Was It a “Red Wave” or a “God Wave”?
Many are calling the 2024 election a “red wave.” And that it was; Republicans dominated the race for the presidency and also took control of both chambers of Congress.
A lot of human effort went into that. Donald Trump tirelessly campaigned across the country in rallies, town halls, podcasts, and television interviews. There was also enormous human effort put forth by the congressional candidates, the Republican National Committee under the leadership of Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, and other organization like CPAC. Moreover, tens of thousands of people volunteered as poll watchers, and 500 lawyers in every swing state helped guard against mischievous practices.
That was all good and necessary. But I believe that these human factors were a part of something much bigger that was going on: God Himself supernaturally intervened to save the United States.
Disaster Averted — for Now
We were headed toward a very dark place — a place where many great empires have crumbled throughout history. But why would God intervene for us and not for the Roman Empire, the Macedonian Empire, or the Soviet Union? Despite our serious flaws and Barack Obama saying in 2008 that “We are no longer a Christian nation,” l 68% of U.S. citizens stillclaim to be Christians.
Even if we use the example of Gideon’s army given in Judges 7 — whittling 32,000 soldiers down to only 300 — to guess at the number of serious prayer warriors in our country, that’s still more than two million people. And after watching our country sliding off the rails these last four years, this remnant of faithful believers across this land have prayed with a sense of urgency like never before. And I believe that God answered in the 2024 elections.
‘Neither One’?
Some question whether God would even involve Himself in politics. I’ve heard several pastors (wrongly, in my view) use Joshua 5:13-14 to address the appropriate interaction between Christians and politics. That verse reads,
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.’” (NIV)
Whether this was a Christophany of Jesus Himself or an angel, this “man” was clearly a representative of the Lord.
The pastors I’m thinking of relate the phrase “neither one” to our current politics as the idea that God is for neither the Republicans or the Democrats. Of course, God is not a card-carrying member of either party and cares nothing about whether our mascot is an elephant or a donkey. But He is for the party or individuals who will carry out His will and purposes for our country during a particular period of time.
It’s not only inaccurate to use that phrase in Joshua 5 to imply that God is neutral in politics, it’s ludicrous. My goodness, God’s original plan was to rule over Israel Himself before the Israelites insisted on having an earthly king (1 Samuel 8:6-7).
The man standing before Joshua was not part of either of the physical armies that he had in mind; he was from a whole different realm. But God did pick a side in that battle! The Israelites literally carried the Ark of the Covenant — which housed the very presence of God — with them into battle.
Moreover, God miraculously caused the walls of Jericho to collapse and gave the Israelites the city. Do you call that “neutral”?
‘Man Looks at the Outward Appearance’
Many Christians struggle to see how Trump — with his brash demeanor and locker room talk — could be someone God would use. Had many of those people gone to the house of Jesse to choose the leader of Israel instead of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16),they probably would have liked the seven most likely sons who were already lined up. They were, no doubt, the most polished and politically correct.
Those people never would have thought to ask if there was another son, as Samuel did. God told Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God knew what David would actually do for his country.
A lot of people have compared Trump to Cyrus, a Babylonian pagan king who God used to help His people rebuild Jerusalem. What’s seldom mentioned is that God even moved upon the prophet Isaiah to call out Cyrus by name in prophetic scripture about 150 years before he was even born (Isaiah 44:28). God didn’t decide on a whim to use Cyrus; this unlikely pagan was called by God before he was even conceived.
That brings us to the question, “On what premise can we conclude that the urgent prayers of the saints “broke through” for Trump and the Republicans and not for Kamala Harris and the Democrats? The answers are numerous in my mind, but let’s just look at a few unambiguous scriptures. Remember, you can’t separate God’s will from His Word. And when we ask according to His will, He hears us and answers (1 John 5:14-15).
Parable of the Talents
Start with the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The master of the servants — clearly a type of God — said of the unfaithful steward, “Even what he has will be taken away” (verse 29). That unfaithful steward’s talent was given to the faithful steward (verse 28). The Biden-Harris administration and the Democrats blew it, by anyone’s measure. The border, inflation, the economy, crime, energy, weaponization of federal agencies, and foreign policy are all in shambles after their tenure.
‘A Lying Tongue’
Proverbs 6:16-19 lists some definitive things that God “hates.” Among those are “a lying tongue” (verse 17). I’ve never heard so much lying as I did in this election cycle. The Democrats and their surrogates in the legacy media continued to repeat blatant lies about Trump that have long been debunked, such as, “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” as well as what truly took place on January 6 and what is contained in Project 2025.
‘Hands that Shed Innocent Blood’
Verse 17 also lists “hands that shed innocent blood” as a thing God hates. What blood could possibly be more innocent than a baby’s in the mother’s womb? The Republicans do not have the fix-all on abortion, and many Christians are disappointed at their more moderate current stance. But the new, extreme Democrat party is now okay with executing babies who are born alive! And God is definitely not okay with that.
‘A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans’
God also hates “a heart that devises wicked plans” (verse 18). The phony lawsuits against Trump waged by Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, and E. Jean Carroll showed us the worst “wicked plans” ever devised against a presidential candidate. And in every one of those cases was a fourth thing God hates: “a false witness who speaks lies” (Proverbs 6:19).
Red wave? Yes. But that’s only a part of a much bigger wave.
The sea is pounding hard. Its mighty waves are majestic, but you are even more majestic, and you rule over all. (Psalms 93:3-4)
Nolan Lewallen is a retired pilot of a major airline who lives near Stephenville, Texas. His two great passions are the Bible and politics. He is the author of The Integration of Church & State: How We Transform “In God We Trust” From Motto to Reality, and Yeshua Is Still the King of the Jews.