To avoid a Hillary presidency (and the subsequent annihilation of all that is true, good, and beautiful), I plan to vote for Trump—but I’ll fill in that ballot reluctantly this year.
My disappointment with Trump isn’t that he’s unconventional; unconventional politicians can be a good thing. But I have a hard time getting behind leaders who seem motivated by power or victory; I want to knock on doors for a person who seeks first to please Someone greater than himself. I want to promote a candidate who’s been faithful to everyone entrusted to him and who’s real and whose speeches move us to love America—not hate each other.
There is someone who could help Donald Trump win, though. He could win our support, win the election, and help America to “win” in the world. There is one person who could help him make all those promises a reality…
But it’s not Steve Bannon, and it’s not Mike Pence.
This person is more than a VP pick, a business associate, or a campaign advisor. He’s more than a family member affirming to us all that “The Donald” really is a good guy. This person is the One who makes men rise and fall—and elevates or sweeps away entire nations right along with them. He set the earth spinning on its axis, and Isaiah says He “has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea and marked off the heavens with a span.”
He holds Trump’s future—and ours, too—in the palm of His hand. And He could help Trump “win”—not only in November’s election, but in everything else, as well.
I think the reason many of us are having a hard time “getting on the Trump Train” is because we just can’t perceive a sincerely converted heart in him yet, and that makes it hard for us to trust him with—ya’ know, the welfare of the entire world and all. But our good God has His plans for each of us, and which of us can know what His ways are for the nature—or the timing—of Trump’s conversion?
Since he’s the Republican nominee (and the election of his opponent would mean the utter destruction of everything we hold dear), if we can’t quite bring ourselves to fill our yards with Trump signs yet, let’s pull together in another way and pray hard for his faith every time we pray for our own. God sent a child to lead St. Augustine to Romans 13, and the man was converted in an instant. Christ sent St. Paul a bolt of lightning that spoke, and Paul “did a 180” right smack-dab in the middle of the road to Damascus. The Lord really does work miracles; He still knows how to pour grace into any heart He chooses, and we have to believe that the prayers of millions of Americans who love Him wouldn’t go unheard or unanswered.
One of the readings in Mass Sunday—Moses’ conversation with God after the people of Israel worshipped the golden calf—really hit me. The LORD was ready to open a big ol’ can of “whoop-you-know-what” on the Israelites (and for good reason!), but Moses persuaded Him not to punish them. It left me wondering—if one man could convince God to spare an entire nation, couldn’t we, an entire nation, convince Him to turn the heart of one man?
Our country’s first president is commonly pictured at Valley Forge on his knees, asking for strength, guidance, and blessing from the One who gives and takes away. That’s where I hope we’ll see Mr. Trump, too…because, if he wins the presidency, he’s going into battle for us and for every American generation that comes after. It’s a battle we can’t afford to lose, and every human person needs God’s blessing to truly “win”.
Even Donald Trump.