November 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The vision is focused on the foot of the altar. The dried-up blood on the stem of the altar represents the souls of those who were sacrificed for the cause of Christ.

These martyrs were slain "because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained." Some of their names are in our church history books. God knows all their names—and all the blood, including the blood of the unnamed martyrs of our own time, people who thought it better to serve than to be popular. Other servants of God were killed in the jungle of American business. They would rather go broke than be disobedient.

The real suffering of the martyrs is not the pain in the body or in the pocketbook. Their deepest pain is expressed in their cry "How long, holy, faithful Master, how much longer will you wait? How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true; how long?"

Every word is an appeal to God's own character and promises. Since God is the Sovereign Lord and since he can break human blades of grass by his breath, why does he allow this to go on and on? Since God is holy and true, intolerant of sin and unwavering in faithfulness, why do we live and die as if we have no defender?

When you have staked not only your style of living but life itself on the faith that Jesus is Lord, the most painful wound is the absence of the Lord. People deny this Lord everywhere. They kill the faithful and rob the righteous, and the Lord lets them get away with it. Sin and the devil are still ruling people. This goes on and on, so many years after Jesus has received the crown.

How long, Lord? How long will you hide your majesty, and how long will you allow your servants to bleed to death? Hear the cry of the martyrs. Open the gates of heaven. Come to our rescue. Let your weary children be refreshed by the glory of their Lord.

We must continue to wait, and we must remain faithful.

REFLECTIONS

What will you say to the Lord while you are waiting for him?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.