Zechariah 9:14. "Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south."

This is part of an oracle of Zechariah describing how God will gather back all His people and vindicate them. The most recognizable part of this oracle, to me at least, precedes this verse and reads "Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass ... and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea" (Zechariah 9:9-10).

In these two parts of the same oracle, one that is prophesying how our God saves His people, we see both the power and the humility of God, and we see His ultimate goal, peace among all the nations under His Kingship. His arrows go forth like lightning, yet he rides in triumphant on an ass. He sounds the battle trumpet and marches forth in a whirlwind to deliver not war, but peace to the nations. This oracle paints a picture of an all-powerful God who will rise up and save His people, but will do so in such a way as to create ultimate peace.

That is God's goal - to bring all nations together as one Kingdom under the dominion of His perfect, humble, all-powerful, all-loving Kingship. Yes, there will be battles and sufferings to get to this point, because we are a fallen people, prone to wickedness, and justice requires chastisements. But those are all precursors to our King coming. They are tragic, and horrible, but they help break the hardness of our hearts and prepare all the peoples and nations for our humble King. (Earlier in this oracle, Zechariah says "Gaza to shall writhe in anguish ... and I will make an end of the pride of Philistia" (Zechariah 9:5-6) - prophecies that seem to echo in some of the war and destruction we are seeing today).

So even when we see war and the sufferings that come with it, we always know that God is at work. He will use our worst tendencies to bring about His all-good plan. He will be triumphant in the end, and His goodness and humility will be seen and cherished by all as humanity finally lives in the kingdom that has been meant for us from the beginning.