"He shall fulfill all my purpose": Thoughts on Donald Trump

I'm no fan of Donald Trump.

My "horse in the race", Sen. Rand Paul, has dropped out and hence I am no longer supporting any remaining candidate.

However, I still very much take an interest in the way things are shaping up. I would like to live, work, raise a family and die in these United States so I want to know what the outlook for that nation currently is. If you haven't noticed, it ain't too good. Donald J. Trump has won the GOP Primary in South Carolina. And, if my social media feed is any indicator, Christians are freaking out.

I understand the freaking out. I'm not too thrilled either but since Rand Paul is no longer running, I'm not overly upset. But I don't get the bashing Trump fans are getting on their faith. Question their logic and reasoning all you want (and you should) but don't question their faith. We are Christians by virtue of our redemption in Jesus Christ. Not whether or not we voted for Donald J. Trump.



Donald J. Trump
By Marc Nozell - Flickr, CC BY 2.0,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4694223
I'm not especially scared of Trump like a lot of folks are. I'm amused by him, more than anything. I think he's ridiculous. But I'm not staying up all night worrying about the possibility of waking up in November to find President Trump will be in the White House come January.

But Trump is confusing to me. I can't tell if he actually means a word he says or if he's pulling off a brilliant performance worthy of an Oscar. I get his appeal. Frankly, I'm sick of silver tongue politicians like Cruz and Rubio. I get the desire for the strongman. I'm just not that desperate. But, then again I'm not voting with my stomach.

Permit me to detour for a moment here and explain the difference between what I call "stomach voters" and "heart/head voters." I don't mean the latter are more intelligent or logical. I mean they vote based on ideas and worldviews. These voters (and I tend to put myself in this category, which as a young college student I can do) tend to place social issues at the top of their list. Stomach voters don't give a felgercarb (BSG reference) about those things. Stomach voters care about the economy and feeding themselves and their families. To them, building the wall sounds like a great way to ensure this reality, by cutting the flow of illegals taking their jobs. I'm not praising this motivation, but in all honesty, I can't fault them.

I really feel sad for Trump supporters. I don't mean that in a condescending way or as a joke. My heart breaks that our system has driven them to this point of desperation. I'm not angry at Trump supporters. I'm angry at party politics and the debacle of the American government over the last sixty years or so. It's been so bad, the last decent president I can name is Calvin Coolidge. That's nigh to a hundred years ago. Yes, I am sad for the Trump voters and that this is their last resort, at least in their eyes.

I know I'm going against the popular opinion of my circles, which seem overwhelmingly in favor of Ted Cruz. I'm sorry. But I sympathize with these people. For their sake, I hope and pray Donald Trump turns out to be a decent president should he be elected. I'm not very hopeful, though.

Now to return to my original train of thought.

Christians who are voting for Trump are fully aware by now of his past. They don't care. They stopped caring the moment he said, "We're gonna build a wall. They would rather (to borrow from Martin Luther) have a smart Turk than a dumb Christian. And, objectively speaking I agree that there can be good rulers who are not personally Christians. In fact, God uses several pagan rulers for his purposes in Scripture. God was and is in complete control of the affairs of men, and he is in complete control of this Trump situation.
I am reminded of Cyrus, for some reason. Isaiah 44:24-28 (ESV) reads:



Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,

who formed you from the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself,
who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”


I'm not suggesting that this is a prophecy of Trump in any sense. What I am saying is that God works through pagans. He raised up Cyrus for his people. He might very well be using Donald J. Trump for a similar purpose.

Or he might not.

Maybe as many suggest, Trump is a judgment. That might very well be.

My point is, God is in control and all things that happen in the history of this planet move forward his story in some way whether we can discern his purpose or not. If Donald Trump is the man who will assume the office of president, we need to submit to the will of God, honor those whom he has placed in authority over us (something I fail to do big time), pray for them and be faithful. We need to be praying for Donald Trump. We need to pray for Ted Cruz, for Marco Rubio, for John Kasich (and no, "Lord, please relieve John Kasich of his irritating Ohio accent" does not count). We need to pray for Bernie Sanders. And yes, we need to pray for Hillary Clinton.

Biblically speaking, I have to say, feel free to use the imprecatory Psalms while praying for the latter two with all liberality (no pun intended).

I am not afraid of a Trump Candidacy or even of a Trump presidency. I am not afraid of Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. I'm not afraid Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. Heck, I'm not afraid of John Kasich. Whatever happens, our God is in the heavens and he has some purpose. It might be something really big and obvious or something more subtle that we will never understand,

Trump might a Cyrus figure. Trump might be a judgment. Trump might simply be a reminder that our hope lies not the Grand Old Party, the Democratic Party or even the Libertarian Party. Our hope is in the one who stretched out the heavens, and spread out the earth, "who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners." Look not to the elephant or the donkey, but look to the Lamb.

Now, I'm not saying don't do anything about all this. By all means be a good citizen and engage in the election process. If you vote for Trump, I'll be honest in saying it confuses me but I will not call into question your faith as many have. In fact, no one should be evaluated by their vote in regards to their faith.

I have no intention of voting for Trump or anyone else at this point. But I know our God is in control, weaving the tapestry of world history. If his will includes President Trump, so be it. What e'er our God ordains is right.And I rest in that knowledge.

By User Coyau on Wikimedia Commons - →
This file has been extracted from another file: Château de Versailles, salon de Diane, Cyrus chassant le sanglier,
Claude Audran II.jpg, CC BY 3.0,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42168050

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