Worship: It never stops!
Revelation 5, 11-12 (NIVUK)
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honour and glory and praise!
Listening to other people, asking for their advice, is super useful whether in making life decisions or in our journey with God. Often others can see things we ourselves can’t see and we need them to point out where we’ve been blind.
The Bible often acts in this way - a voice, different from our own view, that speaks, announces, and compels us to switch our attention to an alternative perspective. This isn’t just an ‘optional viewpoint’ for Christians but the true reality, the true truth.
Here in the book of Revelation, we are told something key about worship: that there are thousands and thousands of worshippers we can’t see – all around the throne of God, constantly worshipping! This isn’t a truth that comes naturally to us, but is something to hold on to with faith, and when we do, it has huge capacity to strengthen us in our own life of worship.
We may think that when we begin praising God, we are starting to worship. But this scripture tells us we are stepping into invisible worship that never stops. When we don’t have the strength to sing, they are singing with us and for us. When we make tough decisions to follow the way of Jesus at work or in our personal lives, we are making these worship decisions in the context of an unseen heavenly host of cheerleaders. They celebrate every little bit of worship Jesus gets from the way we love, the way we live, the right decisions we take. The worship of Jesus never stops and you wake up into surround-sound worship every day.
Prayer - Father I thank you for revealing this glimpse of eternal, invisible worship. I join with the angels and saints now in worshipping and praising your Son, who was slain and now reigns in power. Thank you that I don’t have to start to worship, I just need to join in with this eternal worship. Strengthen me today with this truth.