Revelation 22:8-9 “I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, ‘Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.’”
Observation: With unsurpassed astonishment, John had witnessed the unfolding of events around the throne of God at the end of the age. He had seen elders and living creatures fall on their faces as they worshiped God. He had heard a great multitude of voices sounding like mighty peals of thunder as they sang praise to God. He saw Christ on His throne, robe dipped in blood, a sobering reminder that His own death had been the source of that blood. He watched the beast and false prophet thrown into the lake of fire, and armies slain, their flesh eaten by hordes of birds. He witnessed the new Jerusalem descend to earth, and he looked upon the judgment of the dead as they were resurrected from graves and reconstituted from the sea. In response, he fell at the feet of the angel who had shown him all this, and worshiped.
Application: Could any response be more natural? There is in the angel’s correction of John’s misdirected worship no hint of exasperation or disappointment, no sense of serious wrong having been done. Instead, the angel merely points John to the only One in all the universe who is worthy of worship, at the same time telling him that he (the angel) is simply a fellow traveler.
My proper response to manifestations of God is always to do as John did: to fall on my face in absolute devotion. It is the same response as the elders and creatures around the throne, the same as prophets’ so many years before. Ultimately I will find myself before the throne. In that moment, I will not need to remember a proper response; face-on-the-carpet time will be inevitable. But how about now, when there remains within me the slightest morsel of belief that I deserve my good fortune, that I have earned the right to “the best” by dint of good training and hard work?
As the sun runs its course each day and I count on innumerable tomorrows, how many manifestations of God pass before me clothed in the familiar? Do I take note of His good hand in my life but resolve to thank Him when I am less occupied? In this, I am even more to be pitied than the pagan who says he will consider the claims of Christ tomorrow; my eyes have supposedly been opened, yet do I see? It is enough for me to fall on my face simply because of Who He is.
Prayer: O Lord God, I choose today to live in awe and wonder of You. Reveal even more to me of Your majesty and beauty, Lord. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.