Zechariah 12:7-9 (ESV)

[7] “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. [8] On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. [9] And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Between Zechariah 12:1 and 13:1 the phrase “on that day” is repeated 7 times. God promises that he will restore Judah and Jerusalem “on that day.” He will judge the nations that have opposed his people “on that day.” His people will mourn over their rejection of their Messiah “on that day.” God will cleanse them “on that day.” Not today. Not tomorrow, but “on that day.” As much lip service as we Bible believing Christians give to the concept of hope, we too often live as though today is all there is.

Jerusalem’s hope is “on that day.” That day is still coming. That day is future. That day was not seen by that generation. Can we live with that? We want Jesus to come back today because we don’t want to live through hard times. We want Jesus to come back today because our world is scary. We want Jesus to come back today because we are tired of battling the growing darkness of our world. But is that what God has called us to?

There is nothing wrong with looking for Jesus’s return with anticipation, but what if we don’t see it in the time-frame we want? Following God has always been a walk of faith. We live in hope, not fulfillment. We live by faith, not by sight. His promises will all be fulfilled “on that day.” We don’t know when that day will be, but we remain faithful, and filled with hope because God always keeps his promises. We live faithfully in the dark because the light is coming. That is what God was calling his people to through Zechariah. It is what he is calling us to as well. We live faithfully in the dark today because the light is coming “on that day.”