Thoughts on the election

So I have had a couple of days to process the things that happened at TheCall this weekend and a little time to think about what happened during the election. Before this election season and especially before TheCall, I really didn't have too much interest in politics. I knew that it was important, but I was, for the most part, pretty apathetic and ignorant. I didn't really know about the issues or the significance of them. After going to TheCall, God began to really impress to me the significance of certain issues. I never realized why abortion and homosexual marriage were such a big deal. I never really realized how abortion is so close to God's heart because, in essence, the blood of 50million babies are crying out to God for justice. Similarly, the first institution that God mandates in the Bible is that of marriage. God ordained marriage through Adam and Eve, and we must protect that. When I was at TheCall, I didn't really recognize the full significance to what was happening to me. But God broke my heart for the issues of abortion and homosexual marriage, and I began to realize how close they are to his heart.

Although the election of Obama as the new president brings to question what will happen with the issues of abortion and homosexual marriage in America, there is no question that God is ultimately the one in control. It is great to see the nation experience much healing and racial reconciliation with the election of Obama. What was a dream for so many fighting for civil rights years ago is now a reality. Seeing so many people crying tears of joy on Tuesday was an encouraging sight. I didn't really recognize the significance of it then. Watching Obama's speech, I wasn't really sure how to feel. But seeing the responses of ethnic minorities especially the Black American population is a telling sign of the healing that has taken place in many peoples hearts. History was made on Tuesday, and we were all a part of it. In my Asian Pacific American class today, my professor talked about the significance of Tuesday's election. He talked about how we must remember what we were doing on that day because it will be talked about for generations to come. No matter who you sided with, history was made.

Though there are still many questions left still answered, it is encouraging to see the younger generation play an active part in the election. I think some statistics show that college age students accounted for about 20% of the overall voting percentages. It is amazing to see how our generation has responded to such a historic election. Things brings so many thoughts to my mind. On one hand, I am excited that the younger generation values and sees the importance of this election. On the other hand, it is also eye-opening to realize the reality of the student population on our universities. While it is great that university students are voting, I also began remembering that our universities today are composed of only about 3-4% of Christians. So what this seems to show is that our generation is becoming more socially active and aware. This is great, but where are the Christians in all this? What the Christian students doing to be a part of this phenomenon?

What makes me interested is the level of excitement and enthusiasm that so many college students have right now with the election of Obama. As I walked through campus today, I heard so many conversations of people who were in good spirit because of the new election. This generation of younger voters really care. They are socially active and care about the change that they desire for this nation. It's cool because when I think about these things from a larger perspective I realize that true change requires three important aspects: Revival, Reformation, Restoration. Revival is the tangible presence of God coming down and changing the hearts of people. Reformation is the socially active aspect that seeks to change society and maintain the spiritual shift that comes with revival. Restoration is the resurgence of the new testament church and the saturation of simple expressions of churches that exemplify true community.

Revival and Reformation go hand in hand. We cannot only have the hand of God come down and touch the hearts of people without our society changing. If corruption and lack of social justice continues in our nation, the revival we experience will be short lived. Thus, with this in mind, it is awesome to see the reformers being raised up. The younger generation is responding and wants to see change. But again where are the Christians? Where are the revivalists? It was great to go to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and worship and pray with thousands of others Christians. The revivalists are being raised up, but we still have a long way to go. While it was great to see so many people, the reality was that the stadium was nowhere near full. There is still so much more growth and desperation that is needed within the church.

We cannot expect to only fast and pray for a short period of time. We must live a lifestyle of praying and fasting. While it was great to fast and to pray as a nation, we cannot stop there. There is so much more that needs to be done. While at TheCall, Lou Engle made mention that while it was great to fast and pray on Saturday before the Tuesday election, the most important day was Wednesday. Wednesday was the most important day because it was the day that the true battle begins. We must continue the passion and the fervor. One man in office is not the solution to the problems. There is so much more prayer and fasting that needs to be done.

As Christians, we must become more desperate for God. We must consecrate ourselves and live a lifestyle of martyrdom - dying to ourselves through prayer and fasting. It is an intense, radical way of life. But it is a calling that God is inviting our generation to be a part. He is inviting us to be a part of a lovesick nameless, faceless army that will contend for revival in our nation. He is raising an army that seeks Christ as their lone satisfaction. It is an army who will be willing to give up the legitimate pleasures of the world for the extreme pleasures of knowing God. It's not a light calling, but this is what God is inviting us into if we truly want to see our nation transformed in revival and reformation. The reformers are starting to be awakened. Will the revivalists follow? How desperate are we for change? Will we seek God in prayer and fasting?

