For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

— Ezekiel 18:32

When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.

— Jonah 3:10

But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

— Romans 2:5

10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.

11 Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

— Revelation 22:1-12

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy from the Lord Jesus to you.

While God delay His judgment until the full number of the martyrs for Christ, God also allows people to continue in rebellion against Him for a time. He waits until either they repent or their accumulating guilt reaps His timely and certain judgment. God’s righteous judgment reveals His holy character.

Every believer who grasps God’s grace and righteousness experiences the tension of living in a fallen world while trusting God for what is not yet seen. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin and sometimes because of the sin of others. We long for God to vindicate us and relieve our suffering. God’s sovereignty and goodness limits suffering and sin in accordance with His bigger pan. The time will come when God brings justice in all situations. Although we may not fully understand His ways, God’s timing is perfect, never careless or arbitrary. He will accomplish His perfect purposes in world history and our lives. God desires our highest and best good. He loves us with an intensely personal and unending love.