Holy Holy (Always Be)نموونە

The author of Revelation 4 appears to be having a vision. He is standing before an open door to heaven, and He has been invited inside by the One sitting on a throne which is in the center. The description of the one seated on the throne is vivid and spectacular. Words like, rubies and jasper describe the appearance of the One seated on the throne. And the throne is encircled by a rainbow that shone like emerald. There are also twenty-four thrones with twenty-four elders sitting on the thrones and those elders on their thrones are surrounding the throne in the center. The four creatures and the twenty-four elders are worshipping the One sitting on the throne in the center of heaven. Wow! What a scene!

Worship is defined as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.” I want to encourage you with the fact that God is all around us and we can worship Him. What are the ways we can worship God? I want to briefly mention one way I believe could be life changing. We can worship God when we “collect” stories from His children. There are several of these stories in scripture. If you have siblings, then Joseph and his brothers might be something that you could relate to. If you struggle with a desire to follow God but always find yourself doing the opposite of your desire, then Paul’s comments in Romans 7 about the law of sin may be very helpful.

In 1996 I lost my mother unexpectedly. She was 50 years old. I was a part of two Christian communities that gave me an opportunity to “bow before the Lord of all eternity, the Lord of lords and King of kings.” One community was the Christian university I attended at the time. My mother was a professor at this university, and they poured the love of God on our family who desperately needed it. The second community was two couples who had “lived enough life” to walk with me through this sorrow.

I know it may seem unusual to see this story as an opportunity to worship God, but that is exactly the point. Most scholars believe the author of Revelation was a man named John who had been exiled to the island of Patmos. There was persecution and things were not the best for those who believed in Jesus. Right before the scene in Revelation 4, the 7 churches of Asia Minor had been admonished to continue in the faith. Double down if you will, on living the life Jesus asked them to live. With the sudden loss of my Momma, things got hard in a hurry and God was right there with His children to minister and comfort me and my family.

Paul encourages us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received and that will require difficult decisions sometimes. However, whether in pain or health, joy or sorrow, it will never be the wrong decision to cry “holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” May God bless you this day and provide you with opportunities to worship him by serving others. To find your story in God’s story.