Monday, April 18, 2016

In This Tumultuous Political Season Cruz Supporters Must Have Faith and Courage

I have the pleasure of being in California, the state that will likely determine if Donald Trump gets to 1,237 before the convention or if we’ll have a contested convention. By this time in the nomination process, the delegates are pretty much wrapped up, so for the first time since moving out west I’m going to have a say in a Presidential election.

Ted Cruz is the man that I believe should be the next President. I write articles, make videos, and communicate with people online throughout the day in an attempt to do my part in making him the GOP nominee. One of the most exciting moments in my political pastime (it’s more of a hobby than a profession) was when Cruz announced he was officially running. I felt drawn to him before any major campaigns were launched and seeing him launch his first gave me the early gumption to push forward working in the background to help him.

It’s important to understand this because during this political season, tensions are much higher than I’ve ever seen during an election. I was too young to experience Ronald Reagan’s attempted coup of the Republican nomination in 1976, but I’ve watched every other nomination cycle since and it’s clear that we haven’t seen anything like this in the modern era. As I posted on another site, the candidates on both sides of the aisle are fighting so ferociously that the hatred for other voters within the same party is remarkable. There are many strong Cruz supporters who will be emotionally affected if he doesn’t win. The same can be said about Trump supporters.

As for me, I’ll be disappointed for a few moments. Then, I’ll move forward without an ounce of anger, sadness, or disappointment lingering. That’s the plan, at least. As invested as I am in helping Cruz, I am exponentially more invested in God’s plan for me, my family, this country, and the world.

If God’s plan is for Cruz to win, he will. If God’s plan is for me to be the GOP nominee, He could make that happen. The wonders of having an omnipotent Father who knows the beginning from the end is that His Will is all that matters. Knowing that He will elevate our next leader into that position does not take away our responsibility (more on that later) but it does remove any and all need to be upset by the outcome, whatever that outcome might be. Yes, even a Trump Presidency.

We know that He can do anything. We don’t know what He will do and it could be a long time before we know why He does what He’s going to do with this election. I’ll reference a point I made in an article on the lessons from the Book of Daniel that is relevant to our current political situation. In Daniel 3:17-18, we see that there’s a difference between acknowledging that God’s Will is absolute and knowing that we have no idea how His Will acts in our lives.

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They knew that even in the face of certain death, God could save them. That’s the faith that we need. They also knew that it was His choice, His plan, that determined whether or not their desired outcome would come to pass. That’s the courage that we need.

This is absolutely, under no circumstances, a license to not act. If through prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit we are compelled to support any candidate, we must act. The fact that the outcome of the election is in God’s hands doesn’t give us an excuse to not do our part. As God’s children, we are active participants in God’s plan. As God’s children, we must also continue to act appropriately if the outcome that we desired does not come to pass.

Two things must happen. We must have the faith to not lose hope until the very end. For Cruz supporters, that means pushing forward until the nomination is secured. If he wins, the new battle begins. If he is defeated, we much have the courage to push in the new direction that God lays out before us. This is a time for discernment in politics. It’s needed desperately now, perhaps more than ever.



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