There's Got to be a Morning After

 I have had the song The Morning After stuck in my head recently.  If you are not familiar with the song, it was featured in the 1972 disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure.  The plot centered around survivors aboard a cruise ship that had capsized in a tsunami.   Most of the film takes place underwater as they try to find an escape route. The irony is it popped into my mind at a time when I feel trapped inside the 2020 election process.  As I write this, there are only ten days left till all the ballots are cast.  Still, I am looking for an escape route.  I am weary of the negative campaign ads on television.  I am tired of the anger and the rhetoric. I even had a sleepless night after watching the first presidential debate.

In the film, six survivors do finally escape.  For them, there is a “morning after.” I am not sure we can anticipate much relief on the morning of November 4.  The reality is there are going to be a lot of angry and frustrated people once the results are finalized, whether it be that day or in the days or weeks to follow.  It is hard to recall a time when our nation has been more divided.  The level of angst boggles my mind. 

I think that pastors, and others who are in ministry, need to be ready to care for and support those who are faced with the defeat of their candidate for president.  I do not think the anger is just going to disappear.  The challenge for the church, myself included, is how do we be people of hope and healing at such a time as this.

As always, I looked to the Bible, as a history of the relationship between God and His people. It is there that we find hope and guidance.  I am drawn back to God’s people in the Old Testament.  The Children of Israel went through many times and circumstances that were more troubling than what we are facing right now.  God brought them through every situation.  He truly was “the Deliverer.”  Ultimately his rescue is found in the Cross of Jesus and the Open Grave.  The things of this world are only temporary. 

Yes, we will be delivered from our current situation.  There will be a “morning after.”  In the mean time we need to be the people of God, standing confidently focused on the cross.  That means rising above the current fray and being messengers of hope.