Is there any way to find some peace in the midst of all the political turmoil going on?
If you’re in the United States listening to this episode the week that it comes out, you know that we are very close to an election, not only for President of the country, but leaders at the state and federal level as well. And it seems there’s more political turmoil than ever.
Now, if you’re from another country, you’re probably aware that we have an election here in the US. The results of our election will have an effect on many other countries in the world, just as elections in your country can affect what happens here. So I hope you’ll stay tuned, because I’m going to talk about how we can find a sense of peace during the political turmoil that’s going on right now. And the ideas in this episode can certainly apply to the political scene in your country as well.
Politics can be so divisive. It basically includes the assumption that there are competing perspectives on what the problems are and what caused them, as well as completely different visions for how to solve these problems.
More political turmoil than usual
This year in the United States the political scene has become quite volatile and divisive, more than I can ever remember. Each side accuses the other of atrocities, lying, and promoting ideas that would “destroy the country as we know it.”
I’ve talked to folks on both sides of the political spectrum and almost everyone has at least one thing in common. They are worried, no, they are terrified of what will happen if their Presidential candidate doesn’t win the election.
So how can you and I, as followers of Christ, find any sense of peace in all this turmoil? Several months ago I did an episode called: How Would Jesus Heal Political Division? Episode 240. If you haven’t listened to it, I think you’ll find some helpful ideas about how to pray during situations like this.
How to find peace in the political turmoil
So today, we’re going to talk about finding peace during all this political turmoil. We’re just a week or less before the election. A lot of folks are on the edge of their chairs listening to every news report and they won’t be at peace unless and until their candidate wins.
My question for you is: If your peace comes from some event or person or circumstance, is it really peace?
Does your peace of mind come, or not come, depending on who wins the election? If you can only find peace if your candidate wins, then what you call peace is actually dependent on something besides God and is a very fragile sense of what peace is and a limited faith in God’s supremacy. It can dissolve at any moment, or never appear in the first place, depending on events or personalities.
True peace
True peace comes from God; it’s spiritual, and cannot be taken away from you. It’s about your relationship with God.
I love this promise from Psalms.
The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11 NIV
This is exactly what I’m talking about. True peace comes directly from God to His people, those He is in relationship with.
But there is a requirement, you could say, on our part.
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165 NIV
When you love and obey God’s law, which Jesus sums up in the two great commandments: Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself, this allows you to experience God’s peace in ways you could not if you’re living in disobedience to God’s law.
It’s about your relationship with God
So, here’s the first step to finding peace before and after the election, whether your candidate wins or not.
Focus on your relationship with God and obey His commandments: Love God. Love others. Love yourself.
I love the promise in the verse I just quoted, that when we have the peace from God that comes from loving and obeying His law, nothing can cause us to stumble.
Think about how this can apply to the political situation in this country or any country, or in any political situation at church or work or wherever.
The Psalm doesn’t promise bad things won’t happen, but it does promise that they won’t cause you to stumble, to lose your faith, your trust in God, your ability to do what’s right, or to be loving.
What is true peace?
The word translated “peace” in Psalm 119, and many other place in the Jewish Scriptures, is šālôm, or shalom.
Shalom means much, much more than lack of war or animosity between people or nations. And it’s more than just peace of mind. Shalom has a sense of spiritual completeness, safety and soundness of body, your overall welfare and prosperity. It includes the idea of quiet tranquility and contentment.
That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Even if your candidate or candidates win the election, shalom will not come to you because of that. And true shalom can’t be taken away from you if your candidates lose.
Shalom is about your relationship with God, which, as I said, includes obeying God’s laws.
The real reason you don’t feel God’s shalom
But sometimes we get so absorbed in what’s going on in the news on the political scene, the divisiveness, the lies, and the name calling, we don’t feel any sense of peace at all. Jesus warned us about such a time as this, when there would be
…upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: Luke 21:25, 26 KJV
Jesus is talking about things in a different context, but the idea is the same, that if you’re focused on and worried about the things that are going on in the earth, it can be pretty stressful.
Jesus makes it clear as day what causes distress, the unease, the lack of peace in tumultuous times. When you look “after those things which are coming on the earth,” when you focus on all these things that are happening, you will not find peace but distress.
The real solution to stress
The obvious solution is to quit being so absorbed in what’s going on on earth, and remember instead Jesus’s promise that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and within us.
