Security Clearance
“For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.”
—Revelation 7:15
Observation:
In the midst of this earth-shattering ordeal those who are faithful to God are sheltered at the throne of the one who has conquered, Jesus. The book of Revelation is written to seven churches that are facing heavy persecution or are about to. The Church has witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the armies of Rome. There has been persecution breaking out all over the empire. But the Saints are encouraged that no matter what may happen God will shelter and protect them. What has happened to those who it seems God did not protect, the martyrs? They are in front of the throne worshiping. So even in the midst of the darkness, when the death springs its snares and grasps you in its clutches the conquering one has victory and has their backs. This passage does not explicitly state that the reason that these saints feel such freedom to worship is because in the presence of the conquering one they are secure, secure in who they are as defined by God. One can face the most egregious of situations when they feel secure. So the fact that these saints faced death is testimony to the security they felt in God. The readers of Revelation are facing the choice between life and death, and the irony is that in losing their lives they actually gain them. This is what seems to be the message communicated by “The Revelator”.
Application:
Today the marketing strategy seems pretty blatant. Do you have insecurities? Well how about a spray that will make the ladies dry hump you in the club to fix that low self-esteem. Or maybe a pair of inflatable boobs will fix negative self-image. Do you feel like people don’t respect you? Well we have the perfect solution, a 150-caliber dessert eagle that is guaranteed to make you a respectable man. The list goes on of insecurities that the world is trying to fix with silly products and self-mutilation. The truth is though that no matter how many insecurities we try to fix another will most certainly pop up right away.
I have come to the realization recently that much of my experience has been maligned by my insecurities. I also realize that I have tried to deal with these insecurities outside of God. I have tried to build a more agreeable identity based off of ideals of masculinity that were taught to me by pimps, hustlers, and gangsters. I did not even realize how much these ideals had been deeply rooted into my life. I allowed my insecurities to dictate how I acted and treated people. These ideals of masculinity that have masked my insecurities need to be uprooted and burned.
The more I move away from these fundamentally flawed ideals and press into God the more my response has been worship and prayer. The more I lose my illusion of control the more I find myself feeling secure in who I am in Christ. When you grow up in a constant state of fear concerning life, you develop a hard-shell to mask that fear because being afraid is not an option for a man according to the ideals I was taught. Sometimes it takes intense pressure or force to crack that hard-shell. That is exactly what happened to me, I was hit with a massive blow that broke that hard shell into pieces. The irony of being so hard is that you do not allow anything to affect you, good or bad. You begin to miss out on the good things of life because you have become encased in your defenses. When that hard-shell broke into pieces I was overwhelmed by all of the emotions that I felt. I did not know how to fix it. I did not know how to regain an illusion of control. I did not know how to put ground underneath me. The only thing I could do was surrender to God. The more I surrendered and relinquished control over to God (as if I had control in the first place) I began to find security. I began to understand who I am. I began to discover my God given identity. It is funny how losing one’s life is the key to gaining life.
Prayer:
Lord, Thank you for freeing me from the bondages of my illusionary control. Thank you for giving me security in you. Thank you for being my conqueror. Lord, help me to continue pressing into you and allowing you to give me definition and my identity. In Jesus name I pray Amen…
Comments