Isaiah 13:9–10: “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, / Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, / To lay the land desolate; / And He will destroy its sinners from it. / For the stars of heaven and their constellations / Will not give their light; / The sun will be darkened in its going forth, / And the moon will not cause its light to shine.”

August 7th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

We recognize this phrase “the day of the LORD” as referring to the return of Jesus Christ in the last days. We know that many unbelievers will be saved during the tribulation, which is in fact God’s whole reason for the increasing pressure over the 7 years of “Jacob’s Trouble” or “The Great Tribulation.” The outcome will be that no person on the planet will be left in the valley of indecision, because the difference between light and darkness, good and evil, will be clearly seen by everyone. God will make it so clear, so obvious, that no honest person could possibly miss it, and decisions will be made.

Jesus described the event in similar terms in Matthew 24:29: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” These signs in the heavens, or “the stars of heaven,” will be observable by all. As God did long ago with the star of Bethlehem, He will again show the whole earth that He is in control of the cosmos.

It is God’s ultimate desire that we would turn and come to Him. And so the Creator of the Universe reveals Himself and His power to us that we all may know that “He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). One of Hitler’s bodyguards was a man named Kurt Wagner. He adored Hitler and reverenced him as a god. At the end of the war, after Hitler’s suicide in a Berlin bunker, Kurt’s faith was shattered, and he planned to commit suicide as well. Going for a final cup of coffee, he picked up a discarded gospel tract and read it, first carelessly and then with interest. As a result of what he read, he sought out a pastor who led him to Christ. Kurt was transformed from a hardened man into a new creation in Jesus Christ.

“LORD, thank You that You are patient and wait for people to come to You today. Please use us to lead someone to You this day.”