Good morning…

I prayed in bed for a long, long time before getting up to make coffee. I fell asleep last night to the din of election results, rolling in, rolling in, neck and neck. Strangely, right now I am savoring not knowing who won, sort of like when I was pregnant and did not know the answer, “Boy or girl?,” until the very moment of delivery.

Is our next President a boy or a girl? The answer matters less to me than the word that fills my mind right now. I feel in my soul a directive from God: “INSPIRE.”

My natural next step is to google the word’s meaning. To “inspire” means to guide or to instill through divine influence. To stimulate or arouse a feeling or thought. To embolden and encourage. To infuse and invigorate. To spark and spur, to stir and sway. Whatever our response to whoever won this election is designed to be “inspired” by our Wonderful Advisor, the Ruler of our soul.

To understand how our Mighty God motivates us to “inspire,” let’s look back at the scripture the LORD led us to yesterday morning.

A child has been born for us.
We have been given a son
who will be our ruler.
His names will be
Wonderful Advisor
and Mighty God,
Eternal Father
and Prince of Peace.
His power will never end;
peace will last forever.
He will rule David’s kingdom
and make it grow strong.
He will always rule
with honesty and justice.
The Lord All-Powerful
will make certain
that all of this is done (Isaiah 9:6-7, CEV).

Our Eternal Father offers us never-ending power and everlasting peace, how might we tap into God’s peaceful power as we respond to the outcome of this election? As those surrendered to the Prince of Peace, how might we help God’s kingdom on earth grow strong, honest, and just? The Lord All-Powerful will make certain all of this is done and, amazingly, God invites us to play a part in the divine drama.

The role we will play begins with this question: “Today, will I ‘inspire’ cooperation with our Creator, passing along the power of peace, or will I ‘inspire’ resistance to our Ruler, fueled by the father of fear?”

…Sue…