As I was on “dad duty” last week, the strikingly clear double rainbow appeared that some of you who live in Central Kentucky also saw. Independent of its beauty, the Lord spoke through it to me with a personal message. His message is for you also.
Here’s Ezekiel understanding of the rainbow.
And then, as they (the four living creatures) stood with folded wings, there was a voice from the expanse over their heads. Above the expanse there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a figure of a Man towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up the Man looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down He looked like blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day – that’s what it was like. It turned out to be God’s Glory! When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. That I heard a voice…
Ezekiel heard a voice. Some of us experienced hardships in 2023, and hardships can “speak.” Although God did not send those hardships, we rest in knowing that He uses them for our ultimate good. The voice of hardship speaks to us to help us turn our attention to the Throne. Not to the Throne as first among other attention-seekers; rather, to the Throne as our sole focus.
Ezekiel saw this sky-blue, sapphire-like Throne. It was awesome, incredible! But as awe-inspiring as the Throne was and is, its function is to point us to the One who sits upon it – the Man above the Throne. He looked like this.
From His waist upward, I saw the luster of glowing metal with fire enclosed within it; and from His waist downward, I saw the appearance of fire, and there was brightness of a halo round about Him.
There is a fiery, glowing Beauty about this Man above the Throne that captivates us. Blazing, purified fire is a feeble attempt to describe Him. His Captivating Beauty expands; it radiates; it pulses LIFE. He becomes the focal point of our attention. A yearning arises deep within our heart - growing ever stronger - and we KNOW He is the fulfillment of our dreams. He is our Eternal Destiny, just as we are His Eternal Destiny. We are consumed with Him so that we can be consumed by Him.
Ezekiel continues: As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of this surrounding radiance. It was the appearance of the likeness, glory, and brilliance of the Lord. And when I saw (this brilliance), I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of One speaking…
Ezekiel saw Jesus’ Glory. He saw the pre-incarnated Jesus and was “in His presence.” Presence and Glory come together. One cannot be in the Lord’s presence without being overwhelmed by His Glory.
And that leads to your reward - the double (blessing) for your (2023) trouble. He has used and is using the hardships that you’ve endured to set you apart, to cleanse, to bring you into His Presence – the place where His Glory dwells. He wants you in His Presence so that He can be with you, enjoy you, and fellowship with you. That’s why God put you “in Christ” when you were born again – so that He would always know where to find you.
Ezekiel’s response to seeing Jesus’ glory was to “fall on his face as one dead.” That’s our response too. He’s just too overwhelming. When we fall on our face before Him like Ezekiel did, we hear His voice speaking to us. After the trial, though, His voice speaks to us more clearly and with more certainty than we’ve ever experienced.
As we enter 2024, you have this blessing – a double portion of His presence for 2023 troubles. He’s bringing you ever closer to your eternal and unbreakable union with your Bridegroom-King.