We read in Revelation 12 that,
“The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she
might be taken care of for 1,260 days.”
I believe the secret message for
us in this is that in the desert of persecution God prepares for us a place of
protection. The 1,260 days represent a period of time during which Satan is
persecuting the Church. 1,260 days is three and a half years. Seven years would
be a complete period of suffering. Thus, 1,260 days represents a complete
period of suffering cut short by half. This shows us that even in suffering God
is merciful to us. God will not let us endure suffering longer than we can
bear. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) God’s protection will last as long as Satan’s persecution lasts.
Notice that God prepares a place
for the woman to be taken care of. The desert represents a place of spiritual
refuge and protection from Satan. Because the Lord aided the woman’s escape into
the desert, we can be sure that God will provide security for us. Satan always
attacks Christians, but the Lord keeps us spiritually secure. Some of us may experience
physical harm, but the Lord will protect us from spiritual harm. The Lord will
not allow Satan to take the souls of those who belong to him. Satan can only do
to us what the Lord allows, and the Lord has our best interests in mind, even
while he allows Satan to bring suffering. However strong Satan’s opposition
against us may become, and however fierce our sufferings may be, we are always
under the Lord’s protection and therefore we cannot ultimately be destroyed or
overcome by Satan.
Jill Briscoe tells the following
story….
Though I was barely
6 years of age, I well remember sitting by a roaring fire on a Sunday during
World War II. Our family had fled the bombs that rained down on us one night,
chasing us hundreds of miles away to the beautiful English lake
district—William Wordsworth country.
The mists were
gone, and a storm had broken over our heads. The rain, like giant tears,
slashed against the window pane, and the thunder grumbled away as if it were
angry it had to hang around all day. I didn’t like storms, and I was old enough
to understand that a bigger storm was raging, a war involving the entire world.
But at the moment, it seemed far away. The fire was warm, and my father was
relaxed, reading the paper, sitting in his big chair.
Suddenly, as if he
were aware I needed a bit of reassurance, he put down his paper and smiled at
me. “Come here, little girl,” he said in his quiet but commanding voice. And
then I was safe in his arms, lying against his shoulder and feeling the beat of
his heart. What a grand place to be. Here I could watch the rain and listen to
the thunder all day.
I’ve realized how
my heavenly Father shelters me from the storms of life. When times of sorrow
swamped me at my mother’s funeral, I sought the reassurance of my Father’s
presence. When winds of worry whipped away my confidence as I faced gangs of
young people in street evangelism, I glanced up to see my Father’s face. When
floods of fear rose in my spirit as I waited in a hospital room for the results
of frightening tests, I sensed my heavenly Father saying, “Come here, little
girl.”
I climbed into his
arms, leaned against his shoulder, and murmured, “Ah, this is a grand place to
be.”
And as I rest in
that safe place knowing that my Father is bigger than any storm that beats
against the window pane of my life, I can watch the rains and listen to the
thunder, knowing that everything is all right. Here I can feel the beat of my
Father’s heart.
Is Satan buffeting our lives
with many storms just now? Is fear rising in our hearts as we experience the
thunder of painful circumstances? If so, then perhaps what we need to do is to
crawl into our heavenly Father’s lap and call out to him in prayer. Perhaps we
need to let God comfort us through his words in the Bible. Perhaps we need to
take up that book and read it as his love message to us, his fearful children.
God may not take away the storms in our lives. In fact, God may have allowed
these very storms to come so that we would rush into his loving arms once more.
We need to let the Lord be our place of protection. We need to let him teach us
through all the trials of life that He is greater than the one who is in the
world.
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