This was the primary focus of Jesus’s whole ministry, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It was the lens he looked through. It was the truth he bore witness to. It’s how he could walk untouched through the crowd that was about to stone him.
Jesus had a deep-seated peace, or shalom, within that could not be diluted, adulterated, diminished, or destroyed by any external circumstance. That peace was put to the supreme test when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, during his trial, and crucifixion. But he was faithful to his purpose. And his inner sense of peace, from knowing he had been obedient to God in all he did, gave him the strength to face these challenges.
Jesus’s peace not subject to circumstances or people
And just hours before the crucifixion, Jesus shared this deep inner peace with his disciples. He was trying to help them focus on the peace that comes from God instead of being caught up in the fear and turmoil they were about to face.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
The peace Jesus felt wasn’t dependent on material circumstances. Later that evening Jesus says to his disciples,
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV
Peace in Christ
There it is plain and simple, we find our peace in Christ. In this material world, there’s going to be trouble. But the reason we can find peace is because Jesus has overcome the world. It’s fascinating to me that he said that before his victory over death in the resurrection. Spiritually, he had already overcome the world; he was already victorious. And he proved this victory by his resurrection.
The more I’ve thought about the deep sense of peace, the shalom, which Jesus had, even in the midst of misrepresentation of his character and purpose by those who wanted to have him killed, the more I’m convinced this peace came from, what I mentioned earlier, his focus and awareness of the presence of heaven.
Jesus’s kingdom
Jesus had overcome the material world, in part because he knew that was not where his kingdom was. He wasn’t trying to establish an earthly, geo-political kingdom.
In fact, he told Pilate
Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36 NLT
Can you and I say the same thing, especially in light of the “political kingdoms” we have become members of?
What are you focusing on?
There’s nothing wrong with getting involved in political issues. There’s nothing wrong with promoting what you feel is right. But when all our attention is focused on what one political party or the other will or won’t do, and we think that’s all that matters or all that will make a difference, to greater or lesser degree, we have lost sight of God’s kingdom, which, as Jesus said, is right here.
Sometimes people try to force this material world—through political policies and processes—into being what they think heaven on earth should look like. But they’re putting the cart before the horse.
Jesus’s approach was completely different. He made a much bigger contribution to the betterment of human lives than any government policy could ever do because he was so conscious of the fact that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He brought this awareness to everyone he ministered to. It healed them; it caused them to repent; it redeemed them; it reformed them. It transformed their lives.
Human government can never do what God’s government does
No matter which political party you’re a member of, no matter who is elected President, or to Congress or any office, no political party’s policy can do for mankind what Jesus did. Don’t expect a human government to do what only God can do.
Jesus didn’t get involved in the politics of his day in order to make things better for people. He didn’t try to influence Roman politics. He didn’t try to influence the Sanhedrin. He simply went about his Father’s business, not man’s business.
Whose kingdom are you a citizen of?
If we’re going to follow Jesus, then let’s follow his example. I’m not at all saying you shouldn’t vote in the upcoming election or be involved in the process. But I am saying don’t put all your hopes in any human government.
Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. Whose kingdom are you fighting for? Whose kingdom are you a citizen of?
Do you have more hope in the kingdoms of men or the kingdom of God? Where is your supreme loyalty?
Jesus said early in his ministry,
No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24 NLT
We could add a few things to that. You cannot serve God and the material world’s mindset of power and influence.
Don’t get absorbed in political turmoil
You will never find peace when the material world’s ways and means are your focus.
Now, I know, if the candidate you vote for wins, you’re probably going to feel pretty good about it. And you may be tempted to say it must be God’s will for that person to win.
This attitude comes in part from a prayer Daniel prays,
“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets up other kings. Daniel 2:20, 21 NLT
But if your candidate loses, you may feel like the end of the world has come and the other side will claim it’s God’s will for their candidate to win.
Do you see the double standard here? If you’re going to claim God has caused your candidate to be elected, then you have to also claim, if the other candidate wins, that God has caused that person to be elected. But that’s not really what Daniel is saying.
The Bible is full of kings and rulers who were disobedient to God. God did not choose them. They chose to follow their own will or the advice of those who did not love God and obey His laws.
How does God choose leaders?
Four years ago, just before the last presidential election in the United States, I did a podcast episode called How Does God Choose Leaders? It’s episode 49 and if you haven’t listened to it, you might enjoy some of the ideas there.
