Lifted Up

Scripture Passages that caught my attention today: Ezekiel 4:10 You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD. AND Revelation 4:9-11 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

Observation: One of God’s earnest desires is that we know God

Application: Bette Middler, I think, sang a song with the line “you are the wind beneath my wings.” The song itself is normally interpreted to be about a person. A parent perhaps, a significant other, or some other person who has been a constant source of support throughout one’s life.

But Scripture speaks of a deeper level of support, a deeper level of lift, if you will. Scripture, in the end, is not ultimately about battles or humanity gone awry or divine punishment. The Scripture strive for humanity to know the identity of the one who offers this ultimate level of support. In short: the Lord.

I know. It’s simple, basic and, for many, nothing new. It’s hardly “breaking news.” Or is it?

There was a mighty long stretch of time between the writings of Ezekiel and the writings of Revelation. Yet God saw fit to continue to offer the reminders of who is behind this grand world in which we live. And as we go about making our plans for the day, however noble and determined and such, they are also feeble. A hurricane, an argument, an accident, an illness or any number of other events can change our to-do list in a hurry and leave us scrambling to re-establish our priorities.

Such scrambling wouldn’t be so necessary if our priorities were in line to begin with and we truly “knew” the one who truly knows us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to grow to know you more and more and to focus on ourselves less and less. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Ezekiel 8-11 and Revelation 4)