Pastor Sam's Weekly Devotionals
The End of Pain
Verse for Meditation:
The day of the Lord will come like a thief. – 2 Peter 3:10
As we come to the end of our month’s focus on spiritual warfare with Halloween around the corner, today’s devotion reminds us that no matter how challenging the spiritual battles we face, the war has already been won:
IN WORD The best thing about the spiritual war—the opposition that we now face as citizens of the new creation—is that it has an ending point. It won’t last forever, and neither will it just fade away. It will be cut off at a particular point in time, when few people expect it. The days of the enemy are numbered. That means all of the conflict we face, all of the tension in our relationships and in our own hearts, and all of the brokenness of this world will be done away with.
The new creation is exactly that—a new creation. There will be a new earth that will not be corrupted by any evil or death. There will be no crime, no natural disasters, no emptiness deep within us, no pitiful attempts at finding fulfillment in the trinkets of the old world, no crying ourselves to sleep, and no suffering. The adage “no pain, no gain” will be completed. The pain will be over, and the gain will be eternal.
Meanwhile, the days of distress will intensify. Jesus said, “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them” (Mark 13:20). But we can take the intensity if we know He has cut short the days. The enemy, in spite of his wide range, is still on a leash. Those who trust God cannot be fatally wounded.
IN DEED When you hear that Jesus is coming again, what reaction do you have? Exhilaration? Panic? Something in between? Those who realize the brutal nature of the conflict now and the peace of the Kingdom then will welcome the advent of the eternal Lord. He will come and establish His reign, and it will be perfect. The utopia that we have instinctively longed for from ages past will be realized, but it will be better than we thought. Remember that in the heat of battle. Your fight won’t last much longer. The peace treaty has already been drafted. Jesus is going to come. We are not a post-war generation, but a pre-peace generation. Jesus is coming. —Corrie ten Boom (in “God With Us” by Chris Tiegreen)
While we should never underestimate spiritual warfare when confronted, today’s devotion reminds us that we need not fear, because the war has already been won. And one day, everyone will know that Jesus is Lord; Satan and evil will be eliminated once for all.
Take time to read Revelation 18 – 22 this week. Then give thanks to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to empower you daily to face whatever spiritual battle may come your way. Have a blessed week! - from Singapore, Pastor Sam