THREE AREAS OF IDENTIFICATION
Revelation 19:5 NKJV
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"
Yes, I am actually writing a devotional from the Book of Revelation. But don't get too excited. I will not be revealing who the great harlot is. I do know she was judged by God, so she's done. I also know that the Jesus we see in this chapter is a warrior Jesus. Whoever thinks Christianity is weak has never read this chapter. Jesus is riding a white horse, and a sharp sword goes out of His mouth. He has a robe dipped in blood, and His eyes are like a flame of fire. Ain't nothing weak here!
As I was reading this chapter, three things stood out to me from verse five. This is a key to writing your own devotionals or making a SOAP journal. You see a scripture and a couple of words or a part of a sentence jump out at you. We should not be surprised at this; God's Word is alive and powerful. Here are the three areas that we want to identify with.
A voice came from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God.' The first area we can identify with is being someone who praises God. I know people believe in giving God praise, but we can level up in this area. It's one thing to offer praise and another to identify as a praiser of God. I want to be one that God esteems as a praiser. One of my favorite psalms is chapter 34 that starts with "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth."
The second area of identification is as a servant of God. Paul declared that he was one who belonged to God and served God. That is how Paul spoke of himself as he stood before 276 people who were in the middle of a storm. Paul could have called himself a preacher or an apostle of God. It was Joshua who declared to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt that "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua told the Israelites that they could serve whoever they wanted to, but he was going to serve God. Have you ever identified yourself as one who serves God? It's a great question. We identify with so many things. Some have value, such as being a parent, a spouse, or a single parent. Some things we identify with are negative, such as a worrier, a failure, or unlovable. Most people don't vocalize the negative, but it's playing on the soundtrack of their heart. But if we are going to identify anywhere, let it be with the areas that are eternal. A child of God. Called of God and a servant of God.
The third area is identifying as one who fears God. Someone who fears God has a great respect for God. I wrote a devotional recently that stated that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of knowledge. Someone who fears God has a reverence that does not want to disappoint God. One proverb says, by the fear of God we depart from evil. It takes faith to fear God, but it is a great way to identify. Some fear man. Others fear the future. But our fear of God is not based on fear of punishment, but respect for the One who made us and gives us life and breath. Just reading the book of Revelation should spark a fear of God in us. He is much, much more than the man upstairs.
Here is the great thing about identifying in all three areas. We can do this. We can praise. We can serve, and we can fear God.
PRAYER
Lord, I choose to identify as a praiser, servant, and one who fears You. I can continue to identify in these three areas for the rest of eternity.