Sep 4, 2023
(1Thes.5:1-6,9-11; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; Lk.4:31-37)
“Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.”
The Word of the Lord has all “authority and power.” The Word of the Lord casts out demons. The Word of the Lord brings light to the soul who seeks Him. In Him we have no fear.
He comes, brothers and sisters; yes, He comes… As He entered the synagogue in Galilee and cast out the evil spirit from the man and from the place, so He will come at the end of the age and cast all evil from the face of the earth. No longer shall the devil have a place here; all darkness will be banished. This hope should bring us but joy. We who are of light should long for the day when the Lord who is “our light and [our] salvation” comes to cleanse the world of evil; if we seek “to dwell in the house of the Lord” we must know that only His authority and power, only His sharp voice speaking truth and shaking the powers of this earth will bring “the loveliness of the Lord” our hearts desire to contemplate forever. As He came to cast out the devil from the man in the synagogue, as He has come to cast all evil from the temple of our bodies, so He must come at the end of the age to cast all sin into hell, that His light and all His children of light might shine in unadulterated glory.
Do not fear. Do not fear the coming of His kingdom, the power of His Word. Though we may be “struck with astonishment” and wonder at “His speech,” though the teaching of the Lord leave us “spellbound,” yet we should welcome it and seek to increase its presence in our lives and in this world. It is His teaching, it is the power of His Word we are called as children of His light to bring into this world. For, indeed, the world is a dark place, and many there are who fear as the demon the destruction of the darkness in which they have taken what has seemed to them secure refuge. It must be known that in darkness there is no “security,” in sin there is no “peace”… Only in Him is true peace and security.
Let us not be anguished at the passing of the darkness which comes by the just wrath of God. Let us not slumber into its clutches and so find refuge there. We must remain vigilant, seeking with eyes of light the coming of Jesus the Christ. We are destined for salvation in Him. In Him let us take comfort and upbuild one another, spreading “His renown” in our hearts and “through the surrounding country.”
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O LORD, in Jesus’ Name and in His blood
let us be healed, washed clean
and ready for His coming Day.
YHWH, let us not take refuge in the darkness of this world and in its drunkenness take our peace and security. Rather, let us live in your light and become children of that light, awake in your presence forever. Your Son comes to cast all demons of darkness from our midst; let us welcome His powerful Word.
O LORD, you are our light and our salvation; you are our life’s refuge. And so, why should we be afraid of your Son’s coming, He who brings your salvation to man? Let us rather long for His return, for His cleansing presence before our eyes. For how else shall we enter your Temple and gaze on your loveliness if all evil is not driven from our souls?
To the land of the living we long to come, so make us stouthearted as we wait for Jesus to return, LORD. May your light upon us give us courage for that Day.