The midterm elections have left many Christians asking a troubling question: Why would God allow this to happen?

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico, who has invoked Scripture in defense of abortion rights and transgender policies, won a Senate seat. He once declared that “God is nonbinary”, a remark he later acknowledged was deliberately provocative.

The question is not simply why God permitted our candidates to lose. It is what He may intend to teach us through the loss.

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, thanking Allah in his victory speech.

Meanwhile, Christians who wanted biblical principles honored in public life suffered significant political defeats. Why does God permit such outcomes? Why do those who reject His truth sometimes prosper while those who profess His name suffer?

The question is ancient. Psalm 73 offers a better way to approach it than election-night recriminations.

The problem of Psalm 73

The psalmist Asaph watched the arrogant prosper. They boasted against heaven while he suffered, and he wondered whether he had cleansed his heart in vain. Then he entered the sanctuary of God and considered their end.

Their prosperity was temporary, their security an illusion. But Asaph discovered something more important than their eventual judgment: He had envied the wrong treasure.

“Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25).

The wicked may possess political power, wealth, and public admiration. But they do not possess the greatest good: fellowship with the living God. Unlike political victories, that blessing lasts forever.

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Learning to read providence

Christians too often reason simplistically: Victory means God’s blessing; defeat means His judgment. The Puritan writers Jeremiah Burroughs and Thomas Watson, along with the Scottish theologian Thomas Boston, understood that God may have many purposes in permitting His people to suffer.

We cannot claim to know His precise purpose in a particular election. But their writings suggest five lessons worth considering.

1. To reveal whether we love God more than success

In “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment,” Jeremiah Burroughs teaches that contentment rests in God rather than changing circumstances.

Do we love Christ because He gives us political victories or because He is worthy of our love? Defeat tests whether our confidence rests in God or in the benefits we hope to receive from Him.

2. To expose sins among God’s own people

Thomas Watson, in “All Things for Good,” explains that affliction can expose and mortify remaining sin. Christians may denounce wickedness in the culture while tolerating it in themselves. Asaph had to confront his own envy.

Do we defend biblical morality publicly while compromising privately? Have we exchanged reverence for entertainment? Perhaps the response to defeat is less political calculation and more fasting, prayer, and repentance.

3. To teach humility and dependence upon God

In “The Crook in the Lot,” Thomas Boston describes how God uses adversity to humble His people.

Political success can tempt Christians to imagine that the future of the church depends on the right candidate, party, or strategy. Defeat reminds us that Christ builds His church. No election can replace God’s sovereign power.

4. To strengthen faith through adversity

Watson also teaches that God uses affliction to strengthen the graces of His people. Faith untested remains immature.

Political defeat offers a chance to practice patience, courage, perseverance, and confidence in God’s promises. It is easy to proclaim His sovereignty when your candidate wins. The test comes when your candidate loses — and when political opposition becomes more than an inconvenience.

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5. To redirect our hope toward eternal things

Burroughs reminds us that the believer possesses a treasure greater than anything this world can offer. God may remove earthly comforts to remind us they were never our ultimate good.

Political victories are temporary. Governments rise and fall. Nations flourish and decline. Communion with God endures. Do you seek Him daily in His Word?

The victory that cannot be taken away

None of this means Christians should abandon politics. Government is ordained by God, and Christians should labor for justice and righteousness. But electoral outcomes do not reveal the whole purpose of divine providence.

Those celebrating victory have not thereby demonstrated God’s approval. Christians mourning defeat have not demonstrated His displeasure. Psalm 73 calls us to judge earthly events in the light of eternity.

The question is not simply why God permitted our candidates to lose. It is what He may intend to teach us through the loss.

Perhaps the greatest victory He is preparing for His people is a deeper knowledge of Himself.

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