In Revelation 18, the chapter clearly shows the extent of evil in this world. Evil partakes in selfish ambition, seeking wealth for oneself, and striving to be better than others for the sake of pride. But where was God in their world? There was no mention of Him. As if we can live a purposeful life without Him. Don't fall victim to self-reliance; instead, submit to the Lord's will and plans for your life, and watch how He provides for you. Do we have to be a part of the evil in this world? No! I love what verse 1 says, "After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory." Here are a few truths that we should focus on:

1. Angels are messengers for God. They also help serve God to ensure His will is carried out on earth.

2. Whenever God is announced, there is always light. The evil one works in the darkness. So light is good, and darkness is not.

Do you remember what God created on the first day? Yes, light! Genesis 1:3, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." So, when the angel came down from Heaven, he filled the earth with light from his glory. The evil one works best in the dark, hiding in the shadows and trying to get us to keep secrets, so we don't focus on the brightness and goodness of God. So, when reading Revelation, don't focus on the evil that is happening; we should always keep our eyes firmly fixed on God, His glory, and His promises.

Sometimes it is hard to remember that we will one day be in glory with God, where there will be no more tears, sadness, or hate. This world is functioning on the evil one's powers and he uses anything he can to distract us from what is true. But God is so faithful! We just need to remember his promises. One that comes to mind is John 8:12 NIV, which states, "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'"

One night, as I was traveling home, I saw a huge storm coming on the horizon. The clouds were dark and ominous. I started to worry about what this storm would bring. High winds, hail, or even lightning, as well as power outages. But when I looked up beyond the dark clouds, I noticed a blue sky with light beams coming from behind the clouds. The sun was still shining behind these storm clouds, and I had to remember that whatever this storm brought, God is still in control. He promises to remove the darkness and be our constant light. I need to remind myself not to focus on the darkness and the potential evil in this world, but keep my eyes fixed on the Light of the World. In the light we have hope!

In Revelation 18, we see an abundance of evil and destruction. We see that the evil in this world is happening due to disobedience of God's holy plan for His children. We also see the promise of God, who tells us that in the end times, He will put an end to all evil, once and for all. Until then, we share this world with evil, and we need to do our part to keep God alive and first in our hearts. So, what can we do daily to stay close to God? Well, we need to be honest with ourselves. Is there any area of our lives where we need to separate or remove worldly influences that don't align with God's teaching? What warnings does God give us in His word that help us avoid the evil one's influence? We want to ensure that we are living for God and not for the evil of this world. It is sometimes hard not to live for oneself. We know what we desire, and sometimes following God may seem like a sacrifice to forgoing what we think we should have. But remember, God is the only perfect and sinless one who knows all things. Don't you think He knows what is best for us? Trust Him, He loves you so very much!