Revelation 7:9-10 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Have you ever heard how the Karen people of Burma were prepared for the gospel? This unique people’s history reveals how the Lord had sovereignly preserved, in their traditions, their yearning for the one true God.
For centuries, the Karen people rejected the teachings of Buddhism and spiritism and clung to their ancient understanding of the true God, whom they called “Y’wa”, suggesting the influence of the Hebrew, “Yahweh”. Karen traditions also point to Adam and Eve and their fall, in the garden of Eden. According to the tradition, because of transgressions, they fell from grace. An ancient poem powerfully expresses their hope and expectation of redemption:
“O children and grandchildren! If we repent of our sins, and cease to do evil–restraining our passions–and pray to Y’wa, he will have mercy on us again. If Y’wa does not have mercy on us, there is no other one who can. He who saves us is the only one – Y’wa.”
Their stories relate how they negligently lost the ancient books of Y’wa, and were now anxiously awaiting the “white men”, who would restore the ancient books to them.
Another Karen poem is virtually “prophetic”:
“The sons of Y’wa, the white foreigners, obtained the words of Y’wa. The white foreigners, the children of Y’wa, obtained the words of Y’wa anciently.”
In the late 1800’s Christian missionaries arrived in Burma bringing the gospel of Jesus. Their message was overwhelmingly received! Today a majority of the Karen people are believers, because God had prepared their hearts to receive the message over hundreds of years. The Karen waited expectantly for the “white man’s” message of redemption from “Y’wa”, and “Y’wa” proved faithful to reach and redeem these Burmese tribes, in His time.
As we continue to share the good news, let’s remember that the Lord initiates the work of redemption — and that we need to stay focused on the job at hand, and continue to labor in the harvest fields. The seed we’ve planted in patience, will soon bear fruit; so let us not grow weary in well doing, for we shall reap if we faint not!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As we continue our journey through the life of Elijah, let us take heart in this: Elijah was a man just like us. He was not born with heroic strength or unshakable resolve. He knew weakness, fear, and moments of failure—the same struggles we face. And yet, this one man, by faith, stood alone against a tide of sin and idolatry. By faith, he turned a nation back to God.
Over the past few years, some leaders who once inspired many have fallen into scandals that have brought harm and confusion to the body of Christ. In moments like these, it’s easy to feel disillusioned or lost, as if the work of God depends on human vessels who have failed us. But I’m reminded of how Elisha responded when Elijah was taken from him. His eyes were not on the departing servant but on the living God. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he cried — not, “Where is Elijah?” That cry holds a lesson for us today: our hope and strength are not in human leaders, but in the God who works through them—and who remains faithful even when men falter.
The day before Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the ancient stones of the Western Wall and placed a prayer in its crevices. He chose Numbers 23:24—a verse that declares a timeless truth: God calls Israel and His people everywhere to rise with strength, purpose, and courage, no matter what challenges they face.
When we read the Beatitudes, we catch a glimpse of Yeshua’s heart and the values that define His Kingdom. His words unveil the kind of life that God calls blessed—marked by humility, mercy, purity of heart, a hunger for righteousness, peacemaking, and faithful endurance in the face of suffering.
We often celebrate beginnings—new chapters, breakthroughs, divine appointments. But in God’s economy, every true beginning requires a holy crossing. Before the Hebrews could enter the Promised Land, they had to leave Egypt. Before they entered the Promised Land, they had to cross over the Red Sea. And before Abraham could receive God’s promises, he had to obey a single command: “Leave.”
When the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they traversed a rugged, unpredictable landscape — mile after mile of mountains, valleys, rocks, and desert sands — as they journeyed from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.
For many, God remains a theory—an idea borrowed from tradition, deduced from the cosmos, or tucked quietly into the corners of a creed. He is believed in from afar, but is rarely encountered. Even among believers, it’s not uncommon to live with a distant reverence for God while lacking a vibrant, personal communion with Him.