How Much Longer?
“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”
- Revelation 6:10-11
I know you might be thinking, “What a harrowing verse to use for a devotional!” The context is indeed somber, but it provoked me to meditate on the concept and application within this section.
For context, this is a description of the martyred believers crying out to the Lord during the fifth seal of the tribulation. These Christians that are martyred for their faith are still witnessing the wicked ones prosper on earth for the time being, so they call out to God asking how much longer until His perfect justice is poured out.Without delay, God responds by telling them to “rest a little while longer” until the completion of the number of believers who are to be martyred.
The deeper principles of God’s nurturing character and sovereignty within these two verses resonated with me. Notice that God answered them immediately after they impatiently cried out. Because everything is all about His timing, not ours, He directed them to rest as a reminder that He is still the One in control and He will ultimately handle things. He also made it clear that He knew the exact number of His servants that would be martyred. Once again, nothing is out of His view or control. He knows the beginning from the end and not one action is a surprise to Him.
How are the principles applied in our lives?
God responds to our prayer:
The first takeaway that jumped out from this section to me was that God responded to the saints immediately. How many times in your life have you felt like God wasn’t listening or responding? I can only speak for myself, but there have been countless of my prayers that seemingly hit the ceiling. I question, “Does He even care? Does He even listen? Is He ignoring me?”
Reading this verse reminded me that God does hear me every time. His response may not be audible or perceivable, but I can be assured that He never turns His back to ignore me. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us! God is not distant. He cares and indeed hears every supplication said for ourselves and for others.
God’s timing is not our own:
We are like little children: impatient and wanting to take control of the how and the when. But if there’s one lesson that God wants to continually teach us, it is to wait on Him.
One of my favorite quotes is, “God’s timing is never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith, but it’s always worth the wait.” If we got everything when we wanted it, we would be spoiled brats! God works everything together for good, therefore, His ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are higher than our own thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). He’s the One who knows how to perfectly coordinate everything in His will to unfold and we’d be arrogant to think that we know better.
I don’t know about you, but when things don’t go my way in life, the outcome actually ends up much better than I expected or planned. God doesn’t make us wait without something good coming from it– of course, always having to do with our growth and His purposes.
God wants us to rest while we wait.
In our trials and in our pain, the answer isn’t to “take control” or “do more.” The answer is to rest in Jesus. Rest by trusting that nothing is out of His view or control.
Psalm 37:7 commands, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” When it seems like evil is prospering in your life or that chaos is surrounding you, rest in your security in Christ. Despite the storm, you are safe because you are in His hands. He doesn’t want you stressed out trying to fix things or take matters into your own hands. Instead, He wants you to look up to Him with childlike faith and say, “I know you got this, Dad.”
James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Trials require us to have patience and patience requires us to fully depend/rest on the Lord.
God will justify.
This is a hard one to swallow sometimes, especially when we’ve been wronged. For some, forgiving and moving-on is simple, but for others, enacting revenge and taking justice into their own hands is hard to resist. But the message of Revelation is that God will punish sin and those who are His enemies. He will enact His perfect justice in its perfect form and we don’t have to worry about that! It’s in His hands. That ties into our identity as His sheep and He as our Shepherd: we can run between His legs and He’ll defeat the enemy! Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us that “His work is perfect, and all His ways are justice.” He is a “God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.”
The timing of studying this section of Revelation was perfect in application for my life. I’ve been dealing with the discomfort, pain, and impact of multiple bulging discs for over a year, and the healing process has been unpredictable and oftentimes it feels fruitless. This isn’t the only area in my life where I have cried out, “How long, O Lord?” and I know for many Christians right now, we are all asking the same question for our personal situations.
While we want change, healing, or a miracle, the real aim of our question is regarding Christ’s return. “How much longer, Jesus, till you come again for us?” Our hearts are longing for our heavenly home because that is where we truly belong. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, not this broken one of flesh and blood. That is the hope we have because of Christ. The things of this world will perish, but we can count on His promise of eternal life.
Take a Moment:
I’ve listed a 5-day “challenge” for you this week to apply the message from this devotional.
Day 1: Reflect — In what way(s) did this devotional resonate with a situation in your life? Was it the principle of waiting on God’s timing? Remembering that He always hears and answers your prayers? Or relying on Him to enact His justice?
How will the truth of this scripture change your outlook on your situation?
Day 2: Pray — Ask God to show you if there are any areas where you haven’t surrendered to His timing, His control, or His justice. If He reveals something to you, ask Him to help you trust Him with that situation and relieve you of the burden it has caused.
Day 3: Read — Encourage yourself by reading Revelation 21-22, the final chapters of the Bible. God tells us how the story ends and it is a happily ever after! Despite the suffering you may be facing today, we have the hope of our heavenly home with Jesus.
Day 4: Worship — Worship Jesus with the song “My Redeemer is Faithful and True.” Click here to take you to YouTube.
Day 5: Act — Memorize one of the following verses mentioned in this devotional:
James 1:2-4
1 Peter 5:7
Isaiah 55:9
Psalm 37:7
Deuteronomy 32:4
Waiting on the Lord for His timing and purposes his what it means to live by faith.
-Alina