“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth’” (Revelation 5:9–10).
This passage lauds Christ as the ultimate hero for two reasons: first for the suffering and death He endured for us, out of love; and second, for what He accomplished through it. Christ’s suffering and death reversed the Curse so that one day God’s original design for our world would prevail.
Because Jesus willingly entered this world of evil and suffering and didn’t spare Himself, but took on the worst of it for my sake and yours, He has earned my trust for what I can’t understand. I and countless others have found Him to be trustworthy even when times are dark. As G.R. Beasley-Murray put it, “The Lord who vacated his tomb has not vacated his throne.”
Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “God is God. If He is God, He is worthy of my worship and my service. I will find rest nowhere but in His will, and that will is infinitely, immeasurably, unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.”
Many Christians are not only weary from life in the COVID era but are also disillusioned and disappointed by political outcomes and financial prospects. But as this song powerfully conveys, God is on the throne and Jesus will win! This should lift heavy hearts and heavy spirits, and shift them to focus on God Most High, who is completely worthy of our trust. The message of the song is so powerful, and it’s beautiful coming from young people of various tribes and ethnicities. Listen to these words, and celebrate what they mean:
For more on trusting God’s sovereignty, see Randy’s book If God Is Good.
Photo by Carolina Jacomin on Unsplash
