Daily Devotional For May 28, 2025
And I said to him, “My Lord, you know,” and he said to me, “These are the ones who are coming out of the Great Tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Rev 7:14.
In the original language, the word for tribulation (thlipseôs) is not limited to persecution and martyrdom. The deeper meaning includes concepts like “trouble,” “stress,” “difficult circumstances,” and “suffering” in general. Many have assumed that “the Great Tribulation” is a single event at the last days of earth’s history. But John is told that the great multitude of Rev 7:9 are the ones who “are coming” out of the Great Tribulation. Whatever the text means by the Great Tribulation, it was something going on already in John’s day and has continued throughout Christian history.
The Book of Revelation makes a lot of sense here. No one ever gets through life without stress, without “great tribulation.” Yet we often do all we can to avoid stress. It looks like an enemy to us, we think it can only hurt us.
I’m reminded of my best friend’s place. He lives in a hilltop house in the Iowa countryside. From the front steps of his house you can see for miles in three directions. One day I drove up to the house for a visit and experienced quite a surprise. Bounding out of the house to greet me was the largest animal I’d seen running free since an elephant or two crossed the road in front of my car in Africa. Out of the corner of my eye I thought a lion was heading for me! The beast opened its mouth and let out an immense roar that scared me half out of my wits. Upon closer inspection, however, I realized that I wasn’tfacing a lion, it was a 250 pound dog! It was Ed’s St. Bernard named Gabe. Gabe turned out to be the sweetest, gentlest creature you would ever want to know. His bark is a shade short of thunder, but it is all noise and no bite!
That is what stress is like, we may perceive it as an enemy, but what really matters is how we respond to it.1 An automobile is useful for taking us from place to place, but out of control it is very dangerous. Stress out of control prematurely wears the body down and sets the stage for disease. But managed stress is actually something very useful to our lives. It gives drive and energy to everything we do. It is the raw material that God uses to bring about His glory (John 11; 2 Cor 3:18). Growth happens in our lives as we respond positively to the stresses of life. While we might prefer our lives to be more calm and peaceful, God knows that little growth and development will occur in the absence of stress and difficulty.
Lord, when my life seems out of control, I allow myself to get rushed and lose track of You. Help me to see the difficulties of life as pathways that You can use to help me grow and become more useful in Your service.
1 Kath Donovan, Growing Through Stress (Berrien Springs, MI: Institute of World Mission, Andrews University, 2002), 28-32.