So ya, this Tuesday was significant for me. I want to hold onto and cherish those moments because I know I got to play an important role in what happened. Lately, I have been struggling with consistency and overall passion. I felt like I lost some of the passion that drove me to run hard after God over the summer. Yet after going to TheCall, I feel like God really began to revive me. On Sunday night, I couldn't get to bed. I was lying in my bed restless thinking about how frustrated I was with my own spiritual state. I wanted to get back to my first love. I wanted the passion in my heart to be rekindled. So that night as I lay in bed, I decided that I was going to run hard after God and return to my first love in hopes of rekindling that passion.

Over the weekend, Lou Engle sent out an email about how he was inviting people to take the Esther fast for the last three days before the election. The Esther fast was a fast in which Esther and the Jews did a fast for three days in which they had no water or food in order to petition to God to have mercy on them. I failed on Sunday in doing this, but I was so desperate to rekindle that passion and cry out for mercy on behalf of our nation that I decided to do it for the remaining days. I have fasted quite a bit in the past few months, but I have never not drank anything. It was so hard to do this kind of fast, and I only did it for a couple of days. The sensation of thirst is intense. I know it was God alone who sustained me. I remember pulling out my water bottle in class and opening it wanting to end the fast. But something inside me told me not to, so I put the water bottle away and I literally hungered and thirst for God. It was hard because that Monday I was so discouraged the whole day. It wasn't until going to the prayer house that night that I received some encouragement and got a new burst of excitement.

Fasting Tuesday was even harder, but I knew I needed to press in. I got to the prayer house and pray for the elections with one of my leaders from Crusade. We prayed for an hour or so and then we began praying for some different people who came to the prayer house. One person I prayed for was a member of another Christian ministry on campus. He was speaking that night and asked me to pray for him. As I prayed for him, God invigorated my spirit once again, and I began to pray passionately that God would move through him and bless his talk that night.

So fast forward to that night, I was watching CNN for a little bit and hanging out with some friends. I didn't feel comfortable there and so I decided to go the prayerhouse for a little bit and pray over the elections before the final results came in. So I was there praying for an hour or so, then I was going to go back home and do some homework. But as I left the prayerhouse, I felt like God was telling me to go the meeting of the student I prayed for that was giving the talk that night. So, I nervously walked to the place where the meeting was held. I hesitated at first, but finally, I knew I needed to go in because God really wanted me there. I walked in and there were like 6 people in the audience. It was kinda awkward at first, but I went in and saw some of my friends. I walked in late while they were doing worship, but they continued worshipping for a little while longer. At first my heart was not into it all, but as the worshippers prophetically sang and declared the love of God to the people in the room, the room filled up up with both more people and tangible presence of God.

It was an awesome experience. Then, the student I prayed for got up and gave his talk. He talked about our need to see the non-believers on our campus the way that Christ saw them. He pointed to how Stephen and Jesus loved people even in the face of being put to death. The only reason they could love in this situation was because they could see those who were persecuting them from the perspective of the Father's heart. It is so encouraging given the elections and the issues that face Christians today. As Christians, we cannot merely talk about the issues of abortion and homosexuality, we must do something about them. We must begin to love the homosexuals, those who have suffered pain through abortion, homeless, and the oppressed with the love of Christ.

So often we as the body of Christ have fallen short in being the hands and feet of Christ. We have failed to love because we ourselves have not experienced the tangible love of God. We must allow God to change our hearts to love the "unlovable." I believe that the only that this happens is when we Christ begins to change our heart through prayer. We must bow our hearts and bodies to God in prayer and ask him to change our hearts and see others through His eyes. I know that I have fallen short of this so many times. I have such a difficult time praying on my own because I find myself not really loving or caring for the people I care for. But I know that God is working on my heart and transforming to love others as he loves them.

So while at this meeting, the main leader gave a prophetic word about how November is a season of shifting and realignment. God is working people's hearts and is shifting them and realigning them into new areas. He also showed a cool video of prophetic word of the media revolution that would produce new music and movies that would impact society. The word made mention of Jerusalem, Phoenix, and Palm Springs as being hubs of this new media revolution.

