On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters across America will flock to the polls to decide who will be the next President of the United States, among many other important votes this Election Day.
Many have called this one of the most important elections in U.S. history, some even calling it “the most important election in history.”
When times like this emerge, I find it helpful to remember that there have been other times in our great nation’s history in which a historic and consequential election happened amid extremely divided times.
For example, the election I am thinking of featured two major political figures. The election was so close that on Election Day, the final results were not known. The Democrat nominee for President had clearly won the popular vote, but the Republican could still win the election by winning the Electoral College vote.
There were states like Florida where counting was still happening and in which important electoral votes were pending. Ultimately a small, appointed group had to deliberate and determine the final outcome of the election, and the Republican was named the winner weeks after Election Day.
That election was in 1876, and the Republican was President Rutherford B. Hayes, defeating Democrat Samuel Tilden, 185 electoral votes to 184. The decision by the Electoral Commission that was set up to decide the outcome was so controversial—and the nation so divided—that there was talk about a possible second Civil War (recall they were barely 10 years removed from the first Civil War). Thanks be to God, America survived that divided, contentious election and here we sit, 148 years after that election.
We are uniquely blessed to be living in the United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Yet each generation must do its part, with a total reliance on Almighty God, to preserve and build upon it.
What can we, as Christ-followers do? The Bible says, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Tim. 2:1-3).
When the Apostle Paul penned those words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was not exactly living under the rule of an admirable leader like George Washington. Yet Paul still encouraged believers to do the very things we ourselves can still do today:
—Pray for our leaders and all those in authority.
—Give thanks for the blessings we have.
—Lead a quiet and peaceable life that is godly.
Regardless of the outcome of the 2024 Election—as important as it certainly is—with God’s help, we can persevere as His people. Even amid divided times, even in a divided America.
