these feelings swirling around in my gut. I prayed long and hard for our nation, for thousands of unborn babies, for the future of our children, and for peace. Yet I still felt queasy, and sleep was a long time in coming. I thought about a quote that a former Secretary of Education shared over three decades ago: “We have become the kind of nation that civilized societies used to send missionaries to.” I thought about moving to Africa. My first thought upon rising this morning was, “What are we going to do? What can I do?”
I had to put things back into perspective. What really matters? What will outlast who sits in the Oval Office? What will really make a difference? In fact, it’s the only thing that will make a difference. We MUST get back to being an evangelistic church. For America to be reinstated as a Christian nation, it has to be made up of Christians. And who can accomplish that? Not the President. Or a political party. I can.
Wringing our hands or stomping our feet won’t help. Running away won’t help. Ranting and complaining won’t help. Praying will, but not prayer alone. Christ didn’t tell us to go into all the world and pray. We must remember who we are and why we’re here. Is my neighbor a Christian? Are my co-workers Christians? If not, is it because they have rejected the gospel? Or have I neglected to share it with them? I am praying for the hand of the Lord to be with us. In Acts, that happened when Christians “preached the Word” and “preached the Lord Jesus.” Then, “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:19-21). These early Christians had been persecuted, but when Barnabas saw their zeal and efforts to teach others, he was glad. He was encouraged. And he encouraged them to continue their work for the Lord “with purpose of heart” (Acts 11:22-24).
What can we do? We can double our efforts to reach the lost. Each day each of us must look at those around us and make sure they know Christ. Good old-fashioned Bible studies around the kitchen table and spontaneous conversations about the Word during carpool WILL make a difference. It takes effort and energy to worry and fret, but we have better things to do with our time. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).
Prayer for Today: Give me courage, Lord, to share Your truth with my fellow Americans. Lead me to some soul today.
Life and Favor (Job 10:12) 