Hi everyone, I just wanted to share this with you. I live in a country where our elections are rigged every year. Mostly, there is no opposition, because it is swiftly and violently silenced. A few years back, there was a strong opposition party, and as we listened to the votes being counted, everyone was hopeful as they seemed to be winning. But in the last moments, the numbers changed, and we all knew that as they had done before, they had rigged these elections. We personally suffered a lot of loss at the hands of this government, I won't go into that detail but I felt so betrayed by God, I had been praying and now all was lost and I felt he had not listened and did not care. I was furious as I listened to the election result being announced, angry at God, too, for ignoring our prayers and not caring about our plight. His answer was quite stunning, one which changed my perspective forever. I heard his voice in my mind saying, "open your Bible", and I was so full of anger I thought 'the very last thing I feel like doing right now is opening my Bible'. But He persisted, so eventually, almost in a fit of rage I just about flung my Bible open. My eyes read the first thing they saw on the page. It was in Proverbs. "A fool gives vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back." God had just rebuked me. He proved in that moment that he was still present, in the midst of my darkness, in the midst of the evil we were being subjected to. 'Why,' I asked him in my mind, 'would you be present and do nothing?' The answer came immediately. "When Jesus came, they rejected him, because they were expecting a Messiah who would restore the kingdom and fight Roman oppression. When he failed their expectations, they rejected him. Nothing has changed. You are angry because He did not bring in a political party that you wanted - right now, you are behaving like a pharisee. Your hope is not in a political party, it's in Me. This world is not your home, it is your exile. You grieve over the evil around you, yes - but the way you change it is by operating in your gifts and by being obedient to Me, regardless of political leadership - your instruction from Me as My ambassador does not change."

I sincerely pray for America that your final election results will be favourable. But if they are not, I hope what I've shared will be helpful. Our country has been in 40 years of hardship, economic collapses, poverty amongst the masses and ridiculous wealth amongst the ruling authorities. We have power cuts, food shortages, water cuts, and when it suits the powers that be, they cut off the wifi and access to social media. I've hated every trial as it has happened, but after years like this, I am so grateful for them all - the Lord has become more real, I have become less of a baby and more of a faithful warrior, through these trials. And the worse it is on earth, the greater my expectation of our eternal home. Be encouraged.