Lesson Nine • Worship
Devotion 2: Do Not Forget
Pastor Philip Piasecki
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” Revelation 5:1-4
As we start into chapter 5 of the book of Revelation, we find ourselves still in the throne room and our attention is brought to this scroll. It is a scroll that nobody in Heaven, on Earth, or under the Earth is able to open up. Essentially this mighty angel yells out, “Who can open this thing?” John begins to weep because he believes that there is nobody who can open it. The whole book of Revelation is filled with prophecy and deep theological things. We could spend the rest of our lives debating what this scroll is, why there are seven seals, and so on and so forth. However, what I find amazing about Scripture is that in the midst of all of that, there are still so many practical applications as well. We may look at John and think how could he possibly forget that Jesus, the Messiah, God of all, would be powerful enough to open this scroll? Yet, how often in our own lives do we forget the power of God? We struggle in situations thinking to ourselves, “This is hopeless, who could possibly solve this situation?” We fret instead of recalling the power of the Lord, understanding that He can do all things, and that He will make a way even in the toughest of situations.
Revelation 5:5 continues the passage, “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’”
Then in verse 5, John gets the same reminder that we all need so often, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered. He alone is able to open the scroll. Jesus, the Lion of Judah, has conquered. He alone is able to save you, He alone is able to give you a purpose, He alone is able to strengthen you, and He alone is Lord over all. We must not lose sight of this in our lives. We need to look to Him for our strength each and every day. Please remind yourself daily that He is all-powerful and that He is in control. We have to fight the desire to try and lean on other things for our strength. It can become a habit to look towards people in our lives for that strength, but people will fail us. Your husband, wife, friends, or family cannot give you the strength that God is able to give you. Jesus Christ alone needs to be the source of our life, and from that everything else flows out. Weep no more, He has conquered.