These last few weeks have been increasingly stressful. It isn't just because I am sitting here studying for midterms, but also because every time I take a break and get on Facebook, Twitter, or the like, I see nothing but negative, disgusting, and immoral content everywhere regarding this election. Honestly, it makes me feel hopeless and depressed about the future of this country. So, as I was sitting here, I thought of a few ways to maybe help take away some of the hopelessness and bring some positive understanding into this almost ‘dark season.’ No matter what side of the aisle you are one, these are important things to take note of and also practice.

Remember, God is in Control

This is a very common Christian saying, but in all seriousness, we need to take it seriously. God is on our side, even when the political parts of our nation are falling to pieces. The government is not an eternal establishment; it’s instituted by man. The church is an eternal establishment, it was established by Christ. We will still be here, still loved and protected by God, even if out government falls to pieces. Nothing can separate us from our God, as Paul writes in Romans 8, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Authority is by God

In Romans 13, Paul talks about obeying the authorities in charge of us. That means obeying laws, paying taxes, and showing respect to those in leadership. We don’t know who will win this election, and we definitely do not agree with all of their policies, but we, as Christians, are called to follow even what goes against our politicalsidings. For this authority was given to this person by God. No, he does not divinely choose them as a saving leader, rather he gives them the allowance to practice authority. While we are subject to them, they are also subject to God. We follow authority, because by being obedient to government, we are being obedient to God.

Jesus is our Savior, not our President

We place so much hope in every election, thinking someone will come along and fix all the problems with our country. Well, this can happen, but with every solution arises another problem, because we are human. No one is perfect; no one is going to fix every single problem. We all are sinners, and we all are going to mistakes. Our presidential candidates are human, and they definitely have shown us they can make mistakes. We place our hope not in what they are able to fix, but we place it in Jesus Christ. We do not look at the candidates and find complete dismay, because again, our hope is Christ, who will ultimately fix all of our problems in the end, as Revelations states, “’He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”’

It’s not only about a President

This election is not just about the presidential race. We live in a republic, meaning there are other measures and people on the ballot. While our president certainly has some degree of power, there are other entities that exercise governance over us. Senators, Representatives, Amendments, and Propositions: all of these have a huge effect on us as well, and we should pay attention to them. Not all the power rests in the hands of our president, but he or she can make many decisions based off of the way the rest of the government is structured.

Pray

Again, this is a cliché Christian thing to say, but we really need to pray for these candidates, because one of them will be the leader of this nation come January. We should be praying for good influences in their lives, especially godly ones. We should also pray that their decisions will guide this nation in a good direct. Lastly, even though many my come to dislike certain candidates, we should pray for protection over them, for God values them just as much as the rest of us. Pray also for our decisions, that our votes would reflect God’s will for our nation.