Darkness has Limits

Then I heard two holy ones talking to each other. One of them asked, “How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be trampled on?”
Daniel 8:13, NLT*

This is from one of Daniel’s visions, and in it, everything looked disastrous. Verse 12 says “The army of heaven was restrained from responding to this rebellion.”

Daniel saw evil winning – permitted to win – but even then the heavenly beings knew this was only for a time. God had allowed it for a purpose.

When things seem out of control, when God seems absent or not working… He still has the ultimate authority and He will work even this into His redemptive plan.

There are things God allows as a consequence of our sin-soaked world, things that should never happen and that we wouldn’t allow if we had His power. The people living in these circumstances are suffering greatly.

Knowing His goodness and the other aspects of His character helps us choose to trust Him even in the worst of times.

At the Lord Jesus’ return, when everything is made new, when His glory is fully revealed and all tears cease, somehow He will make everything right.

God our Creator and our Saviour, Your ways are beyond our understanding, and You are good. Help us trust You when we can’t see. Strengthen our faith to hold onto You. And we thank You that You will work everything out according to Your plan, and that it is a good plan, involving our salvation and our rescue. Thank You that Your glory will ultimately be revealed and Your people comforted, and that the enemy of our souls will be forever overcome.

A song of comfort for me when I don’t understand is Steven Curtis Chapman’s “God is God.”

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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