Scripture
16The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. 17And they said,“We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.”
Revelation 11:16-17
Observation
The Greek word used for Almighty describes “the one who has his hand on everything.” This is a great comfort for those who are IN His hand of care and a great warning for those who are UNDER His hand of correction. No matter which side of His hand a person is on we are reminded that God works through both the good and bad choices of man to bring about His will. Even when everything seems to be spinning out of control there is One who’s hands are firmly on the wheel. Though everyone else likes to live as I if they are in charge, there’s only one throne and and only One who reigns over all things.
Application
I remember when I was working as a Barista at Starbucks the last thing any one wanted to hear was the question, “Who’s in charge around here?’ It was a question usually delivered with the distinct intonations of frustration and 99.9% of the time was for the express purpose of chewing out the manager because of something a barista had done. Such as, “I specifically asked for a half foam, half a Splenda, half decaf, 220 degree half white, half dark mocha with cinnamon sprinkles. And do you know what they handed me…?” You get the idea. When you’re in charge you almost always hear about what’s wrong and you almost never hear about what’s right. You’ve gone through the training (hopefully) and you get paid more (barely) than the others on your team, and you get the “privilege” of leading people through problems one after another. When others are escalating, a good leader de-escalates. When others are panicking, a good leader brings peaceful direction. We’ve all worked under good leaders and they make all the difference when it comes to navigating crisis. We’ve all worked under bad leaders who’s slight raise and higher position has gone to their head. They seek all the praise and want none of the blame. Toxic leaders are happy to be “in charge” when everything is going great, but when the wheels start to fall off they play the blame game and throw their own teammates under the proverbial bus. For any Christ follower who also happens to hold a leadership position, we must remember who is in charge around here. It’s not us, It’s Christ. It’s not for our glory, it’s for His. Our position is one of service to others, not others serving us as we. In a world where many who hold the highest offices in the land and wield the most power seem to be using it in service to self and the propping up of personal agendas the world could use a fresh reminder of what it looks when a leader reveals through humble actions who’s really in charge around here.
Prayer
Lord, Almighty I’m so thankful for the reminder that You have Your hand on everything, because many things going on in this country seem downright insane, inane, or both. I thank You for the privilege You’ve given me of serving Your people and I pray that You’d forgive me for every place where I’ve tried to make it about me. You are in charge of my life, my family, my friends, my church, my community and my country. You are in control even when it feels or appears that so much is out of control. Thank You that You were in charge of my Mom’s back surgery and You are in charge of her recovery and healing. Let us live us those who know, personally, the One who is in charge around here.
Thank you for the reminder. It is so hard to be a servant in retail. I work at Walmart. Some customers are demanding and expect to be served instead of asking to be served. Then after you jump through hoops to meet their needs and wants, they don’t say Thank you. I need to remind myself that I am serving God not man. That I shouldn’t expect man’s praise, but to praise God for all he has done for me.