Glenn Youngkin’s rise to Governor of Virginia is anything but traditional. The former private equity executive credits his prayer life with his sense of calling by God into the state’s highest elective official role.
Youngkin shared with CBN recently how God called him out of his dream job at Carlyle Group to pursue the governor role. “I am forever grateful for him calling out to me and saying, ‘step out of where you’re comfortable and go someplace where you’re uncomfortable.”
“One day in my prayer life I actually heard something very different and it was, ‘I need you to leave Carlyle,’” Youngkin shared with CBN. “That’s one of those moments where you say, ‘Wait, I think I have a wrong number!’ You know, bad connection because this was my dream job and so after a period of time of reflecting and praying in July, I went to Suzanne and said ‘I’m going to quit my job at Carlyle.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘Have you lost your mind?’ And she said, ‘What are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, I think I’m going to go run for governor.’”
The couple explained how faith is at the core of their lives, praying before, during, and after the campaign and looking to give God glory in every part of their lives. Though admittedly not knowing much about what they were getting into, they learned and grew together as a couple.
“We were able to do it in a way that I think was very representative of what we aspired to do, which is to give Him glory and honor during this and to be a light along the way and not to walk away from our faith but to walk into it, and to not be ashamed of the fact that we pray and we look to the Lord for help every day and I think that was just incredibly encouraging,” he explained.
Youngkin shared how he daily leans on Christ for strength and looks to Psalm 121 as a truth he holds on to.
“My day really does start with Psalm 121, ‘I lift my eyes up to the hills.’ and I ask where my help comes from and I know my help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,” Youngkin shared with CBN.
“I have to say what He has been showing me is grace because I’m reminded every day that there was only one perfect person in the history of this planet and it certainly was not me, and He shows me grace every day.”
