74 million including many expectant evangelicals voted for Trump only to see him lose. “It’s over. Let’s get on with life,” you may say. But Trump’s loss to gain a second term in office has left many in a place of deep disappointment.
Maybe like me you have a friend who interceded with all earnestness, convinced Trump’s re-election God-ordained. Now a cloud of uncertainty hangs over them.
Indeed, many maintain he was God-sent, like a modern-day ‘Isaiah chapter 45 - Cyrus,’ fulfilling God’s purposes, while many have jettisoned this idea, especially due to his incitement of rioting on Capitol Hill in his final days. In a way if we held loyalty to a Trump presidency you were damned and if you didn’t you are also damned? Disappointing?!
Others say, Trump’s daily antics made a mockery of the presidential office from day one, feeling his presidency was a disappointment if not a living nightmare!
Either way, maybe you are still wondering what happened, and where was God in it all. I say, feelings of being duped or disillusioned need closure. Simply hearing that Trump was clearly not presidential or that the prophets got a second term prediction wrong may not have hit the spot. We don’t want the unprocessed disappointment, turning to disbelief and eventual denial.
I believe that the Trump presidency tested us. However, the Father’s heart is never to leave a lingering taste of disappointment in our mouth. Emmaus road time with Jesus put an end to disappointment replacing it with an astonishing sense of awe. That’s what I hope to pass on here.
Navigating requires a compass.
So, what happened and what is God saying now? Our compass as believers is the word of God with the spirit’s illumination.
I believe a closer look at Isaiah chapter 45 is very helpful. Firstly, Cyrus was a Persian king who was anointed by God and declared ‘righteous,’ and a “Shepherd to Israel” though being a pagan and “not acknowledging God personally!” Why was that? Primarily, he helped accomplish God’s covenantal will for Israel to resettle them into their land.
The anointing and favour of God helped Cyrus in several ways, to have unbroken success, though it says, “he did not acknowledge God.” God “took hold of him,” and engineered his success so he could “strip kings…cut through bars…level mountains” and to gain resources, “given treasures.” So, going forward was made easy.
Did Trump behave like a pagan with a lack of integrity and impropriety at times? I think he qualifies; culminating his term by inciting insurrection is surely pagan. However, interestingly, in terms of the bigger picture, like a Cyrus he clearly got many things done, cutting through the political correctness of our day and was reminiscent of Cyrus who fulfilled divine purposes.
Trump became renowned for doing things that others could not, despite the abrasive trimmings.
It’s interesting that the prime minister of Israel was all praises for Donald Trump, calling him their ‘CYRUS’ when he relocated the US embassy to Jerusalem giving Israel greater legitimacy in its claim of its divine inheritance and as a master stoke of endorsement for the sovereignty of Israel as a nation.
Ultimately, God sums up his reason for using Cyrus was “that all may know Him.” He is sovereign over all of history. May God be forever praised.
What if I can’t accept that Trump was a Cyrus?
Maybe despite hearing what I have shared, you will wrestle with this personally. I must add to my case to break the back of any disappointment with God’s love.
Interestingly, Israel’s response to raising Cyrus was complaint. Isaiah says in Chapter 45 verse 9, “Woe to him that quarrels with his maker saying, how can the clay say to the potter why did you make me like this?”
Friends, Israel could not accept that God used a pagan king in this way. Self-righteousness, mortification and disappointment got in their way. People felt, it’s only proper that God use an Israelite and a God-fearing person to restore Israel.
If we are not careful, we too can make the same mistake. You see, God wanted to show his beloved people, who were dispossessed and idolatrous, that his gracious purpose of salvation and deliverance from Babylon was completely up to him.
Friends, it’s a shadow. The true Cyrus is Jesus and we are saved completely by grace through our faith alone!
Look out for them but don’t hang on them!
So, is that it; what’s the application?
Friends, God raised a Cyrus for a season to show what could be done. It’s actually to help believers see the extraordinary things that we could do for him! To show what it means to have guts to step out for God. God continues to raise up Cyrus’ in politics, the arts, media, education and all arenas today. It should open our eyes! It is written, “I will make you envious by those that are not a nation.”
Let’s not quarrel; instead, be stirred up, not to defend earthly empires, but for God’s kingdom. It’s not about Trump, or hanging on a person or a political agenda, Cyrus’ meaning ‘sun,’ only shine for a time to help us.
The question to ask is, ‘Father God, what are you calling me to do today; he wants to anoint you with supernatural success’ Look out for the Cyrus’ because God is highlighting them to you to get you moving! I see them everywhere! Can you?
74 million missed their preference. But you cannot miss God’s love over disappointment. I ask, can you see the blazing sun with Jesus on Emmaus road now? Can you like his followers say, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?”
Mark Rusic was born in Melbourne and has a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He became a missionary to many, suffering hardship and poverty on Madura Island in Indonesia, in 1990 for about four years. He worked as a pastor-life coach with Hope International Ministries from 2002 to May 2023, playing a key role in raising up leaders and elders for the local Melbourne Hope church, which lead today. Mark has also been active in conducting yearly trips to remote Indigenous communities, bringing teams for training and outreach, which he initiated from 2015. He also established a salt and light ministry to empower saints of influence in the marketplace from 2017.
Mark is also an artist and an author and has written two books which are both a collection of his own paintings, photography, and poetry. These include ‘Iconic Melbourne of Australia’ and ‘Iconic Animals of Australia- With a voice to release your giant potential within,’ which are available now on booktopia.com.au and at leading book retailers. He has been counted among some of Australia’s best authors on several occasions through Dymocks since 2014 and continues to be a motivational speaker in various community groups, organisations, and churches.
He is currently pioneering his itinerant ministry to bless Indigenous people and empower the body of Christ, while working as an artist, author and speaker.