I had a conversation with a church member who is facing a lot of personal challenges right now. On multiple levels she is dealing with life changing events in her family and her stress level is high. As we talked about each one, trying to find possible solutions, I began to realize that we were both affected by another kind of pressure: Election angst. These last few months have taken a terrible toll on all of us. The vitriol, the false claims, the lying, the accusations, the intense fear of what is to come … whatever pressures you are going through in your work/life situation, there is an overwhelming dark cloud of “what ifs” that has affected us all. In some ways I can’t wait for it to be over but in other ways, I am terrified at what comes next.

This morning I was reflecting on all of this, and guess what God had to say about it? “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.”

Psalm 146 (New International Version)

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

² I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Blessed are we when we put our hope for help squarely on God’s shoulders. God created the universes and told the stars and moons where to be! Even in the darkest moments of anguish over the future of our country, we must remember this. God remains faithful forever.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
⁸     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.

We may feel like the bowed down right now as we await the results that will shape the course of our future together, but God still and always reigns forever. Yes, it is scary. Yes, it is unbelievable to be in such a place at this point in our lives. But even still, God watches over us.

⁹ The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

So lift up your head to the Lord today and give up all your fears and worries. In the end, it is the Lord who reigns forever.

¹⁰ The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Consider the Flowers of the Field by Kathy Schumacher