To say the very least, things have changed in our country since we began this series last week, and if you haven’t already trashed most of your definitions of “normal” in reference to political cycles, you might want to go ahead and let most of them go. As I write this, the administrative powers running our country (whoever they really are) have directed our national Ship of State into uncharted waters with no way to turn it around. These are troubling and uncertain times, and in spite of the parade of professional pundits and propaganda merchants following one another from one news camera to the next, nobody knows for sure what’s going to happen in the weeks and months ahead. It’s a bit like being at a theme park and having someone throw a bag over your head and strap you into a ride in the dark without knowing whether you’ve climbed aboard a roller coaster or a tilt-a-whirl. But we can be assured of at least one thing . . . It’s not going to be a smooth ride either way. 

Adversity Strengthens ~
With just over three months remaining to traverse before Election Day, no doubt there will be more gut-wrenching twists and turns thrown at us as the political battles rage on, but achieving and maintaining the unity that God calls us to does not depend on favorable political conditions. As a matter of fact, perilous times and adverse situations have served more to strengthen the unity of God’s people than to weaken it. Ease and comfort tend to have the opposite effect. Smooth sailing allows us to relax our defenses and shift our attention and energy toward gratifying sinful impulses and pursuing selfish interests. So, maybe the challenge of stormy seas makes us better sailors. In any case, as individual followers of Jesus, we must decide how to respond to the political and ideological tumult surrounding us. 

Does this unprecedented situation nationally mean that we should abandon our quest as individuals to do all that we can to promote unity? Does the fact that many, if not most, of our sources of information are unreliable and that our major mainstream news organizations are nothing more than a national propaganda machine mean that we should just give up? My hope is that all of us would respond with a resounding “NO!” This is not a time to retreat into our sanctified enclaves and hope for better days. The God we serve, and the country we love, deserve the best we have to offer, and in the confidence that we’re ready to give it, here are a few suggestions that may be helpful:

• • Practice seeing and believing the bigger picture. It’s one thing to nod our heads as Christians in agreement that we are part of something so much bigger than we are. It’s quite another to consciously see ourselves that way. Our natural tendency is to limit our perspective on who, what, and why we are to the congregation around us, or maybe to the denomination we’re affiliated with, but God sees us as part of a “Body” that permeates the world. We stand with, and for, every other follower of Jesus on this planet. We can link together with them in prayer, speak out along with them on issues far beyond our own sphere of influence. We have a glorious oneness with them, and bringing that realization into our meetings with God can extend our influence far beyond what we might imagine. Paul affirmed that glorious truth like this: 

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22) NKJV

• • Acknowledge and cooperate with the presence and power of the Spirit of God. There’s certainly no shortage of narcissistic people fighting for spotlights and pumping out selfies to post on any platform they can find, but most of us don’t see ourselves as powerful people. That’s generally a good thing, because God loves humility, but in one context at least, maybe we should take another look at ourselves and reevaluate who we really are and what (and Whom) we represent and be more bold and direct in our interactions with the Spirit of Jesus living within us. Perhaps it’s time to step up and ask Him to do something with us that we cannot do without Him. After all, it isn’t the wrapping on a stick of dynamite that turns boulders into dust, it’s what’s wrapped inside.  So, here’s a friendly reminder about Who’s sharing the space inside us and what He can do:Before Jesus went to the cross, He made this promise to His disciples:

…I [Jesus] will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:15–18) NKJV

 Later, Paul validated and reinforced that promise:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (Ephesians 3:20) NKJV

…that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power… (Ephesians 1:18 b–29) NKJV  

• • Expect Transformation. We talk about the transforming power of God, and most of us flawed followers of Jesus have experienced it in our own lives at some point. We love hearing the testimonies, singing the songs, reading the books, and watching the movies that demonstrate the power Jesus has to transform lives. But are we only looking for transformation in our rearview mirrors? The truth is that God loves to do transforming things in our lives. He never tires of taking us in new directions, developing new abilities, embarking on new adventures, and writing new stories. 

One More Lesson ~
Let me close out with a brief lesson I learned from my first experience with a pair of binoculars. Looking at the world through them was like magic. Ordinary things had mysterious new appeal, and I could see things I could never see before. But I soon learned the binoculars gave me three options: 

• • Ignore the binoculars altogether and just go on looking at the world through my own eyes and my own limited vision.
  • Look at the world through their lenses and see mysterious and magnificent things I couldn’t see without them. 
  • Or, I could turn them around backwards and see a world where everything was tiny, distant, powerless, and unappealing. 

Now imagine the Word of God as “divine binoculars”.  And with them, we also have three options:

• • Ignore the Scriptures altogether and only see what my eyes can detect. 
  • Look at the world from God’s perspective and see magnificent, mysterious, and compelling things I could never see otherwise.
  • Turn them around backwards by denying authenticity and authority, and seeing myself as the largest and most important figure and everything else as distant, tiny, and unappealing.

Changes are coming that we have no power to direct or prevent, but we do have the power to begin making some changes in our own lives that could bring us closer to the One who died for us and to those around us. We can step up and ask the Holy Spirit of God to take us on a new adventure, to use us to write some new stories, or even some new chapters in one we’re already working on. The next move is ours, so instead of waiting to see what happens, let’s do what we can to make good things happen.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “Ease and comfort tend to have the opposite effect. Maybe the challenge of stormy seas makes us better sailors. As individual followers of Jesus, we must decide how to respond to the political and ideological tumult surrounding us.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “God loves humility, but in one context at least, maybe we should take another look at ourselves and reevaluate who we really are and what (and Whom) we represent and be more bold and direct in our interactions with the Spirit of Jesus living within us.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “The truth is that God loves to do transforming things in our lives. He never tires of taking us in new directions, developing new abilities, embarking on new adventures, and writing new stories.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “Ask the Holy Spirit of God to take us on a new adventure, use us to write some new stories, or even some new chapters in ones we’re already working on. The next move is ours to do what we can to make good things happen.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

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