Singing with the Angels

Today I read through Revelation 4 and 5 where John describes a little bit of the Throne Room he sees in heaven. It had to be an indescribable sight, but he does his best to give us a glimpse of what he sees.

Around the throne of God John sees the twenty four thrones on which sit twenty four elders wearing crowns. In front of the throne are the four creatures, each resembling a different animal, but all having six wings and being covered with eyes. A strange sight, to say the least. But these creatures sing a song that I'm sure you're familiar with. It goes like this:

"Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"

They sing this song constantly, without ever taking a break. The scripture says, "They do not rest day or night." It goes on to say,"Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 'You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.'"

Can you imagine singing this same song over and over again without resting, forever?! How long would it take us to get bored? But these creatures are not human, and were created for this very purpose. I'm sure they have immense joy, if they feel joy, simply because they are doing the very thing they were created for!

So what about us? Could it be that we would find unfathomable joy if only we were doing what we were created for? So often we fight God when He requires something of us. Money, time, our families, our very lives… Yet, God knows us so intimately. He created us and knows exactly what we need. If only we would surrender ourselves completely. I looked up the word "surrender" in the dictionary. Here's what I found:

–verb
1. to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.
2. to give (oneself) up, as to the police.
3. to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.: He surrendered himself to a life of hardship.
4. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.).
5. to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another.
6. to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield.

Think about how these definitions apply to our relationship with Christ. Have we really surrendered?

As a worship leader I find it discouraging to look out at a congregation and so often see very little participation in the praise of our loving Father. I want so badly to see God's people united in adoration and worship, but instead, I see people waiting, expecting God to move before they will engage. I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but it's something that started in our church long before I ever got here. And it's a struggle to get people to move beyond that point of waiting for God to do something before they worship. It's discouraging to see such a lack of participation in our worship services, but today God brought something to my attention that almost brought me to tears. On a personal level, I was deeply encouraged by this. Every time I praise God, I am joining the angels' roar of praise in heaven. Because of that, I know I am never alone in giving my praise and thanks to God.