Read: Romans 8:31-39
Two weeks ago, millions of Americans across the country went to the ballot box and cast their vote for President of the United States. In some ways, we were all glad to see Election Day come, as it finally brought an end to the contentious political season we’d been experiencing over the past months. On the other hand, Election Day did give us one more chance for political overkill. News networks offered wall-to-wall coverage of the event. Talking heads and pundits pontificated the night away. Some of us even waited up late into the wee hours of the morning to see the final Electoral College tally. Depending on your party affiliation, you were either pleased or mortified with the outcome.
Me? I have no opinion on the day’s events. That’s not because I don’t care about politics. In fact, I probably care about politics a little too much. No, I have no opinion about what happened on Election Day because I actually don’t know who won. I haven’t lived through it yet.
You see, I’m writing these words on a rather rainy morning in early September. From my vantage point, the election is still nine weeks away. As a matter of fact, the Democratic National Convention hasn’t come to an end yet. By all accounts, no one really seems to know what’s going to happen when Election Day finally arrives. The candidates are neck and neck so far. Barring any sort of “October surprise,” this thing is going right down to the wire. Just this morning, I read an article about the uncertainty the next two months are going to bring. No one seems to know anything about where we’re headed come November 6.
On the day you’re reading this, however, we know exactly what happened. You presumably know who won the election (barring any sort of post-election weirdness). Maybe you’re excited about it. Maybe you’re not. It could be that they guy you liked lost the election. If so, I’m sorry (unless he was the candidate I didn’t like). However the election turned out, at least it’s over, right? The uncertainty I feel is gone for you because you know who won.
As I sit here writing these words, I wish I knew what the future holds. I wish I knew who was going to win the election. I wish I knew where our country was headed over the next four years. I’d like to have a crystal ball (or at least a very reliable “Magic 8 Ball”) to tell me what these next few years are going to bring. If I had something like that, I could make decisions based on what I knew was going to happen.
Moreover, I’d like to know where Cornerstone is headed over the next few years. I wish I could see what’s going to happen for us. I’d like to know what God is going to do in us and through us as we go on from here. What will He use “Deploy” to do? How will He change us? How will He change the church? There’s a part of me that desperately wants to know the answers to these questions.
But then I realized that none of these things really matter. That’s because no matter what happens, God is still in control. He is still in charge of everything. Nothing that happens in the present or future is going to change that fact. It doesn’t matter who is in control of the United States; God still sits on his throne. God will be King regardless of who the President is. No matter how Cornerstone grows and changes, God will still be our loving Father. He will watch over us and guide us no matter what we go through. Regardless of what the future holds – regardless of where tomorrow takes us – God will still faithfully watch over and protect His people.
This is exactly the point Paul made in today’s passage. Take another look at Romans 8:38-39:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
According to Paul’s own words, there is nothing in the whole of creation that can separate us from God’s love. Angels can’t do it; neither can demons. We can’t go high enough to escape God’s love; traveling to the depths of the planet won’t do it either. Most importantly of all, however, Paul says that there is nothing in the present nor in the future that can take his love a way. No matter what the future brings with it, we can rest securely knowing that our God will always love us.
I don’t know what the future holds for us. I don’t know whether we’re looking at President Romney or four more years of President Obama. I don’t know where God is going to take us or what He’s going to use us to do. I do, however, know the One who holds the future in His hands. Even in the most uncertain of times, we can trust in Him and His unfailing love.
Questions to Consider:
Why do we get nervous about the future? How can God’s love calm us?
Read Romans 14:8. What was Paul’s perspective on his own future?