Anyway, after this meeting, I walked back to my dorm just in time to see Obama give his speech. Like I said, I wasn't sure how to react at the time, but I knew that God's will was done regardless of the scenario. I ended my fast that night, and I felt kind frustrated with myself because I didn't see the results I wanted to see, and I didn't really break my fast the way I wanted to. I was kind of confused with the whole situation and frustrated at the same time. However, when I woke up the next day, I knew something was different. I realized that now more than ever we needed to pray and seek the face of God. I went to prayer house and prayed for the nation, but I realized I still didn't really know how to pray. I went back to my dorm, and one of my friends texted me that he had been doing some contemplative prayer and felt like God was saying this was an important day.

I sat and thought about the events that I had experienced in the past few days and realized that today was an important day because it was a day in which we were called to respond. The elections are over, but now the battle begins. Will we respond in desperation and cry out for God with even greater intensity than before? In the midst of the election and all that was going on, it was encouraging to see that Prop 8 in California, Prop 102 in Arizona, and another similar proposition was passed in Florida. These propositions make mention of making marriage between a man and a woman and make homosexual marriages illegal. It was amazing to see such a decision especially after we prayed so hard for these propositions while in California. It was great to see that God answered our prayers and worked on the hearts of the people. Yet there was also a grim reality than many states rejected legislation concerning ending abortion in a few states and another state, Washington, passed a proposition allowing doctor-assisted suicide.

So I feel like God was showing me that, He heard our prayers and answered them. However, there is still so much work to be done. God is looking for a people who are truly desperate and are truly committed to prayer and fasting to move the heart of God. We have a long way to go, but at the same time we have come so far.

Then tonight at Epic, I wasn't really sure what we were going to do. I knew that we should talk about the elections because the elections were a pretty big deal, and it was important for the church to respond. So it was amazing to be able to talk about the election and the issues that concerned as a group. Then, we began to cast vision of what revival would look like and how we would respond. We read through 2 Chronicles 7:14, and for the next hour we prayed the 2 Chronicles 7:14 prayer. Next, I had everyone break into groups and pray for one another. I didn't expect this go too long, but we ended up praying for one another for another hour! It was amazing to see a body of believers coming together to pray and encourage one another. God is truly restoring the church in front of my very eyes through Epic. It is amazing to see how people are beginning to realize how we are the church and the church is here to exhort one another, pray for the issues on God's heart, and move into action. God is doing something special here, and I feel so honored to be a part of this.

So ya, it's like 3 in the morning now. Some of what I typed may not make sense, but I really wanted to take some time to record these thoughts and memories before it was too late. These last few days have been so impactful to my life, and my life has been forever changed by the events of this past week. I never thought I would find myself caring so much about issues of politics and government. But these are important issues on God's heart, and He is slowly working on my heart to bring it in alignment with His own. Most significantly, I am learning all over again that intercession must begin with intimacy. Isaiah 62:6 talks about being watchmen in the night, but even before this, the preceding verses talk about the bridal paradigm. We must first have intimacy with Christ above all things.

I am learning all over again that it is not the things that I do that matter to God. It is my heart. I am learning to rest in God and find joy in my salvation. I am learning all over again that I must not work to see revival or breakthroughs. Above all else, our greatest reward is knowing Christ and knowing His love. When we first go back to the simple devotion and love for Christ, He will give us the fuel and the passion to pray and intercede for the things that are on His heart. Today, before Epic I got to walk around the park with God and just remember the days of hungering for more of God. It's all about simplicity. The simplicity of intimacy with our Heavenly Father.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008, was a big deal in the history of the world. I am so thankful that I got to play a part of it. God used it to change not only my life but reinvigorate my heart and allow me to get one step closer to understanding his heart and recognizing the importance of simple devotion.

God, I am tired right now, but I am so thankful for everything that you are doing in my heart. I pray that you would raise up a generation of lovesick worshippers who pursue you with reckless abandon. Raise up the revivalists and the reformers who will have a passion to see your name be lifted high in this generation and the generation to come. Raise up your generation with a passion to say, "Give us this nation, or we would rather die." God give us a passion that consumes us - a passion that seeks to know your love above all else. May you alone be our source of satisfaction. May we remember that You are our great reward, and above all else nothing compares to the prize of seeking your face and knowing your beauty. In Jesus Name, Amen!