God’s Will Is Always Better

I woke up this morning feeling disappointed. I woke up to the news that most of the people that I had chose to vote for yesterday had lost. The weather seem to match my mood as it was a cloudy, drizzly, and a damp rain permeate everything. I began to pray. Just talking to God, having a conversation about how I felt this morning. I was honest that I felt disappointed, and I didn’t know how to be supportive of the people who are now in our leadership. Very quickly I felt a nudge, a tug at my heart to remember the verse that I’ve been memorizing for the last three weeks.

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let the perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” That little tug at my heart to remember that verse, I leaned into it. And as I listen to that tug, my heart immediately began to open up to hear something much bigger, much more important than my own feelings.

As I prayed, I realize that I wanted what I thought was good. What I thought would be the best for our community and for our state. But how often do I want what is good but not what God’s. I was quickly reminded that all too often I often focus on my own circumstances, my own story, everything going on around me without realizing the bigger picture. I’m called to live through the hard, trusting that God will not only work through it but also work in me.

So while, yesterday did not go the way that I had hoped, or even voted, I can still pray and choose to love those around me. Perhaps it is through not having our own elected, that we have the ability to speak more clearly, to speak loudly, and to speak with love about what really matters. Perhaps by not having who we had hoped, for in office, we will have the ability to concisely speak truth to those around us.