Fourth, with the realization in mind that the government is not our savior combined with the moral and spiritual slide we find ourselves in as a nation, we have a clear occasion to speak to the church and as the church. We may admonish our brothers and sisters to embrace the Savior afresh in their lives. Those believers who are fearful can still worship the Lord. They can still witness of His grace to others. None of that has changed. And, we may speak together as the church to a world in darkness. The church is in a unique position to point the way forward in Christ. We alone have real answers to real questions.

Fifth, we can rejoice that our citizenship is in heaven and that we serve a king who has established a kingdom that shall never end. When Daniel was called upon to reveal and interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he uttered the profound reality that should be the constant focus of our attention, the driving force in our lives, and the anchoring hope in the midst of all our circumstances: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (Dan. 2:44).” The God of heaven set up that kingdom by sending Christ into the world. America is but a temporary player on the world’s stage. The good news is that we serve the King of kings and Lord of lords and His kingdom shall stand forever.

Again, while many are disconcerted, the truth is that we as Christians “in all these things…are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:37).” Be encouraged. It is not despite these things but in all these things that we are more than conquerors. Thus, with a new president we have hope for a new year not because of that president, but because of the King who loved us.

Paul J. Dean