When you claim your citizenship in God’s kingdom, you have access to spiritual resources unavailable to human governments. You are not limited by or dependent on a human, man-made government. When you are consciously aware of your citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, which is at hand, you cannot ultimately be harmed or hindered by what a human government does.
There may be some government policies and programs that seem more or less beneficial to you, but they may have the opposite effect on others. The more you think the solutions to your problems come from the government, the less you’ll be aware that God has a much better solution. In God’s kingdom, everyone’s needs are met without taking away from anyone else having what they need.
What if human governments followed that model?
Political turmoil never solves problems
The more you realize the only real solution can come from God’s government, God’s kingdom, not man’s, and the more you look for solutions in God’s kingdom, the more your needs will be met, along with the needs of everyone.
The only way to truly find a sense of peace in the political turmoil of today, or in any period of time, is to follow Jesus’s wise counsel,
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, Matthew 6:33 CSB
To truly find peace in all the political turmoil, you’ll have to give up some of your opinions and your trust in something other than God.
As I said just a few minutes ago, if your peace depends on your candidate winning, it’s not really peace.
Freedom from political turmoil
Here are some things I’ve been thinking and praying about that have been helpful and given me a greater sense of peace in light of the political situation going on right now.
First is loving my neighbor, all my neighbors. Jesus said
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43, 44 NIV
That certainly applies to the political scene, doesn’t it?
So I have been consciously loving both candidates for President, and all candidates in every race no matter which political party they belong to or how they act or what they say they’ll do once elected. And I’ve been loving all the voters, regardless of who they will vote for.
I’ll have to be honest, this is not always easy. But I’m getting there and it gives a deep sense of peace.
Can you love the candidates you’re not voting for?
Now I can just hear someone thinking: Well James, I just can’t love those people in the other political party, I don’t always love the people in my own political party. How on earth do you love everyone?
First, I guess you have to admit it’s possible or Jesus wouldn’t have said we needed to do it. It doesn’t mean you have to love everything these candidates and voters do and say. It means to love them simply as children of God.
And that may be a stretch to think of the folks in the other political party as children of God. Here’s something that’s helped me take off all those labels we put on ourselves and others.
Yes, you can love them
Imagine the candidate for president, or any office, you do not plan to vote for, as a new born baby. They have not yet done any of the things you so strongly disagree with. Somewhere, underneath all those layers of acquired attitudes and perspectives, their original innocence is still there. It may be covered up, but it’s still there.
When I think of someone in this light, it helps me to love them the way God originally made them in His image and likeness. I’m not ignoring the mistakes they’ve made or the things they’ve done wrong I disagree with. I’m just loving them as a child of God.
I try to love all the other candidates as well as every single voter in this same way.
I keep coming back to Jesus’s declaration that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Since that is so, what is true about these candidates and voters right now in the kingdom of heaven?
Is there any political turmoil in heaven?
In heaven, there is no divisiveness. There are no political parties arguing with each other. No one is dissatisfied with God’s government. In fact He’s doing a really good job. No one is trying to compete against God or thinks they can do a better job than He is.
The more I have loved people in the light of what’s true about them in the kingdom of heaven, the less I have been agitated and alarmed at what’s going on in all the political turmoil of the day, and the more peace I have experienced.
The other thing that’s been really peace-giving for me is forgiveness. Now, you may think some of the political candidates have done things that are completely unforgivable. But, by forgiving, I do not mean condoning wrong behavior.
The more you can genuinely forgive and have Christly compassion on all the candidates and the voters too , the more you will be walking in the footsteps of Jesus. And the more peace you will experience.
Focus on God and not the political turmoil
In these last few days before the election, try not to get so absorbed in and react to all the news reports about what’s going on, and instead, turn your gaze to see how God is governing His kingdom.
Consciously choose to love and forgive everyone on both sides of the political divide. Pray that we all experience more of God’s peace, God’s shalom, God taking care of and providing for everyone’s needs.
No matter who wins the election, the peace of God in your heart cannot be taken away. Jesus has given you this peace. Now it’s your turn to share it with others.
_____________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
Make a donation to support the show
_____________
Bible References
Psalm 29:11 NIV
11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 119:165 NIV
165 Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
Luke 21:25, 26 KJV
25 …upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity…
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
John 14:27 NIV
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 NIV
33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 18:36 NLT
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
Matthew 6:24 NLT
24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Daniel 2:20, 21 NLT
20 “Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power.
21 He controls the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets up other kings.
Matthew 6:33 CSB
33 seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
Matthew 5:43, 44 NIV
43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
