Does God Choose Our President?

Since God is sovereign, does he make the ultimate decision in determining who will be the president, prime minister, or king/queen of a particular country, state, etc? Or, do humans play a part in choosing their supreme human leader?

There are some theologians and Christian thinkers - not to mention major streams of Christianity - that give one the idea that humans are more like robots, with God at the "master controls." In such settings the word "sovereign" is given great emphasis and repeated often - in those settings one may listen in vain for the idea of choice and free will. The Bible is quite clear that humans have choice. We humans are not like those remote controlled cars or boats that we can operate by battery power, with a device that sends a radio signal to them, determining which direction they will go. God has created humans with the opportunity and responsibility to make choices, to be themselves.

God is not a puppet master pulling our strings while we dance on his stage. Musically, we could say that God has given each of us the ability to play an instrument, to make the music of our lives, as it were. But, extending this metaphor, while he gifts us with the ability to make music, he doesn't insist on the exact genre and kind of music we play. He doesn't sit each and every one of us down on the stage, as a part of a symphony, insisting that we play every note of the score he has written. Rather he allows us to improvise - perhaps the music we make of our lives, with all of its decisions, is a little more like jazz than carefully orchestrated symphonies. At the same time, working with this metaphor, if we accept Christ, we will be in harmony, in tune, with the music that Jesus makes.

The fact of human choice by no means diminishes God's sovereignty. God is sovereign in that he works within the world of variables that he has given us, which is still a world of limitations (time and space), so that his will and his purposes still are fulfilled. I believe God moves within history, as humans make decisions, rather than insisting on history marching forward in lockstep fashion.

That means, among other things, that God will at times determine the precise person he wants to fulfill political or religious leadership. That certainly happened biblically - Cyrus being an excellent example. But on the other hand, it also means that God is not directly involved in determining the outcome of every election - from dogcatcher, mayor, senator, to prime minister and president. There are many times when humans receive the kind of leader they want (biblical example -first king of Israel - Saul).

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