Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1), we find in chapter 8 that He is powerfully persistent. He uses silence to attract our attention (verse 1); He also employs seeming silence. In part, verses 2-6 picture an angel in heaven offering “much incense” along “with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (verse 3). Here we have centuries of prayer from God’s people, apparently unheard and unanswered during their lifetimes, finally availing in a most extraordinary and overwhelming manner. God heard all along, and He has stored up these earnest and heartfelt supplications for righteousness to prevail. The entire book of Revelation records the ultimate answers that our Savior God has for His people. This unfolding of His plan is genuine encouragement to pray, even when we do not experience immediate results. Clearly, prayer is important in God’s purposes. We do not change His mind through prayer – perish that evil thought! Rather, our prayers make us part of His persistent work and also reflect His persistent character. Colossians 4:2a kindly commands, “Continue in prayer.” Let us persist in prayer and enter into our Lord’s way and work.