“The presidency is bigger than any one person,” President Barack Obama said the day after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. But as I turned on the news and watched the stock market plummet and world leaders weigh in, it seemed that this one person was causing a lot of concern and sending shock waves around the globe. Fear of the future is real.
Throughout the campaign our new president-elect was a source of anxiety, now officially labeled “Trump Trauma.” According to a Washington Post article on March 6, psychologists and massage therapists have been busy since the primaries, treating election anxiety that is mostly related to Donald Trump. Alcohol poisoning also became a heightened concern, sparked by drinking games during the debates. This fall, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned viewers who decided to drink every time Trump told a lie that they “… could very well die of alcohol poisoning. … We can’t impress enough on people about the danger of mixing alcohol and watching the GOP debates.” Now with a Trump victory sealed, trauma and anxiety will likely rise. Ironically, our future president is already creating more jobs even before he takes office – jobs for addiction counselors and psychologists!
While we don’t know what the future brings with Donald Trump in the White House, we know who ultimately holds the future. As I read my “Jesus Calling” devotion this morning, November 9, I smiled at the seemingly divine timing of the words in front of me, “Sit quietly with me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness. There, in the Light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear. However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future.”
For people of faith anchored in Jesus Christ, fear has no place. Even if leaders drive our country further into debt or make it more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, this election has reminded me that although one individual can make a dramatic impact on our world, no one person is ultimately in control of it. In a sermon on the book of Daniel on Aug. 6, 2016, Traders Point Pastor Aaron Brockett said, “Daniel understood that God is in control of who is in control. If you’re trusting in Jesus, there is no room for despair. Concern is ok, but not despair.”
Today, I am comforted in knowing that the ultimate control of this world lies beyond this world. Faith trumps fear every time. It even trumps The Donald.