“A Few Inches from Civil War”
“A Few Inches from Civil War” is how one commentator described the attempt on Donald Trump’s life on Saturday.
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’ Isaiah 45:7
I am sure many of you have gone through the “what if” scenario in your mind. But the what-ifs are hard to imagine. A few inches different and the Republican National Convention this week would be trying to decide who should be their presidential candidate. At the time, Trump had not named a running mate. The choice would have been a free-for-all all. That, along with a Democratic Party that is actively trying to replace its dementia-disabled candidate. We would have no sense of national direction at all.
One inch would have changed all of our lives in ways we cannot imagine. How would the MAGA faithful have reacted to the murder of their leader? Would there have been a civil war? Would China have taken the opportunity to invade Taiwan? Would the Islamic countries of the world see this as an opportunity to press into Israel? And what about Russia and Ukraine? Were we inches from World War Three? The answer is likely yes.
It wasn’t the Secret Service that saved the life of Donald Trump — it is pretty clear that there were major failures within the Secret Service that allowed it. What saved his life is that he uncharacteristically turned his head away from the audience at the same moment that the gunman pulled the trigger. To the secular mind, he is alive out of just plain luck.
As believers, we know differently.
Isaiah 45:7, as well as thousands of other verses in scripture, assert the sovereignty of God over the events of human history. He makes nations rise and fall. He sets up kings and tears them down (Daniel 2:20-22). He is as involved in the events of human history today as much as at any other time.
The first reaction of President Trump after the attempt on his life was to thank the Secret Service for their actions in preserving him. And they should be thanked. Their job is to take a bullet for him and we watched in real-time as brave men and women covered him with their bodies.
But the next morning. After the shock wore off. After he had time to think. After he and his staff asked and tried to answer questions about why a 20-year-old gunman who had failed to qualify for his school’s rifle team, had managed to miss killing him by an inch — after all that, he wrote this.
“It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,”
It is true. And it is the only answer. I am thankful that a political candidate is thinking that there is a God and that He is active in the affairs of mankind. Such brushes with eternity often cause people to reflect on the state of their souls.
On March 31, 1981, the day after being shot by John Hinckley, Ronald Reagan wrote this in his diary.
“Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve Him in every way I can.”
I don’t know if Ronald Reagan truly trusted Christ as Savior, but he might have.
Whatever you think about Donald Trump, he will likely be the once again President of the United States. There is no indication that he is a believer in Jesus Christ. He has heard a plain explanation of the gospel at his brother’s funeral.
The real question now is whether he will see this divine intervention in his life like a dog or cat.
A dog watches his owner give him food and water and thinks, “Wow, he is something special. I need to serve him.”
A cat watches his owner give him food and water and thinks, “Wow, I must be something special. I must be able to do whatever I want.”
President Trump. Please consider this. The same God who preserved your life, allowing you to move your head in the split second that the would-be assassin pulled the trigger–that same God–also allowed an untrained 20-year-old to take the shot in the first place.
Has God gotten your attention?
This incident should humble you. Maybe it has. It should drive you to your knees in submission to the God of the universe, and in submission to Jesus Christ his Son who gave his life for you. You were a split second and a few millimeters from spending forever in heaven or hell. It should cause you to seek redemption for your eternal soul in Christ alone and, like Ronald Reagan, you should be determined to serve Him with your life.
There is no other appropriate response.
For the audio version of this article see here: “A Few Inches from Civil War” (substack.com) or search for Proclaim & Defend on Apple, Spotify, or other providers.
Photo by Bozhin Karaivanov on Unsplash