History is sometimes made by inches.
On Saturday, July 13, 2024, when a bullet fired from a would-be assassin’s gun just narrowly missed Donald Trump’s head at a rally in Pennsylvania, history was made.
As with most historical events, the end result is a mixed bag of tragedy and triumph. Tragically, Corey Comperatore lost his life, dying a hero while using his body “as a shield against the bullets flying toward his wife and daughter.” Others were injured, some of whom are still in the hospital. And the shooter, who we still know little about, was killed.
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We should pray for the families of all those who have had the specter of death and heartache change their lives forever over the last few days.
But Trump survived. After Secret Service agents knocked him down to shield him from the ongoing threat, Trump, bloodied by the bullet that tore through his ear, rose triumphantly, pausing to wave to the crowd and pump his fist, while shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Had he not moved his head the moment the shooter fired, had he not gone off-script and turned to look at a graph, had the shooter been a better shot, America might be in the midst of a civil war right now.
But God had other plans.
On Saturday, we witnessed something more than mere chance or human agency. We saw the very hand of God stay a bullet and preserve not just a life but a nation.
Scripture teaches us in Proverbs 21:1 that “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”
If the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, so is his head — and his ears. This truth reminds us that leaders, despite their earthly power, ultimately operate within the framework of God’s sovereign plan. The events that unfold on the world stage, including attempts on leaders’ lives, are subject to divine oversight and purpose.
Moments of divine intervention have often shaped the destinies of nations and their leaders. Our first president, George Washington, narrowly escaped death multiple times, as historian and biographer James Thomas Flexner wrote in a 1982 American Heritage article:
“Upon at least five occasions when in great danger from gunfire George Washington remained unscathed. His hat was shot off his head; his clothes were torn; horses were killed beneath him, but the hero was never so much as scratched by a bullet. For this immunity he thanked ‘Providence.’”
But what is “providence” from a theological perspective? Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher, defined providence as:
“Whatever God ordains must be … Fate simply says that the thing must be; Providence says, God moves the wheels along, and there they are. If anything would go wrong, God puts it right; and if there is anything that would move awry, he puts his hand and alters it.”
A classic definition from Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology says that providence is “the continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator preserves all His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world and directs all things to their appointed ends.”
Put simply, providence is God’s specific, careful, sovereign direction of all of history — including bullets fired at former (and possibly future) presidents.
When that bullet whizzed past Trump’s ear, missing by mere inches, it wasn’t luck. It wasn’t the wind. It wasn’t even the incompetence of the would-be assassin. It was the sovereign hand of the Almighty, the same hand that directed the stone from David’s sling to Goliath’s forehead (1 Samuel 17:49). God, in His infinite wisdom, saw fit to spare Trump’s life and, by extension, spare America from the chaos that would have inevitably followed.
Now, I can already hear the objections of the scoffers and skeptics. “Why would God intervene for Trump?” they’ll ask. “Surely there are more worthy candidates for divine protection!” But such thinking betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of God’s ways. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
God often chooses the most unlikely vessels to carry out His will. He chose an exiled Egyptian prince turned stuttering shepherd to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 4:10-12). He chose a young shepherd boy to become Israel’s greatest king (1 Samuel 16:11-13).
Perhaps, in our own time, He has chosen a brash, politically incorrect businessman to shake the foundations of America’s political establishment.
Donald Trump is many things. Like all men, he is a sinner in need of grace (Romans 3:23). Unlike most men, he’s a former president — and the current Republican presidential candidate.
But on Saturday, he became something more — a living testament to divine intervention in the affairs of men and nations.
Pause for a moment and consider the broader implications of this providential act. What would have happened if that bullet had found its mark? The streets could have erupted in chaos. The fragile fabric of our republic, already strained by polarization and distrust, might have been torn apart completely. Our enemies abroad would have seized the opportunity to exploit our weakness.
By sparing Trump, God spared us all from a sparking event that might have set off the tinder box that is America today.
But with great providence comes great responsibility. With a new lease on life returns the responsibility to honor God as Creator and Jesus Christ as Lord. Trump now bears a weighty burden to use the rest of his days to glorify God. Perhaps, like Esther, he has been preserved “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
The question is, will Trump rise to the occasion? Perhaps, as He did with Nebuchadnezzar, God is giving Trump a chance to humble himself so that he may rise again to rule justly. Will he recognize the hand of God in his deliverance and respond accordingly?
And what of us, the American people? How will we respond to this clear demonstration of divine intervention in our national affairs? Will we continue down the path of division and strife, or will we recognize that we have been given a second chance — a chance to heal, unite, and return to the Christian principles that once made this nation a shining city on a hill?
Will the media learn their lesson and stop demonizing Trump, Republicans, and conservative Christians as “threats to democracy?” It seems unlikely.
But as Christians, we must not squander this moment of divine grace. Let us instead seize it as an opportunity to double down on our efforts to pray for revival and fight for national renewal. Let us approach the future with humility, recognizing that our plans and schemes are nothing compared to the inscrutable wisdom of divine providence.
And as we move forward from Saturday, let us do so with the words of the psalmist echoing in our ears: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Because America needs more than just the providence of a near-miss. We need grace unto repentance. We need Christians all across our nation to get out of their pews and back into the public square, to fight for our children, our country, and our future.
In times of peril and uncertainty, we are reminded to place our trust not only in the wisdom of leaders but also in the providence of the One who orchestrates history according to His divine will.
Donald Trump’s brush with death and the fact that God graciously spared his life on Saturday serve as poignant reminders of God’s providential care over the affairs of men and nations. It underscores the truth that leaders, despite their vulnerabilities, are under the protective gaze of a sovereign God. May we remember that God’s hand is ever-present, guiding and safeguarding those who seek His face.
America, we have been given a second chance. Let us not waste it.
Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
