CHOSEN, ANOINTED, APPOINTED: God chooses all kings. When we understand how God chooses a king, we can apply godly wisdom and discernment when faced with a democratic vote for choosing our new president of the United States of America. Do you have peace about your vote? We can examine five biblical truths from 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, to prayerfully guide us to be at peace with the decision we make when we go to vote.

 1.   GOD SENDS A PROPHET TO ANOINT A FUTURE KING:

Samuel was a prophet. A prophet is also anointed by God to proclaim God’s truth. “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill you horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king’ ” (1 Sam. 16:1 New International Version). Today, God sends his pastors and disciples out to anoint and pray for our leaders and disciple them, in the name of Jesus.

 2.   GOD DOES NOT LOOK AT OUTWARD APPEARANCES:

 King David was a young shepherd boy. Shepherds were looked down upon as the lowest of the low on the social scale during biblical times. They were dirty and smelly; they were gossips and liars. But God didn’t see that, because He saw what was underneath, a heart after His: “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’ ” (1 Sam. 16:7) Today God is still unimpressed by status, wealth, fame, and connections. After all, He is The Creator of all of us. He can give and take away in an instant.

 3.  GOD LOOKS AT A THE HEART OF A MAN:

God sees everything. He observed how David took his job as a shepherd very seriously. He watched as he gathered each and every one of the sheep together, and searched for any that were lost, to bring them back home. God in His Omniscience could already see that David would do the same thing with people under his reign. God needed a king who would care for the chosen people of Israel. “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ” ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’ ” (Acts 13:22). Today God looks through all the superficial layers the world has created, and He searches deeply for the good that lies down underneath. He sees our potential, even when no one else does.

4.  GOD SEEKS A KING WHO WILL PURSUE HIM, IN SPITE OF BEING A SINNER:

King David was far from perfect. He lusted after a woman named Bathsheba, while she was bathing. Then he committed adultery with her, and she became pregnant, all while her her husband was being loyal to the king and fighting for him in The Lord’s Army! As if that were not despicable enough, he also deceitfully set up a plan that would cause Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, to die in battle, just so he could keep Bathsheba for his wife. It worked. “After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Sam. 11: 27). Though David battled sin and strongholds, he had a repentant heart, and continued to pursue God. He wrote the Psalms, which everyone can relate to today, because we are all sinners. Today’s kings must pursue Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, because God has said Jesus is the One and Only way to God.

 5. GOD WORKS IN SPITE OF EVIL BUT DOES NOT CONDONE IT. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES:

A consequence of King David’s sin, was the death of his son.  David was remorseful. He prayed and asked God to save his son, but when his son died, he accepted the consequence. “Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at this request they served him food and he ate” (2 Sam. 12:20). David sinned, but he was not evil. He had a repentant heart. After asking God to forgive him, he accepted his trial, and continued to pursue God, and fight for God’s Army. God equipped David for these battles.

David could have rejected God and turned his back on him. Instead, David trusted God in all things, even painful trials. He went on to receive God’s blessing of another son, King Solomon, who became the wisest and richest king in history. Today’s kings can also have a close relationship with God by choosing to accept Jesus Christ. As they pursue Jesus, with repentant hearts, they can come boldly to God, without fear, knowing He will help them gain victory in their battles. They can say, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

If God has appointed kings, but we live in a democracy, what does that mean for us? It means we are responsible to choose a king as God would, to the best of our knowledge and our abilities through Jesus Christ. Our candidate’s agenda should line up with God’s scriptures. If God says it’s a sin, the candidate we vote for should be saying it’s a sin. A quick way to do this is to look up the 10 Commandments.

They are listed in both the Old and New Testaments. God’s scriptures are black and white. If you feel an issue is a “gray area” seek God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Accept Jesus, if you haven’t. Repent of any sins. Ask Him to remove any spiritual blinders. Then ask Him your question again. He will answer you. The silver lining is that God is in control, and if we pray, we can have peace about going to the polls. God gave you a voice…Go out and vote!

“Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

Deuteronomy 1:13

Related: Christians and Candidates: Voting for Your President