What happens if an ungodly leader comes to power? It’s interesting to think about this question, not only in a political context—like the president of the United States or your state’s governor and local leaders, including judges—but also in business, community, economic and even religious contexts, to name a few.
Can you think of a few leaders over the course of your life who have been ungodly or less than stellar? In the previous blog in this series, we looked at flawed leaders, and in this blog, we’ll consider how God can steer an ungodly leader.
To this end, I’d like for you to consider a king in the Bible who wasn’t a devoted follower of God. Indeed, this king was wholly foreign to Jewish worship, and he wasn’t trained in the practices, moral parameters or devotional aspects of Judaism. During his reign, however, he was one of the most powerful leaders in the world, but we’ll see that God was still highly involved in facilitating His plans and outcomes.
Let’s consider Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. We can read about King Cyrus at the beginning of Ezra and also in various parts of Isaiah. In a historical consideration, this was the king who overthrew the Babylonian Empire and established the Achaemenid Empire. For all practical purposes, Cyrus was a secular king and somewhat of an ungodly leader.
Nevertheless, consider that God calls Cyrus His anointed in Isaiah 45:1, and God continues to affirm His support for Cyrus even though Cyrus doesn’t know Him. You might also find it helpful to read the first six verses of Isaiah 45 to see what God says to Cyrus and how God uses him to advance His plans and purposes.
Furthermore, in Ezra 1:1-4, Cyrus issued a decree to accomplish two things:
- The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem
- The return of Jewish exiles to the land of Israel
Both of these actions were prophesied by Jeremiah decades before they ever happened, and it’s very clear in the Bible that God was working out His plan for Israel through Cyrus, a secular and ungodly leader.
The plans of God cannot be thwarted by the machinations of human efforts. God’s plans prevail. It’s important for us to keep this at the forefront of our thinking, particularly now, as we are on the cusp of a pivotal presidential election in the United States. While we need to remember that God’s plans prevail, this is an essential truth for the entirety of our lives and not just for political elections, navigating job challenges, struggles in school, our neighborhoods, etc.
When we keep this truth in our crosshairs, we can rest in the goodness of God and His sovereign plans. Let’s be committed to not getting ruffled with political elections, no matter who wins or loses this year. Let’s also remain committed to praying for our leaders, recognizing that prayer is not only good for situations and people, but perhaps the best thing about prayer is that it can keep us rooted in God more than anything or anyone else!
