I wonder who God voted for?

Election Day has come and gone. This alone should cause us to get down on our knees and thank God from whom all blessings flow! Inevitably God always seems to be a big part of campaign speeches and supporters of various candidates. So this begs the question, did the candidate endorsed by God win the election? In the United States we like to equate God with our political beliefs, which generally include party affiliation.



The Sunday after Election Day 2004 I prayed for the newly elected leaders to seek God’s will, not their own. One of the church members stood up, walked out, and did not attend church services for several months. She was upset because she felt the prayer, names of candidates were never mentioned, was stating George W. Bush was God’s candidate. I tried to explain that we should be praying for our elected officials to seek God’s direction in all decisions. Quickly I was informed that not one person should ever pray for President Bush since “he is evil”.


Rarely do I listen to the Focus on the Family radio show hosted by James Dobson. The show has, in my opinion, strayed from James Dobson’s strengths as a psychologist while focusing on political choices. One particular day, prior to the 2008 elections, I left the radio show on as two Republican candidates seeking office in Colorado were being interviewed. Inferences were drawn concerning the political stances of their opponents. In essence, a vote for the Republican Party is a vote for the candidates endorsed by God.


If you voted, whom did God tell you to vote for? Did you ask? Isaiah 9 reminds us of God’s political choice. For the follower of Jesus the Christ (notice I did not use the term “Christian”), we should remember how the quality of God’s reign has been ushered in through the authority given to Jesus. In this passage is a vision of a world government that is peaceful, that will never end, and that seeks God’s will, not the will of human logic. God isn’t interested in any particular candidate. Maybe, if we start seeking discernment from God, it will not matter who is elected but that God is being invited into our decision-making. Perhaps then we see the beginnings of a peaceful government, grounded in God’s redeeming grace, which has no end.