“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. – Revelation 3:11
Yesterday, we began talking about the church at Philadelphia that Jesus spoke to in the book of Revelation. More specifically, we talked about how faithful this church was. Even though they weren’t perfect, they were seen as blameless in the eyes of Christ because they stayed true to Him no matter what. If you missed yesterday’s devotional, I would highly recommend you go back and read it so you can get the full picture of all we can learn from the church at Philadelphia.
Today, I want to give you two more things that happen when we choose to stay true to Christ. We started yesterday by saying that God gives opportunities for faithfulness to those who stay true to Him. But that’s not all that happens.
The second thing that happens when you stay true to Christ is that God gives authority over your opposition. The church in Philadelphia is proof that the moment you come into God’s kingdom, you become a friend of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. At the same time, you become an enemy of the world, the flesh, and the devil. They are three formidable foes, but here is the difference. It is not an equal playing field. None of those three are immovable objects, but our three friends are irresistible forces.
Therefore, when we have God on our side, we have authority. We have power. And we have strength like no other in order to overcome any opposition that comes our way. We have that because of whose we are, and that’s a very comforting and empowering truth we get to hold onto.
Finally, the third thing that happens when you stay true to Christ is that God gives security for your future. Jesus tells this church to keep their feet on the ground but to also keep their eyes on the sky because no matter how shaky things may look today you can be absolutely certain of your safety and security in the future. He says, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown (Revelation 3:11).
Those four words should ring in your ear every day, “I am coming soon.” It may be in your lifetime and mine or it may not be, but He is coming. He’s not coming to take sides but to take over. Every wrong will be made right and every lie will be exposed by the truth. We can have security about our future knowing that Christ is on our side and He is going to take care of us forever.
Dear Lord, thank you for the example of the church at Philadelphia. Help me to follow in their footsteps by staying true to you and trusting you with whatever comes my way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Faithfulness
