Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
REVELATION 2:7
Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.
Our passage ends with a paradise promise. The tree of life, mentioned in Genesis 2:9, became a biblical symbol for a truer and deeper life, characterized by wisdom, righteousness, and hope. (See Proverbs 3:18, 11:30, and 13:2.) Paradise was originally a Persian word for a pleasure garden, and it is used in Genesis for the Garden of Eden. Later in scripture, it became a synonym for heaven, a place where God’s presence could be known and experienced without the earthly enemies of sin, death, fear, and anxiety. Jesus used it to make his promise to the penitent thief on the cross, “Today you’ll be with me in Paradise.”
PRAYER
Gracious God, I want to conquer and know the fullness of life you promise. Let me live today as one who hopes for Paradise, not as someone who is limited by earth’s short span of time and tragic circumstance. Let me return to the works and energy of my first love. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
