Daniel 7:18 “‘But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever–yes, for ever and ever.'”

O: This chapter isn’t usual fodder for daily devotions, but it’s an important one to have laid down in your heart, especially in times like these. This verse, expanded slightly in verse 27, is the enduring point I get from this chapter, and it is glorious indeed. We need to remember that things are going to be tumultuous and look very bad. Verse 21 specifically says the forces of evil will overcome the saints! However, we must remember the final outcome, and that is in this verse: we win! At the same time, we must remember that it won’t be by our own strength, as verse 22 makes clear. The way it was expressed to John is actually pretty graphic: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelation 12:11) In other words, even if we are killed, we win! There are things going on in the US today that would have been unimaginable 50 years ago, but they are all too real. God’s people aren’t to be passive, but neither are they to be anxious, regardless of the immediate situation. After all, we win!

This is an important truth the Lord has been reminding me of in recent weeks. Rather than get worked up over presidential politics, for example, I need to trust God and be faithful in the tasks He has assigned to me. The possibility of a total economic collapse for Japan, or even for the whole world, seems very real. That would affect my daily life a good bit, but there too I am not to be anxious. The more uncertain this world’s systems become, the more people will be seeking eternal security, and I need to be ready to bring in the harvest! I am to stand firm in God’s promises to me and to this church, submitting to God and resisting the devil, so that all of God’s plans for us may be fulfilled, on His schedule and for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me look to You in faith and trust so that I may rejoice whatever is going on around me. I am already amused at some of the scrambling around being done by people who are used to being “in control,” so they think. Help me remember, and teach others to trust, that You are in control whatever is going on at the moment. Help me, help us, remember that Your Spirit in us is greater than all the forces arrayed against us whatever might be happening at the moment. (1 John 4:4) May I, may we as a church, be carriers of Your hope and peace to a world that is so desperately in need of them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!