March 8, 2022 | Throne
Theologian A. W. Pink wrote, “As [one] sees the apparent defeat of the right, and the triumphing of might and the wrong … it seems as though Satan were getting the better of the conflict. But as one looks above, instead of around, there is plainly visible to the eye of faith a Throne.… This then is our confidence —God is on the Throne.”
This fact is sometimes easy to forget when we look at what is happening in our world. Its easy to dismiss the power of God when all of our attention is drawn to the curse that the world is under. And that is exactly how the devil wants it. He wants us to look around and not above.
He wants us to keep our heads down and our eyes fixed on the trials, the pains and the heartaches in life. He wants us to lose our confidence in the power of God, so He works to keep our eyes from straying upward.
As you can imagine, God has a better plan for us. We read of it in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” With our attention drawn to the throne of God, we see not only His mercy and grace, but also the love that afforded us such gifts.
Even though the world around us seems lost, our eyes of faith can draw the power necessary to look past the despair of the ages towards the hope that God has given us to overcome the pain. With new eyes we can see that God continues to do amazing things even amongst the signs of struggle. That is because, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).
In the year that King Uzziah died, it says that the prophet Isaiah, “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Uzziah, at first, “Was faithful to God and did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 15:3). With the aid of the prophet Zechariah, he kept his focus on the throne of God and was blessed.
Then his pride averted his gaze downward to the point that he converted the rules of God for his own benefit. Because his eyes left the throne of God and focused on His own, God struck him with leprosy as a reminder of the struggles of the earth where His eyes had descended to.
After his death, the account of Isaiah shows God once again establishing Himself as king of heaven and earth. Every struggle the people had in Scripture and now have in life can be attributed to those times we have allowed ourselves to have our attention drawn from the throne of God to the thrones of lesser gods. Just like Uzziah, our pride converts eyes of faith to eyes fixed on things which cannot offer us hope.
To keep our eyes focused on his throne, God gave us His Son to establish His kingdom once more. Through His death and resurrection, the devils’ feeble attempts at domination have been thwarted. Now we have every reason to keep our focus upward and onward, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
God offers us infinitely better things than the world could ever give. But to receive those gifts to their greatest extent, we must keep our eyes looking upward towards the throne of God. The devil will continue to divert our gaze downward, but we have the power through Christ to keep our eyes of faith set like flint on better things.
“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psalm 47:8). He is Lord of lords and King of kings and His kingdom will never end. Forever He will sit on His throne as master over all that He has made. That is what we are to place our faith in. That is where our eyes should forever be set. That is where our confidence should lie.
Depend on God to welcome you into His kingdom and look forward to the day you will kneel at His throne in reverence and thankfulness for all that He has done to win you to Him. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for ruling over all of Your creation. May Your throne be forever in our sight and may we prove worthy servants in Your kingdom. Amen.
