READING: Ezekiel 19-21, Psalm 84, John 7
There’s an incredible amount of security in this verse referring to the opposition Jesus faced in today’s New Testament reading: “Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come” (John 7:30). The religious leaders and others set out to capture Jesus, but they with all their wrath could not speed up God’s timeline. Jesus would be arrested and crucified, but not until the timing fits God’s plan. No one would hinder the Father’s work.
Surely our lives are equally in the hands of God. I suspect the day will come when we believers in North America may face genuine persecution, and we’ll need to make hard decisions. We may have to deal with what so many other believers around the world face: arrest and death for their allegiance to Jesus. I don’t know if that day will come in my lifetime, but some generation of believers will become the target of public opposition.
What I do know, though, is this: even if persecution comes, my life rests in the hands of God. He may allow great hardship, but no one will harm me unless God allows out. I must trust Him as Jesus did, knowing He always has a greater goal in mind.
PRAYER: “God, praise You for Your plan and Your timing.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 22-24, Psalm 134, John 8