Elections and Hope

Tonight’s election has a much different feel than the one two years ago when Obama was elected, yet for many people, there is still the same possibility of hope and change in the air.

Two years ago, I clearly remember thinking that I had never before seen a campaign that had inspired so much hope and so many expectations - something that seemed incredibly positive for our country and millions of people who had lost jobs and their life savings. And yet, as I write, much of America has grown tired of waiting for changes that never came and hope seems to have a distinctly red tint tonight.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe hope and expectations that can never be fully met regardless of the political party or candidate is foolish. Maybe hope that has no foundation isn’t really hope at all.

I have no idea who the better candidate is, and I don’t think I care. They will do some things well, other things not so well, and several years from now, the majority of people will likely be voting for the candidate from the other party to try to meet their unquenched hopes and expectations.

But instead of being continually shocked, frustrated, and angry that our elected officials cannot satisfy our wants and desires, we have another option.

The author of the book of Isaiah was extremely familiar with the themes of suffering, hope, expectation, and justice. He writes over and over again that the people of Israel had put their hope in militaries, kings and rulers, politics, and proudly, themselves.

But as He usually does, God flips this on its head in chapter 49:

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;

Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to vote and there are some really fantastic people out there who work in politics. But if our hope is found in our political parties, stimulus plans, and health care bills, we’re missing the point, and we will always be left disappointed.

Because there is only One hope that is completely worth our time, energy and affection, and only One hope that will not leave us disappointed. Father, Your Kingdom come! -CK