The Deplorables Have Spoken and Prayed, Too

One week later, we can revel in the reality. President Donald Trump. Against all odds.

God did this. Believe it.

Praying as the returns rolled in last week, I was reminded of two verses from the Book of Daniel that I’ve often heard quoted together, something like this: “There is a God in heaven, Who rules and reigns in the affairs of men.”

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This statement, true as it is, is really a mashup of words lifted from four separate Scriptures (Genesis 40:8, 41:25, and Daniel 2:28 and 4:17, for those keeping track).

But the thought is summarized in Daniel 4:17, which explains why the invisible God sometimes visibly acts within history:

“So that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone He wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.”

These words of Daniel 4:17 are so appropriate for what has just taken place in this historic election.

Here’s what the Trump victory represents, from a Christian American’s perspective: The Trump/Pence victory (and its converse, the Clinton/Kaine defeat) means a lot, including that the lives of 60 million aborted babies are not forgotten by Almighty God.

Our national abandonment of morality and the increase in lawlessness has not gone unnoticed by God. The suppression of what our Founders called “natural law” and “self-evident truth” has been called out by God. The cries of God’s people against the imposition of immorality by judicial fiat (I’m talking about the Supreme Court here, folks) this has been noted by the Almighty.

Related: What a Trump Victory Means to the Christian Base

Many of us who preach God’s Word for a career, and who passionately love all people in this great nation, entered this election cycle with much, much prayer. And I assure you, God has answered those prayers.

Folks, ignore the pontificators who are, this moment, warning about fascism, jingoism, a return to the 1950s, et al. They miscalled all of this, even up until 24 hours ago. And I am talking about some supposed “Christian conservative” writers, too.

The most pro-abortion candidate in history has been defeated.

In terms of the United States of America, Trump’s win means that, for a moment, the divine judgment we deserve has been potentially “stayed.” The Lord Jesus has overruled all pundits, defied the “experts,” and has given this nation time to repent our of sins, turn to Him, humble ourselves in prayer and to once again experience the peace and unity that comes when a nation truly seeks to live godly.

You’ve got to appreciate just how unlikely all of this is!

From his desk two years ago and with no fanfare, Trump had used a marker to draw up the slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Political experts promptly began calling his campaign a “clown show.” For much of 2015 and early 2016, I attended political gatherings of evangelical “leaders” who pontificated over the upcoming election, and they wouldn’t even include Trump’s name in the list of “serious” candidates they were discussing.

Pundits who utterly missed the ascendancy and victory of Trump are already equally missing the implications of his victory. And this includes largely nonsensical bromides from some Christian voices. Already some social commentators (again, who’ve demonstrated their “out-of-touchness” for the last two years) are describing this victory as being about “white angst,” “male recoil at the prospects of a female president,” and “the eve of right-wing fascism.”

Um … no.

For we clergy who supported the Trump campaign from Day 1, some fellow believers have already begun to wag their fingers at us, chiding, “Politics is not religion,” and “Remember that our allegiance is to God, not Caesar.” Of course. We know and believe the medieval church’s cry of “Christus Auctor” (that Christ is the author, or “assigner,” of all things). It is God’s world, not man’s. We know this.

Related: The Transformative Power of Elected Office

But for those of us who prayed into the wee hours of the night, who have worked now for many months to “get out the vote,” and frankly, who have taken much verbal abuse from fellow clergy “friends” puzzled by our support for Trump, let me say this in Christian love:

Defying all odds, all “experts” and all conventional wisdom, a pro-Christian, pro-religious liberty, pro-life, pro-America candidate surrounded himself with some plain-spoken American constitutionalists, some Christians, and the few conservatives in Washington courageous enough to act on their convictions (initially you could count them on one hand). And he has won.

Many months ago, Donald Trump met with a roomful of preachers and asked for our support — the same pastors of the flocks that Hillary Clinton would later generalize as “deplorables.” Well, we deplorables have spoken —and the votes are in.

There is a God in heaven who answers prayers. The most pro-abortion candidate in history has been defeated.

May our lives, moving forward, reflect gratitude, obedience, and Christian zeal. And may God continue to bless America.

Dr. Alex McFarland is a religion and culture expert, national talk show host, speaker and author of 18 books, including “Stand Strong America.” He also serves as director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at the Christian Worldview Center of North Greenville University in Greenville, South Carolina, and spent 20-plus years training teens and adults in the biblical worldview.