09/09/2026
SOMEBODY NEED TO HEAR THIS.
Revelation 7:14
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
In most cases we believe tribulations are the signs of being abandoned by God or God punishes us.
It is the same with Job situations. His friends were even telling him to confess his sins, because they believed suffering follows one's wickedness.
However, according to Revelations 7:14, it is totally contrary to how we see or perceive things. The elder's response to the same question he firstly posed to John is, "These are they who come out of great tribulation..." meaning these are the tested ones, and they have passed the test. How they look, is their rewards through Christ, for withstanding the test of time on earth and they became victors.
This reminds me of my Mom, MaMotaung. We grew up calling her Sah or Saniwe because somebody who came before us couldn't say Ous Naniwe. Nevertheless, Sah ones chased me around the table with a spoon of bitter medicine. I hated it and saw it as a torture from my Mom. But she eventually caught up with me, and hold my jaw tight, in attempt to force my mouth open and say "come, drink, it is good for you." Eventually she bit me to it, and I will be looking at her with grief, tears already filled the wells of my eyes. I remember her looking at me with that warm loving comforting smile, and said "you know mommy loves you."
As much as I didn't like this bad tasting medicine, that I saw a torture in it, but her last sentence dropped all my guards, and melted my heart. Even though I didn't understand why she chose to give me that bitter one than those sweet flavored ones I used to get for my cough, but those words, "you know Mommy loves you," gave me the assurance that I wasn't punished and I was loved still.
What I am driving home to, my dear brothers and sisters, is that, it is not every situation that presents itself as punishment that it is punishment. At some point, God is strengthening us for a certain coarse, or He is humbling us so we could know how to rely and trust on Him.
Don't forget a venom needs an antidote of the same venom to escape death.
Be of good courage my beloved, God loves you. This will also come to pass, and only then you will receive the revelation of why some of the things took place in your life in the manner they did.
SHALOM 🙌🏼
