Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. Do you ever wonder how Christians should think about government?

Sometimes talking about politics or taxes can get pretty dicey. Some of us are really passionate about our political views, while others

intimidated. It can be a foreign subject. In today's Devo, Melissa, who's actually a dear spiritual

leader in my life, said, as a teenager, I was often on the wrong side of the law and my mother's

rules. I attended and threw a few unauthorized, and albeit illegal,

parties when she'd go out of town. Which begs the question, Romans 13, answers. How should Christians

think about the law and following it, or said differently, the government? Remember, we always

want to interpret scripture with scripture. We do this by asking what other relevant

passages or verses might say about the topic at hand. And I was reminded of Daniel 2,

verses 20 through 21. Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives

wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. When I read these verses,

I'm reminded no one becomes king or gets any leadership position in the government on accident.

God is in control. Nothing happens without his permission. And while we may not always

agree with every political leader past or present, we have to remember that ultimately our king,

the one who holds all things together, King Jesus, he's on his throne. Additionally, Romans 13 helps us understand how the government can actually be God's provision

for us.

It can be easy for us to wonder where God's justice is whenever it seems like all the injustices

of society are running rampant.

One commentator reminds us that God, forbidding the Christian from taking vengeance, might lead us to

think he's letting evil-doers have their way in the world. But not so, says Paul, for God, through

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