Election Day

by Jacob Thomsen

This past Tuesday I went to a local church to cast my votes in our North Dakota primary election. Many North Dakotans across the state, 119,452 in total, went to churches, local community centers, courthouses, and the like to cast their votes. It was interesting these past few months seeing the candidates campaign, and campaign hard. It was great to be able to meet many of the candidates on different occasions and see some of the differences they had.

One of the things I love so much about elections is that they push us to become educated on contemporary issues in the political sphere, and act on our convictions. We must be educated about who we vote for and what they believe so that we, as part of a constitutional republic, can vote for someone who will represent our beliefs the most.

For candidates, the primary election day is the culmination of many miles logged from visiting with potential constituents, putting up signs, advertising, and working hard to win votes. The day of the election is a long day of waiting, to find out late that night whether or not all your hard work has paid off. For the candidates who win, the work is far from over. There are still five more months until the general election.

Whether you were a candidate or a voter on Tuesday, the most important thing to remember about election day is that God is ultimately in control. Whether or not the people you wanted to win succeeded, whether you as a candidate won or did not, we rejoice in the fact that God is in control. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,” Romans 8:28.

Now, we prepare for the general election on November 5th. These next five months will probably be long, tense, and have plenty of annoying political ads and arguments. But remember that we are the children of a Father who loves us and cares about us more than anyone else ever could. He holds us in His hands and wants what is best for us, so remember to put your trust in Him.