Is God The Only Hope For Our Country?

I've seen a quote floating around today stating, "The only hope for this country is God.”

This is false.

The only hope for this country, or more precisely, for the citizens of this country is to have our citizenship transferred from America to the Kingdom of God, which can only occur as God’s grace enables us to embrace His Son in saving faith.

God has promised to bring his righteous wrath down on the kingdoms of this world (yes I'm looking at you America the beautiful), because they all rage against Him and His anointed one (Ps. 2). The king's heart is like water in God's hands (Pr. 21:1), so of course he can raise up a nation or leader to accomplish something good (like fighting against a warring, tyrannical, and oppressive rival government), but that does not mean that that country or leader is going to escape the wrath of God for the evil it has also perpetrated (like murdering unborn children by the tens of millions, or twisting God's word to justify race-based slavery, or denying their creator who made them male and female, the list could go on). All the nations of the earth will be defeated and destroyed by the one righteous King in existence, the Lord Jesus Christ. The citizens of those earthly kingdoms only hope is to abandon their sinking-ship-of-a-country and come aboard the life-giving Ark God has provided in Christ.

Christians voting a certain way will not "save" this country and I get the distinct impression now-a-days that many evangelical Christians believe that this is the only hope for our country.

Christians acting like disciples of Christ and aiming to make disciples will result in many entering into Jesus' eternal kingdom of light and quite possibly make our dark country a brighter place to live. But even if societal reform does not occur we can be sure Jesus is now reigning and will one day bring that reign to bear on this world with perfect wisdom, love, and justice. Our country has no hope, ever. The only hope is being transferred to a new kingdom, the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God and His blessed Son Jesus Christ.

Please do not get bent out of shape over who “sits on the throne” of American politics. I realize life, especially religious life, could fundamentally change in the near future depending on what ruling party gets elected, but that will not change our mission that was given to us by our King. Our marching orders will remain the same and we must think and pray about how to be faithful to our King however easy or difficult the earthly governing authorities make it.

Please focus on obeying the Lord. How can you express your gratitude to the Lord today? How can you love your neighbor today? How can you bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost person today? How can you become a more encouraging person to the fellow believers at your local church? How can you serve more faithfully at church so others are blessed? Set your minds on the things above, not on the things below (Col. 3:1-2)!

By all means, pray. Pray for our leaders and our country and the election outcome. But do it with a hopeful eye on Jesus. Do it for the purpose of the church being enabled and free to pursue its goal without hinderance. Pray that the church would be the church come-what-may in the world of politics. Pray that the gospel being proclaimed and believed by many would be the driving force behind societal reform and human flourishing. Pray that God would receive the glory for all instances of justice and human flourishing, not merely an “anointed” political figure who claims credit for such things. Pray that human ineptitude and pride would be exposed and that the saving power of Jesus would shine brightly to those lost in utter darkness.

There is no hope for this country, but there is great hope for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Run to Jesus in faith and be welcomed to the family and kingdom of God!