On this day in San Francisco in 1945 50 nations organized the United Nations.

From its very beginning the vision of the United Nations has always been to have a place where countries could work out their differences and meet global challenges together—where all nations would be “united.”

That’s a good idea. And, through the years, this famous institution has had successes and setbacks in trying to reach its goals. The main roadblock to success is the simple fact that leaders of some countries don’t want to cooperate, to compromise, or to reach a solution. They may talk about peace while planning for war. They may pretend to promote freedom while keeping people enslaved. They may act as though they’re all for what’s right while doing what is wrong.

Daily newscasts and other reports make it clear that wars, terrorism, and atrocities will be with us for a while. And we can get discouraged.

Eventually, however, all those terrible things will end. Peace will come, and people of every race and nation will live together as one.

“When?” you ask. When Christ returns.

The Book of Revelation tells about the future. In it the apostle John wrote what God had revealed to him. When you read this book, you’ll see that God is in control and that he will win the battle against Satan and evil. Today’s verse tells us that “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language” will stand before God and worship him together. Now that’s unity.

So don’t get discouraged by negative news and nations divided. Remember God’s promise to bring us all together under his rule.

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9).

To Do

Today, pray for peace. Be specific, mentioning each of the troubled nations in the news.

Also on this day . . .

This is World’s Penguin Day

1684—A patent was granted for the thimble.

1859—ork began on the Suez Canal in Egypt.

1953—U.S. Senator Wayne Morse ended the longest speech in U.S. Senate history. The speech on the Offshore Oil Bill lasted 22 hours and 26 minutes.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.