I love my country. I first realized the depth of that love in the days and weeks following 9/11. In the face of tragedy, I saw the people of this country unite in a way I had never before witnessed or imagined. No longer were we defined or divided by race, gender, religion, class, ethnicity, education, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ability, socioeconomic status, or age. United we stood. We were all red, white, and blue. American.

As I watched the footage on TV, the devastation smothered me, but as I drove through the flag-laden streets of Jacksonville, Florida, the outpouring of unity and patriotism brought strength and hope.

I remember sitting in the carpool line at my daughter’s elementary school, crying out to God for His perspective on this national tragedy that defied reason and purpose. In the margin of my most beloved Bible, I wrote September 11, 2001 beside the Word He gave me:

“For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

 that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.

 Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

For our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

(Psalm 33:4-22, ESV)

I still love my country, but I see her people forgetting in whom they trust. The election season bred so much divisiveness and bitterness. I longed for it to be over, but the outcome has prompted more of the same. My American sisters and brothers are lashing out at one another in horrific ways for how they voted or didn’t vote on Tuesday. Name-calling, accusations, and stereotyping. Threats and assumptions. I have even seen people questioning one another’s faith. Others are burning the American flag. Meanwhile, our leaders—our President, our President-elect, and the defeated Democratic nominee—are modeling graciousness, calling for unity, and pledging support.

Why the disconnect? I think we have forgotten what God asks of us. We stand in judgment of one another, but He tells us not to judge lest we be judged (Matthew 7:1). We tear each other down, but He tells us to encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We reject the outcome of a fair and free election, yet He tells us to “be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:1-7, ESV)

I know people are disappointed. Some feel marginalized. Others are afraid. But God is as sovereign today as He was on November 7. The next four years may bring pain and hardship. They may bring unity and prosperity. Our country may fall as many great nations before her have. Or she may heal and thrive and emerge stronger than ever. The President-elect may be the candidate you backed or may be the last person you would have ever wanted in the Oval Office. Regardless, God can use him just as he used many unlikely individuals throughout Scripture—Rahab the prostitute, David the adulterer, Moses the murderer, Mary the teenage girl. He promises that His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and that promise is not limited by anyone’s particular weaknesses. To believe otherwise is to doubt the Lord’s sovereignty and His power to redeem an individual’s life.

Even if you cannot bring yourself to hope or believe that God can use our President-elect for good, at least re-read the Psalm above and meditate on what God promises:

*All his work is done in faithfulness.

*The earth is full of his steadfast love.

*His counsel stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

*He looks down from heaven and sees all the children of man.

*He fashions all of our hearts and observes all of our deeds.

*His eye is on those who fear him and on those who hope in his steadfast love.

*He will deliver our soul from death and keep us alive in famine.

We need not despair or judge or attack or slander or accuse or label or riot or cower in fear. We need only heed his greatest commandments: to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “to love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

I still love my country. And I long for those too young to remember 9/11 to see the America I saw that day and in the weeks that followed: One nation, under God, indivisible. Until then, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20-22, ESV)