USA | Blog – Deb Mills

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Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage...They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. – Psalm 84:5,7

I used to love politics – back in the day the word seemed to have more to do with governing than with power. Now it’s all turned upside down. In the US we are in that political season of preparing to elect the next President. What a jumble the electoral process turns out to be! Still, I am thankful for the freedom to vote…whatever the outcome we face.

In fact, today I voted early in the primary election, being that I will be out of town for our scheduled state primary election. In the Fall, when we have the final vote for the President, I wonder if the choice will be between two candidates neither of which I could even imagine voting for.

When we lived overseas, I would talk glowingly about our government. Most of my friends would chuckle at the absurdity of my thinking that our government wasn’t corrupt. “All governments are corrupted,” they would say. I was reminded of that quote “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (John Dalberg-Acton)

Are we reconciling ourselves to a political process that will lead to a larger and larger government? Are we determined to circle our wagons tightly around ourselves, forgetting the world beyond our borders? Are we becoming a culture so enamored of and dependent on our government, for safety and security, that, for some of us, it seems we are more like foreigners here, than at home?

Just 50 years ago, the youth of our nation wanted smaller government, less intrusion in their lives. Now in less than a span of two generations, it seems our young voters want more government. More. More. More.

I get to the place of not having words…as if I am trying to comprehend a foreign language, like in our life overseas…when it wasn’t just strange words but different ideologies.

Then…I read something, in passing, thumbing through social media one day, and the fog cleared.

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook:

“My heart has been troubled as I’ve watched the news and seen how the election has been playing out. I’ve tried to figure out how it is possible to get the “right guy ” in there and today, God has reminded me that I serve Him and my citizenship is in Heaven. I love my country and want the best for it, but in a hundred years, I will be with Jesus and whatever is to come between now and then is not a surprise to Him. ‪#‎pray‬ ‪#‎psalm49″‬

I, too, am grateful to live in this country where we have freedom of religion, freedom of speech…and so many other privileges. Yet, in the end, this is not my forever home. We are meant to work hard to preserve this nation for one another, and for generations before us…yes. However, we are to remember that whatever happens…whatever we face in this nation’s future…we are not home yet.

Worship with me, with the help of Christian band Building 429’s Where We Belong:

Sometimes it feels like I’m watching
From the outside
Sometimes it feels like I’m breathing
But am I alive?
I will keep searching for answers
That aren’t here to find

(Chorus)
All I know is I’m not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

So when the walls come falling down on me
And when I’m lost in the current of a raging sea
I have this blessed assurance holding me.

Chorus

When the earth shakes
I wanna be found in You
When the lights fade
I wanna be found in You

Chorus (X2)

Where I belong (X4)*

Photo Credit: Faithful in Christ