Four Angels Four Corners

Revelation 7:1 MSG

The Book of Revelation is an enigma.

At one point in my father’s life he studied the Book of Revelation. He studied and prayed…studied and prayed.

In Seminary I studied it as well. I studied and prayed, studied and prayed. I don’t know what his conclusion was because he did not tell me but I know my conclusion…it is an enigma because God intended it to be an enigma.

Revelation 7:1 says, “I saw Four Angels standing at the four corners of earth, standing steady with a firm grip on the four winds so no wind would blow on earth or sea, not even rustle a tree.”

I decided if God would have wanted us to know the details of the ending, it would have been clear.

After all my studying and praying I decided God wanted us to know there is a plan. In the end there will be Four mighty Angels stand in at the four corners of the earth, and they will have a firm grip on the winds that blow.

It is God’s plan.

In God’s time the plan will be revealed.

When God reveals it at that time we will see the truth in the plan.

I’m not sure why but during the 1970’s there were several movies made about the end times. I remember the Thief in the Night series during the 1970’s, the Left Behind movies, and The Late Great Planet Earth (1978).

Quite frankly they all left me feeling unsettled. That could be because my four children were born between 1976 and 1983 and I was afraid what the end times would be like for Mothers who had small children.

It could have been my perception but I did not experience hope from those movies. They left me feeling confused and afraid.

Today, nearly 50 years later I have a very different viewpoint. The God (Father God, Jesus God, Spirit God) I serve is all about hope.

Today I know without doubting that God will not fail those who serve God.

I am not saying it will be a ‘cakewalk’.

I’m saying even in the midst of the most miserable tribulation God will be right beside us, holding us, loving us, carrying us.

I say that based on 70+ years of experience with God by my side. God did not fail me even when I lost everything.

When I lost my marriage, my home, my secure income, my church, and all but one friend God did not fail me. My children were as confused as I was but I did not ask or want them to take sides. I prayed for them that God would help them reconcile their pain and confusion.

I remember one day in particular. I was doing final packing preparing to leave my dream home.

I remember being grateful that I was able to purchase an older small condo. I was grateful for my old car that still ran. I was more than grateful that in the midst of all the losses I had suddenly been promoted at work.

I remembered that my Mom stood by me. She offered to support me for as long as I would need it. God made it so I did not need her support. My promotion at work made it so I could easily take care of myself.

Then…the real miracle came. A woman at work invited me to go to church with her. It was a very large church near my new (older) condo. I knew the instant I walked in God wanted me there. Eventually I headed up a Healing Prayer Service and my new friends were all praying people. After a while I served on staff part-time while I still worked my full time job.

While I was on staff there God called me to go to Seminary. I thought it was an insane idea but God worked out all of the details. Near the end of a seven year Master of Divinity program I focused on Spirituality and Practice and I knew that was my calling. Spiritual Direction is a very different model from Pastoring, but I knew it was where God was calling me.

When I retired from my full-time Mortgage Banking job I was free to focus on writing, studying, and praying.

God was so so good to me and I am daily overcome with gratitude in my new life.

But God had one other miracle in store. After my Mom turned 94 I knew she needed extra support. God miraculously opened the doors to a new subsidized senior facility in the same area I had lived near for a good part of my adult life. She helped me when I was three and I help her when she’s 97.

God’s blessings that go around come around. I know in the end there will be four mighty Angels stand in at the four corners of the earth, and they will have a firm grip on the winds that blow.

The God we serve is THE Most High God!

Deborah

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