What should people do if their candidate loses? Pastor explains
Allen Jackson is on a prayer-filled mission to help Christians navigate the complexities of an ever-contentious election cycle, offering advice on how to respond if one's chosen candidate loses.
Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee, saw his church organize a 48-hour prayer event over the weekend, encouraging believers to lift America up to God.
"We've been praying for our nation for weeks and weeks now but, as we approach the election, we wanted to make a bit of a more focused effort," he recently told "Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell." "So, we took out a 48-hour block of time."
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World Outreach Church then invited people to join together to pray for the nation, encouraging them to coalesce to appeal to God — and take action.
"We don't want to stand on the sidelines and watch what's happening," he said. "We want to be participants in what God is doing in the Earth."
Listen to him explain:
Jackson also responded to reports that tens of millions of Christians won't be voting in 2024, expressing his belief that withholding a vote isn't helpful.
"Some of us have kind of been trained that what our assignment is to pray and then that God does everything else," he said. "And I'm a tremendous advocate for prayer, but I think that's an inadequate understanding of Scripture and our role with our journey through time."
Jackson continued, "I believe that God provides all we need for our lives, but if I sit in my house and pray for food and I don't plant the garden, I'm probably going to get hungry. And I think if we want a civil government that is God-honoring, then I think we have to be engaged in the process."
The preacher likened the dynamic to praying for healing but still seeking a doctor for treatment.
"I think Christians need to vote, must vote — no excuses," Jackson said.
As for how believers — and all Americans — should react if the election doesn't go the way they want, the preacher offered some advice.
"It's better if we process it early than not wait until real-time," Jackson said. "And if the election outcome doesn't satisfy you — whatever your imagined or preferred outcome was — I think we have to recognize that we still have an assignment."
He added that Christians "have a future beyond time" and a deeper mission outside of mere electoral wins.
"I like to think of elections ... it's kind of the equivalent of a stress test when you go to the doctor for a physical," Jackson said. "You get on the treadmill, and they hook you up to the EKG, and maybe they monitor your oxygen intake or output. It's a snapshot of your physical health. It doesn't make you ... less healthy or sick. It's just an evaluation."
In the same vein, he said elections are an evaluation of the nation's spiritual health, with the person who is chosen serving as a representation of values and policies. Ultimately, some Americans — and Christians — might not like the result of certain elections, to which Jackson has some advice.
"What I would say to the Christians: if you're disappointed by the outcome of the election, it's not time to panic," he said. "It's time to begin to seek the Lord in a new way. We've got to change some behaviors, change how we engage with culture."
Jackson encouraged believers to seek "greater influence" in their God-given spheres of influence.
"The election is really an evaluation of where we are," he continued. "It's not the beginning of the end. God's still on the throne and the sun will come up tomorrow. We may not like the outcomes and the consequences may be difficult for a season, but that's the nature of our journey through time."
