Last weekend, my opponent and I each faced an important question – what would be the focus of our newspaper ads for the last weekend before the ballots are due? I struggled with this one, since I was handed an armory of ammunition I could have used against my opponent in the form of the October 22nd Spokesman-Review article. It was tempting. Negative ads work, or so they say. I wrestled this one with God in prayer, and finally had to accept the answer as reinforced by a multitude of friends and strangers along the campaign trail – stay positive. The day after I accepted the decision, these verses jumped out at me from my daily devotional reading:
II Chronicles 20:15b, 17
15b. . . Thus says the Lord to you, “Fear not, and be not dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
My opponent reached a different decision, and has run a negative ad with a misleading and false statement about my beliefs on gun law issues. It is clearly a scare tactic aimed at 2nd Amendment voters. It makes it hard to “take [my] position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord” when my human tendency is to want to take action, to strike back. I took it to the Lord in prayer, and found peace of mind and a direction to take action, using this as an opportunity to witness. So here is my witness – I will take and hold my position, staying positive to the end, knowing the outcome is in God’s hands. May God’s will be done.
II Chronicles 20:15b, 17
15b. . . Thus says the Lord to you, “Fear not, and be not dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
My opponent reached a different decision, and has run a negative ad with a misleading and false statement about my beliefs on gun law issues. It is clearly a scare tactic aimed at 2nd Amendment voters. It makes it hard to “take [my] position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord” when my human tendency is to want to take action, to strike back. I took it to the Lord in prayer, and found peace of mind and a direction to take action, using this as an opportunity to witness. So here is my witness – I will take and hold my position, staying positive to the end, knowing the outcome is in God’s hands. May God’s will be done.
