(If you voted for Trump, this post may not be for you. I only ask that you respect our freedom to grieve as much as we respect your freedom to vote.)
My Election Day Prayer
During my time of prayer before the polls opened Tuesday morning, I wrote these words in my journal.
O God, I remember the night Trump won the election before and, Lord! It was worse than we imagined. And now, Lord, if he wins we know it would be even worse.
O God, I want to believe the American people are better than this. But why? Why would I think that we are immune to the power of evil that has infected other nations ? Trump’s kind of world is the world you desire to save, to heal, to forgive and ultimately to redeem. It’s the world you loved so much that you sent your Son to save. It’s the dark world into which you send us as salt and light.
O God, protect us from evil! But if evil wins, it won’t be the first time, and it won’t be the only time your people are called to be faithful in difficult places.
O God, whatever happens, whoever is elected, you call us to be who we are , the people of your Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.
This is my prayer.
I’m a realist, but I was cautiously optimistic. I did not want to believe the American people would elect a convicted felon, self-identified sexual predator, twice-impeached, mean-spirited, vulgar-tongued, convicted fraudster who inspired an insurrection and who was identified as a fascist by the Generals who tried to protect us from his worse instincts. (Those are facts, not opinions.) Trump’s massive win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College has proven my naive patriotism to be wrong.
We are evidently not inherently better than this, even though it falls short of the ideals upon which this nation was founded, for which we had hoped, and toward which we will continue to work.
Who Are We? What Can We Do?
As followers of Christ, we are called to be the presence of the Kingdom of God. As people of Biblical faith, we’ve been here before. The biblical writers never hid the stories of kings, leaders and ordinary people who failed to live up to God’s vision or who reject God’s way. Everything that happens is not God’s will, but God will continue to be at work for his redemptive purpose in messy realities of human history. In a democracy, God doesn’t select the President; the people do. I respect the decision the people have made, though I cannot maintain my personal values and integrity and respect the man they have chosen, much less the cadre he brings with him.
So, what do those of us who had hoped for a different result do now?
We can rest and breathe.
Diana Butler Bass offered good advice during the night as the votes went Trump’s way. “Go slow tomorrow. I urge you to pay attention to some small beautiful things in your life. We don’t need answers or a plan or even understanding right now. One friend did text me, ‘It’s okay to need to catch your breath after the wind has been knocked out. It will take a bit. But we will rise.’”
We can weep.
There is more than ample biblical support of weeping. Nearly half of the psalms are “psalms of lament.” The Old Testament prophets like Jeremiah and Hosea weep over the direction their nation has taken. Jesus weeps because of the unwillingness of the city of Jerusalem to follow the way of peace. It’s okay to weep over what we hoped might have been. We can weep over the direction our nation has chosen.
We can listen.
We can listen to each other work through our disappointments and confusion. The fact that the results were so profoundly different than we expected means that we haven’t been listening deeply enough to the frustrations, grievances, and fears that Trump so effectively touched. We can listen to the witness of faithful people who have gone through crises like this in the past. Bonhoeffer, Mandela, Tutu and King would be a good places to start. And we can listen more deeply for the voice of the Spirit to speak to us and give us a fresh sense of direction for the future.
We can go on doing what we are called to do in the places we are called to do it.
I can’t improve on words from our friend, Dr. Shelly Wells Collins, pediatrician and Dean at UF Shands Hospital.
“I have already been asked this morning what we do now. What we do is we get up, we go to work, we continue to fight for the rights of all people, the protections of children, the idea of democracy. For those who believe God was in this election and chose the winner, that is not what happened. God was nowhere in this election or the rhetoric or the demeaning comments. But we will need Him now as there are now no barriers in place to stop the assault that will continue on women, minorities, and those with disabilities and the protections we have all enjoyed for our children such as vaccines, freedom to read what we, as parents, believe is appropriate, will be gone. We will see diseases we haven’t seen in two generations as he threatens to fill important offices with people who do not understand science or healthcare.
“So we get up, we go to work, we hug our families, we love our children, we pray for our country, we believe in God and we stand for what is good and right and we use data, facts and science to advocate for children.”
So, we go forward, stumbling and limping toward the vision of God’s Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.
Peace,
Jim
Jim Harnish 
Amen and amen. Kamala’s concession speech was filled with inspiration for carrying on the fight for decency and justice for all. It is so comforting to hear your words and of those whom you quote. God bless us everyone.
I
Good morning, Jim. I always enjoy reading your blog, but this one is particularly touching. Is there a way I can easily share this on my FB feed? With your permission, of course.
Angela Bond Markus
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Get Outlook for Androidhttps://aka.ms/AAb9ysg
Thanks for your response. If you go to my Facebook page, you can share it from there.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We needed this! Our two granddaughters ( 20 and 24) have cried buckets. I told him they had to get up and go to class and keep fighting. You can’t w
I haven’t read this yet, but I wanted you to know that I thought of you 2nd…right after my wife, who is shook, but surprisingly a shade less devastated than 2016.
