The Gospel From Patmos
Everyday Insights For Living From The Last Book Of The Bible Daily Devotional
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
And the serpent spewed water like a flooding river out of its mouth as it pursued the woman, in order that he might cause her to be swept away by the flood. Rev 12:15.
I believe that the woman in this text represents the people of God throughout the Christian age who have suffered at the hands of oppressive governments and hateful majorities. For those who suffer for their faith, there is always the temptation to ask why. The suffering of the moment is usually incomprehensible. It is impossible to fully explain why God allows it.
What Revelation 12 does is pull back the curtain and show us the larger context for Christian suffering. There is a war going on in the universe, a war that began in heaven (Rev 12:3-4) and climaxed after the death of Jesus on the cross (Rev 12:7-12). The battles we face from day to day are a minuscule part of that larger conflict. It may not be possible to see how our suffering fits into the larger picture of God's plan. But Revelation shows us that when bad things happen to God's people it is because of a supernatural fury that must be allowed its moment in the sun, but will one day be destroyed forever (Rev 20:7-15). So we need to be patient and trust God no matter what happens. Justice is coming, but it will not take hold before I pass through serious trials. If I demand an explanation for everything that happens to me, I will lose faith in God and may even lose my mind. I need to be content with the fact that in this life we "know in part" (1 Cor 13:9).
This reminds me of a story about a lost marble. A man was condemned to solitary confinement in a pitch-black cell. The only thing he had to occupy his mind was a marble, which he threw repeatedly against the walls. He spent his time listening to the marble as it bounced and rolled around the room. Then he would grope in the darkness until he found his precious toy. One day the prisoner threw his marble upward. It failed to come down. Only silence echoed through the darkness. He was deeply disturbed by the "evaporation" of the marble and his inability to explain its disappearance. Finally he went insane, pulled out all his hair and died. When the prison officials came to remove his body, a guard noticed something caught in a huge spider's web in the upper corner of the room. That's strange, he thought, I wonder how a marble got up there.1
There are times when our experience poses questions the mind is unable to answer. But valid answers always exist. When it comes to the things we suffer it is wise not to expect all the pieces to fit on the basis of our limited perception. God alone knows the big picture. The cross tells us that He can be trusted. If we don't know now we don't need to know.
Lord, I trust the One who died for me. Give me endurance even when I don't understand.
1 Story from "Family News With Dr. James Dobson," Focus on the Family Newsletter, March, 2001, 3-4.
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