Why does God allow evil governments into power?

I believe God is in charge. However, there are people in our government who support abortion and want to stifle our freedoms. Why is God allowing these people to stay in power?

We often think that God has an obligation to put people in places of influence and power who share our beliefs. To the contrary, Scripture is clear that God causes the sun to shine on the righteous and the wicked alike (Matthew 5:45).

In the Bible, we also see that, time and again, God allows people to be in places of power even when they are direct enemies of His people. The Assyrians and the Babylonians were known for their wickedness and they were both used by God to bring judgment on His people. By the time of the New Testament era, the Romans were in power and they were not friendly towards Christians.

We often think that God has an obligation to put people in places of influence and power who share our beliefs

The significance of the Romans being in power is that Christ taught His disciples to pay Caesar what was his, and Peter and Paul both discussed the importance of submitting to the governing authorities in their letters. Peter and Paul, in essence, told Christians to submit to the authority of a government that was actively persecuting them. In Romans 13, Paul states that all governing authorities are put in place by God.

Let me be clear that in these governments, believers have always obeyed God first. Daniel refused to pray to the king; he was punished, but he submitted to the authority of that punishment. The same can be said of Daniel’s three friends. Jesus submitted to Pilate and his authority — going to the cross. Peter and John told the Sanhedrin that they could punish them, but that they would not stop telling of the good news of Christ.

The Bible never promises us that this life will be easy. It also makes clear that God gives people over to their sinful desires. Those desires are often to their own detriment. Finally, it is shown throughout Scripture that God eventually brings judgment to each country that is persecuting God’s people and/or embracing evil.

God is still on the throne

Now to answer this question more directly. People in government support things that we as Christians should not support. However, many people do support these ideas and I believe that God gives entire groups of people over to their sinful desires. This has sadly happened with regard to abortion. 

I believe God allows these people to stay in power because their decisions partly reflect the will of the people. He also allows some people to remain in power because he plans to use their situation for His own glory. Think about the Pharaoh in the time of the exodus. Sometimes, God allows people to stay in power because He plans to use their circumstances to change their hearts. 

Sometimes, God allows people to stay in power because He plans to use their circumstances to change their hearts

Other times, God causes or allows people to be removed from power. We tend to think of these situations less, because when someone is removed from power, our minds always go to the next regime. However, there are many times in history where people were removed from power. Think about Saul being removed from power by Samuel to make way for David.

We are not always privy to the reasons why God allows some people to remain in power when their ideas are against our beliefs, but we can trust God — because even when things in our world seem out of control, God is still on His throne. God is making all things new and He is actively bringing about the redemption of all things as we move closer to the return of Christ. 

For now, we know that we live in a world where people have freedom, that freedom allows choice, and those choices lead to both good and evil moral decisions.