READING: Nehemiah 4-6, Psalm 98, Revelation 6
God’s plan is so far beyond our comprehension that sometimes all we can do is honor, trust, and obey Him even while we have questions. Then, even if He does choose to answer our questions, we still often must simply trust Him with the answer. In today’s New Testament reading, we find that situation. There, we’re introduced to martyrs—those who had been killed because of their testimony and their reliance on the Word of God. They had been faithful to follow their Master, and it cost them their lives.
Perhaps not surprisingly, their prayer was a question of “how long?” How long would it be before God avenged their deaths as the righteous judge He is? The question is a logical one, but God’s response may be unexpected to us. He told them to wait, to rest, until His plan would come to pass—including the deaths of more believers. Other brothers and sisters would also lose their lives under the plan of the Sovereign One.
Our contemporary minds may wonder about God’s purposes with this plan of persecution and death, but its mystery reminds us that He is God—and we’re not. Our responsibility is to follow Him fully, accepting that He will vindicate His people in His time and His way. In the meantime, we trust.
PRAYER: “God, grant me grace to trust You even when I don’t understand.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Nehemiah 7-9, Psalm 140, Revelation 7