Lesson Fourteen • The Fall of Babylon
Devotion 6: Continual Trusting
Pastor Josh Yates
The story is told that John Kavanaugh, who was a noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, seeking Mother Teresa, and more. He went for three months to work at “the house of the dying” to find out how best to spend the rest of his life. When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried for thousands of miles, “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.”
Mother Teresa answered, “No, I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said, ”I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”
We long for clarity, do we not? I know that I do. It is something that we desire from God because we want to know what is next. In reality, we want to be in control. We need to learn how to trust God.
No matter the time of our lives, there is so much going on and so much that we do not understand. Maybe you are reading this today and you are struggling through some of the toughest days of your life. Maybe life is going just awesome and things could not be better. No matter where you are, there are at least moments that we just do not understand what God is doing. It is in those moments that we have to trust His heart.
A reading of Revelation chapter 17 leaves us with images that are hard to understand. John the Revelator talks about the bowl judgments of God and the pouring out of His judgment. A woman that is called a prostitute (representing Babylon and the evil of the world) and there is a Beast with all kinds of horns. It is a lot to take in.
However, when reading this, there are a couple of things that stand out. The Book of Life and the names that are written in it are mentioned in verse 8. This is the Book of Life where every follower of Jesus’ name is written. If you have given your life to Jesus as your Savior, your name is in there and the judgment of God is nothing to be amazed at. He will keep His promises.
That leads us to the second thing in Revelation chapter 17. In verse 17, John tells us that God has put a plan into the minds of even those that do not follow Him. His plan, His words, and His timing are all perfect.
Even when you do not understand what is going on in your life, when the waves roll, when the ground is uneven, or maybe even crumbling beneath your feet, God still loves you. He is still on the throne. He still has a plan for you. You have not been forgotten.
In the moments of our lives, whether good or bad, we must remember that our Savior is returning, that He loves us, and that all will be made right.
Revelation 22:7 (NLT) says, “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”
Even so, come Lord Jesus! Maranatha!