He Is Coming: Finding Peace in the Promise of Christ’s Return

Revelation 1:7 opens with a word we often rush past: Behold. Stop. Look. Pay attention to this. John doesn’t ease into the announcement — he drops it like an anchor into the sea. This is not a quiet, private moment. It is cosmic. It is public. It is final.

The image of Christ coming with the clouds is not new to John’s readers. Daniel saw it first, centuries earlier, in a night vision that left no room for doubt. ““I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14, WEB) The same Jesus who wept at Lazarus’s tomb, who washed dusty feet in an upper room — he is the one to whom all dominion belongs. Every kingdom that has risen and fallen throughout history is a footnote to his.

And then John says something that might catch you off guard: every eye will see him — including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn. This is not written to frighten you. It is written to remind you that nothing is hidden from him, and nothing is outside his reach. Every wound. Every injustice. Every moment when evil looked like it was winning. He sees it all, and he is coming to set it right.

Jesus himself said it plainly on the night before his death. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.” (John 14:3, WEB) He is not absent and indifferent. He left to prepare something — and he intends to come back for you personally. That word receive is tender. He will take you to himself. Not to a policy or a program, but to a person.

So what do you do with all of this on an ordinary Tuesday morning? The same thing the psalmist learned to do. ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”” (Psalms 46:10, WEB) Be still. Not passive, not in denial — but grounded. You are not waiting for a world that might fall apart. You are waiting for a King who is already sovereign.

The final pages of Revelation close with a call and a response so simple it almost surprises you. “He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21, WEB) “Come, Lord Jesus.” Three words. That is the whole posture of a believer who truly believes in the second coming of Christ — not anxiety, not speculation, but longing. Come. We are ready. We trust you.

When you think about the return of Christ, does it feel more like a threat or a promise — and what does that tell you about where you are with him right now? Is there an injustice or a grief you’ve been carrying alone, something you haven’t trusted God to ultimately make right? Have you been living as though Jesus is coming back, or as though everything depends entirely on you? What would it look like for you to pray “Come, Lord Jesus” and actually mean it today?

Bring these questions with you now, and let them lead you into an honest conversation with the God who is already near.

May you carry through this day the quiet, unshakeable confidence that the story is not unfinished — it is unfolding exactly as the King intends. May that truth be louder than your fear.