In the book of Romans, we learn that, “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

During his speech in his first public rally on the campaign trail after the near-miss assassination attempt on July 13, former President Donald Trump alluded to the fact that if he had not turned his head slightly at just the right moment, he would not be speaking to the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan that day. He stated that he was specifically grateful for that “open border” chart he had turned his head to look at in that split second.

The day-to-day tragedy of America’s wide open southern border, over which an estimated eleven million-plus illegal aliens have flooded our nation, was the reason a chart was produced. If a southern border crisis had not been created due to the unconscionable actions of the Biden administration, well, there would have been no chart. And without a chart, there would have been no turning of the president’s head to view it.

The result, then, could have been catastrophic not only for Trump but for the entire nation.

So, even though open borders are a terrible thing for any nation (and we appear to be the only nation out of some 200 on Earth to have them), the end result was something that worked “for good.” And Trump himself has many times thanked Almighty God for His protection that fateful day in Butler, Pennsylvania.

For the Saving of Many

Many terrible things have been devised to eliminate Trump from the political arena lately, culminating in the assassination attempt a couple of weekends ago. But despite numerous legal trials, some concocted from seemingly thin air, the former president has been unbent and generally stronger in the eyes of the nation.

Which brings to mind a story from the Old Testament, in which the tables were turned on the brothers who sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt (see the full account in Genesis 37 through 50). Eventually, Joseph became second only to Pharaoh in power. And he used his power to help save many nations during a time of great famine.

When Joseph confronted his repentant brothers, he made this powerful observation: “You meant evil against me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

Events in life ofttimes unfold in domino fashion — one thing leads directly to another, to another to another until we reach the final result. But, as I point out in my new book, Obvious: Seeing the Evil That’s in Plain Sight and Doing Something About It, it also seems much of life is like a Rube Goldberg contraption:

Instead of things falling domino-style in precise order, A into B into C into D and so on — life is more like A hitting G falling onto C popping up H accelerating M … all the way to Z. We take an action, start the ball rolling, and through many unseen and sometimes quirky circumstances, incredible results materialize.

The events in our individual lives function much like that. And we ourselves sometimes play a role in what happens in the lives of others, whether in our families, among our friends, or on the national, even international stage.

Waking Us Up for Our Good?

Romans 8:28 might also help explain the 2020 election and the disastrous effect that Team Biden has had on America these past three and a half years. Could it be that this period of time, this particular “all things” situation in which we find ourselves today, may have been necessary to wake up enough citizens to the precarious nature of our constitutional government? President Ronald Reagan pointed out that, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

We have witnessed two very stark choices now over these past eight years. Do we want a Constitutional Republic as originally designed by the Founders to empower We the People? Or do we desire a democracy where certain elites decide how and by whom we are controlled?

America has approximately 100 days to decide her future. Might it not be time for those who “love God and are called according to His purpose” to pray for His continued intervention in our lives and in the life of this nation?

Irving Berlin wrote a powerful prayer that should be applied to just such an opportunity. Originally written in 1918, during World War I but revised in the leadup to World War II, the opening lines lay the groundwork for his heartfelt, inspirational plea to Heaven:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free.

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

Of course, what follows this preamble is a simple yet powerful request to God Almighty, and is particularly applicable to our current national crisis. I hope you will excuse me making a few, slight tweaks to the lyrics to bring the prayer just a bit more into focus:

God bless America, land that [we] love

Stand beside her and guide her

Through [this] night with [Your] light from above

Adding this prayer to our heartfelt petition through the “Our Father,” in which we pray “deliver us from evil” (where the “us” can include our nation as a whole), we can “fight the good fight” now, on election day, and beyond. And this fight certainly includes being involved patriotically, but with the Holy Spirit’s leading, in politics for the good of our nation, and by extension, all the nations of the world.

We who know down deep that God exists, that He loves us, and that He is still involved in the affairs of men and women, as well as nations, must appreciate the times in which we live.

Yes, we certainly were “born for such a time as this,” and we must solemnly take our role very, very seriously.

Albin Sadar is the author of Obvious: Seeing the Evil That’s in Plain Sight and Doing Something About It, as well as the children’s book collection, Hamster Holmes: Box of Mysteries.