California megachurch pastor Greg Laurie recently contended God placed President-elect Donald Trump in power for "such a time as this" as Trump will take office in January.
"Americans are tired of this crazy, woke agenda we've been dealing with for the last four years," Laurie said in a clip he posted Monday to X. "We're done with it: promoting late-term abortions, mutilating our children, men in women's sports, men in women's bathrooms. The list goes on, and I believe that God has placed President Trump in office for such a time as this."
Laurie, who pastors Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Riverside and the founder of Harvest Crusades, explained that his remarks referenced when Mordecai told his cousin Esther when she was appointed as queen in ancient Persia. In the biblical story, God used Esther as queen to save the Jewish people from genocide that was planned by Haman, who served as grand vizier to King Ahasuerus.
"I believe God has placed President Trump in this position for this moment in American history," Laurie said. "This is a man who has faced incredible challenges, two assassination attempts, and he himself has said publicly he believes that God has spared him, and I believe he's right."
In a similar fashion, Laurie noted how former President Ronald Reagan credited God's protection after he survived an assassination attempt against him in 1981 and would go on to play a critical role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, The Christian Post reports.
"So we're thankful, and we recognize that politics have a place, but politics and politicians will never bring a spiritual awakening to America. That is the work of God, but government has its place," he said.
Laurie also indicated that if Democrats had been victorious in the presidential election with Vice President Kamala Harris, it would have resulted in increased political pressure on churches.
"I fear if the other party had won, we would be facing a pretty bleak scenario right now, and I fear that some of their anger would have been directed toward Christians and the church in particular," he said. "So I think we've been given a reprieve to get back on track again, and as Christians, we just want the freedom to do what I think we do best, practice our First Amendment rights, and teach the Word of God and proclaim the Gospel and do everything we can to fulfill the Great Commission."
This is a pivotal moment in the history our our nation. Now the election is over, as Christians we should be praying for a mighty spiritual awakening to sweep our land.
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) November 11, 2024
Government cannot bring revival, only God can. I don’t know about you, but I want less, not more Government.… pic.twitter.com/XuqrbvLA8m
He added that U.S. citizens, Christians included, have the right to call their elected leaders to account but also have a duty to pray for those in authority.
Last month, Laurie prayed at Trump's rally in Coachella, California, after which he released a video explaining his views on the role American Christians play in any political realm. He also shared that he would have prayed at a Harris rally if he had been invited and that his goal in participating in any political event was to glorify Jesus Christ.
"My job as a follower of Jesus, and specifically as a pastor, is to represent Christ," he said in the video. "And I understand that when I go into any setting, I'm there as a representative of the Kingdom of God, and my primary objective is to point people to Christ."
Laurie also refuted the claim that there must be a separation between church and state in the United States, noting that the phrase originated from a personal letter written by former President Thomas Jefferson.
"That was in a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to a particular person who asked about this. It was not in any of the documents, the founding documents of our nation," he said. "And the objective of Jefferson in writing on that particular topic was to keep the government out of the Church, not to keep the Church out of government."
"We as Christians must permeate, we must saturate our culture. Our job is to shine as bright lights and function as salt," Laurie added. "Jesus said, 'You're the light of the world, you're the salt of the Earth.'"
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Greg Laurie
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.