“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11
Sometimes we wonder if we deserve the good things we receive from others: the attention, the adoration, the awards. Our interior motivation does not always match the projected external image.
Not so with God.
Scripture tells us that God deserves our worship. In fact, God’s character and actions entitle him to all the power and glory and honor that exists.
The book of Revelation provides two of the reasons for God’s worthiness.
God deserves our praise because of his position as Creator, as seen in the verse above. Paul tells us, “For by [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him”(Colossians 1:16). God not only created visible things like mountains, animals, and people; he also created invisible things like angels, gravity, and our souls. The beauty, complexity, and vastness of creation call us to worship the infinite One who made and sustains it all.
We find another explanation of God’s worth in Revelation 5:9: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Jesus is qualified to judge the world (the seals reveal God’s judgment) because through his righteous life and death he redeemed humankind. Jesus’ sacrifice makes him worthy.
Our only reasonable response to such power and love is worship. Yet, God allows us to choose whether we will do so or not.
Lord God, I join elders, angels, and indeed every creature in heaven and earth, who in the end will say, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)
As you look around you, worship and praise the Creator who has provided for all our needs in wonderful ways and is also preparing us for a new, sinless creation whose glory and beauty is beyond anything we can imagine.
By Suzanne Benner
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• What a Friend we have in Jesus
• God Provides for His Own
• Salvation Explained