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He Knows


For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;  and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—  if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. (II Peter 2:4-9)

            This morning I'm reminded that God never says, "Oh my Self, what am I going to do now?" He knows how to rescue godly men from trials and at the same time to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.  He knows. Read the last sentence slowly and aloud. Let it seep in to all those  situations that stagger your mind: terrorism, poverty, corruption, politics. He knows how to work all that out. Let it coat your catastrophes. Marinade your anguished musings and lavish your longings for justice in it. He knows...He knows.

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