Politics right now are a mess. No matter what side you're on, we've taken to posting on social media and rioting to help relieve our frustration and, soon, we will be in turmoil worse than we ever thought was possible. Through all of these frustrations and calamities going on around us, we've replaced hope with pessimism. Not just us as Americans, but us as Christians.

We post a Bible verse one moment and are willing to argue with someone over Facebook comments just a few minutes later. We have thrown away hope and replaced it with frustration and worry and doubt and fear. We have thrown away recognition of God's sovereignty in our lives and replaced it with an obsession of all political actions and debates and close attention to what we think is good or bad for our country.

We have ignored the glorious Kingdom of the Lord and resorted to a small empire that our new president is hoping to build; we have turned our attention from an eternity held in the hands of an almighty, true, good, and righteous God to a small sand castle, artfully crafted for the time being, that will be swept away in the tide and replaced by another one. I don't have much hope in a sand castle. None of us should.

And we don't need to, either. Our life doesn't depend on the survival of that sand castle. Our life depends on God's plan, on a perfect and unique and good plan crafted by a sovereign Lord. Our citizenship isn't found in that sand castle; our citizenship is not in America. Our citizenship is found in the streets of our glorious Savior's Kingdom. Our hope doesn't rest in the implementation of new laws. Our hope rests, only and forever, in the saving work of Jesus on the cross and the reconciliation to and eternal relationship with our Father that we received through it.

I can't tell you which political side is better for us to choose. I can't tell you if certain standpoints can be compromised for others or if certain ones are absolutely nonnegotiable to glorify the Lord through our support of a representative. What I do know is that no matter who agrees, our hearts should break for anything that breaks the Lord's, both within and far outside the boundaries of our own country. What I do know is that amidst informational confusion and chaos produced by the media, we have a perfect Book of Truth that has stood the test of time to show us how to live. What I do know is that America is not our home forever, and America is not the Lord's main priority. It shouldn't be ours, either.

We're plagued with controversy over refugees and are quick to update our status with our thoughts, but spend little time praying for their safety. We're plagued with controversy over abortion, but spend little time praying for hope and victory. We think the only solutions for these problems are found in the American law, but they're not.

They're found in our God, just like our hope and our identity and our peace. There's no more time for Facebook updates and twitter arguments; there's only time for prayer and for Jesus. There's no more time for pessimism toward and hope in our country; there's only time for God's sovereignty and divine plan.