Well said, Jim! Thank you!!
Jim: Thank you for your faithful leadership and for providing comfort when there is little to be felt about the future for our children and grandchildren and for those of minority groups who make up much of our wonderful nation at this moment in history. Being ever mindful that the Holy Spirit is with us and ultimately our Lord and Savior has overcome this world feeds our souls. Please keep writing!
Look forward to sharing with you Sunday!
Thank you for sharing your heartfelt prayer and reflections, Jim. Your honesty and humility in grappling with the complexities of our current political landscape are truly refreshing. I appreciate your emphasis on maintaining faith and community in the face of disappointment, and your call to action resonates deeply. It’s a powerful reminder that regardless of the outcomes of elections, our mission remains to embody love, justice, and hope. Let us continue to listen, weep, and work together toward a better future. Your words inspire me to stay committed to the values we hold dear, even when the path feels uncertain. Peace be with you.
Excellent words. I hope we can find within us to continue the fight for equality and kindness during what is guaranteed to be a chaotic, unfulfilling 4 years.
thank you, Jim.
As I began reading your piece I thought, “I need to send Jim Shelley’s words, but then there they were. It is hard to be hopeful, but miracles happen. I will never understand, but Charley’s calling it a cult comes closest. sigh.Sent from my iPad
Wow!! Amen a thousand times over!
You humble me. I am increasingly filled with something I haven’t quite identified but is likely akin to what people have felt over the course of history as the beginning of a movement. In medicine we often feel the most despair when we feel as though we are helpless in the face of a disease and do not know what to do to help our patients. We are not helpless in the face of this. We have agency, choices and purpose which means we can move a nation. We just have to keep going. Love and Peace-Shelley
Thanks for your wisdom in both the words I quoted and in what you write here. I would have asked for your permission to quote you, but figured that FB is “public domain” and wanted to get my message out.
We are facing a serious disease in the culture. We can hope it won’t be deadly, though it will result in a lot of suffering along the way way. I thought a breakthrough had come, but it means we still have work to do! If you’ll send me your email, I’d like to ask for permission to quote you in the book I’m writing now.
I’m relentlessly grateful for all we share together.
Jim
thanks for putting into words how many of us feel and for sharing thoughts on what we can do
I will keep this e-mail as I am so fearful and so surprised. Honestly couldn’t believe that such a deplorable man could win . I am 83 and I just couldn’t imagine this happening. Your words will remind me that there is still hope for our kids and grandkids and for the whole world. Peggy Willams. Been getting your messages for years as you were my daughter’s pastor and she signed me up. You are a Godsend!
Sent from my iPhone
>
Jim I hope you and Martha are doing well. I appreciate this BLOG. Jane and I both agree that this decision is unbelievable. You are so good at putting my thoughts into words. Thank you for doing this for us. Have a blessed day and talk soon. SHALOM, Tom Mc
>
Amen, Jim.
Regrettably, Joe Biden did not step out of the way in time for the party to develop a strong candidate with a strong program to promote. Kamala Harris was a strong candidate but she was wounded by supporting Joe, making her a target rich person.
Bradford Webb
Thank you, Jim; no one could express it better. I hope some reason prevails.
Missing your wise sermons and Marsha’s beautiful smile, Cheryl Beckner
Sent from my iPad
>
Thanks very much, Jim…..We appreciate your thoughts, quotes, and words… Our prayers continue for Kamala & her family and Tim and his family…We hope and pray for better things ahead for both of them…
Love to you & Martha,
Archie & Carolyn
Jim,
Thanks for your words of comfort and you help in what comes next. I was devastated by the election results and still have some anxious about what comes next. I guess we just get up, and go about our day with the concern for our freedom and our country and do all we can to make life better.
love to you and Marsha!
Jim, Here’s me, reading your blog;“…yep… …yep……yep… …yep……exactly! …yep…”I think it was Fred Craddock who talked about “feeding peop
Good postGary Sent from my iPhone
Thank you Jim. I needed this. I have been heartsick along with many others. Jean Mills, Clarion First United Methodist
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. – 1 Timothy 2:1-2
So how do we pray for those who have been elected and those whom they will appoint? I’m thinking I need to pray for them to receive and follow God’s wisdom and pray that if they refuse wisdom, the Lord will protect us from them. I’m thinking my prayer might be the same for all of the world’s rulers on behalf of those they rule.
Thoughts?
Prayers are always appropriate, but we need to do more than pray. We need to hold leaders accountable to the Constitution, the values of our tradition, and the vision of the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, the President we just elected has demonstrated no respect for any
of those.