To Encourage You

Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

Have you ever had the privilege of a “behind the scenes” look at something? Have you ever had an opportunity to see things that are going on all the time, but oblivious to others that take something they see every day for granted?  I remember many years ago, while I was in graduate school in the Fisheries program at Southern Illinois University, that we had the opportunity to visit the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. It’s a fascinating place. Thousands of people enter its doors each day to witness an aquatic wonderland of fish from around the world.  But what we had the privilege to see on our visit was something that most people never get to see. It was what was going on behind the scenes to keep all the aquariums functioning and keep the many thousands of fish alive. We were privileged to have a tour of all the biofilters, pumps, and related machinery and equipment that keep the water clean and the fish healthy. We got to speak to some of the workers who keep all things in order behind the scenes. It gave us a new appreciation for all the work that goes on to make the Shedd Aquarium the wonderful place that it is. 

It’s in a similar way that the Bible gives us a behind the scenes look at things that are going on all around us in our everyday life that most people never consider or get to see. One such passage is in the verse above from Hebrews 1. Here we are told about the angels of heaven whose function it is to be “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.”  In other words, there are angels, beings that most people never see, who are at work ministering to Christians, which is just another name for “those who are to inherit salvation.”

We see one such example in the story of Elisha and his servant where God peels back the curtain to give them a look “behind the scenes.”  We are told in 2 Kings 6 about a time when Syria was at war with Israel.  Elisha’s servant rose one morning to see this powerful army with many chariots and horses surrounding the city of Dothan where he was at that time.  He was terrified at the site and turned to Elisha with the words, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”  To this Elisha replies, “’Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”   Imagine the shock when this servant saw the way things really were, although those things were going on “behind the scenes.” 

In Matthew 18:10 Jesus is talking to His disciples about little children.  He tells them “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”  He wants them (and us) to know that how we think and act towards little children should be greatly influenced by this “behind the scenes” look, for God is very aware of it, and if we act in an ungodly way toward them, we can be sure that He will address it in His own time and way. 

Throughout the book of Revelation, the apostle John is given a behind the scenes look at heaven.  He sees the worship, the beings, the beauty, and the majesty that fills this place despite his circumstances of languishing in exile in desolation on the island of Patmos. He received an awareness that his earthly circumstances were not all that there is, for there are much greater, and higher, and awesome things going on every moment behind the scenes. 

Similarly, God would have us know that as we pray in seclusion where no one else sees, He sees it all, and our prayers are all the time going up like incense from a golden altar before His very throne (Revelation 8:3).  He wants us to know that as we live in this world, there is an awesome work of God in place as His Son is at work behind the scenes holding it all together (Colossians 1:17).

Yes, there is so much in this world that is going on behind the scenes.  Yet, God has made it possible for us to get a glimpse of it as we look into His awesome Word.  It’s a Word that is a revealer of the way things really are, awesome things of which we would otherwise be unaware if all we ever looked at is what we see with our eyes and miss the wonder of what goes on “behind the scenes.”