“Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.”
Have you ever felt like the world is collapsing around you and you just know that the next shoe that falls will be on your head? (Me too.) It’s hard to look around and see a mess of a world and not feel like you’re next. People are dying, war is happening, suffering is increasing by the minute. Encountering all this pain is defeating and makes us feel powerless and alone in this world.
But in God’s kingdom things are not always as they seem. We’re not there yet, but we see glimpses. These verses give us a glimpse of God’s kingdom. I love the phrase, “just open your eyes…” Look around! Can’t you see that God is at work here? Can’t you see that evil is being limited and thwarted and stopped by his hand? Can’t you see in your own life the faithfulness of God?
Here’s your freedom for today: evil can’t touch you the way it touches the world. It can’t control you, it can’t own you, it can’t capture you when you belong to Jesus. Why? Because when you turn your whole life over to God, you enter his kingdom and his family. You are adopted and have a seat at the royal table. While we are still living on earth, we don’t get to experience the full privileges of that life. But when you see wickedness and evil around you, cling to the truth that you belong to another kingdom.