Choosing What You Want Most

“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4)

Many people say when we sin, we are choosing what we want in the moment over what we want most. It is a decision of impatience that undermines our future. God wants us to wait, and we will be rewarded. But instead we are saying, “No, God, I want it right now,” even though it is not as great as what we could have if we waited.

There is no greater example of this than what we see in Revelation 20:4. It speaks of those who will be beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus. For those who choose Jesus during the tribulation, they will face circumstances most humans could never imagine having to deal with. They will be so miserable, they will want to die but not be able to.

Then when the time does come, they will be beheaded for their decision to follow Christ. The circumstances will appear so bad when the time comes to choose Christ, that many will deny Him. And they will do so simply because they do not want to face the consequences that immediately follow. But they are undermining their future because they will spend eternity in hell, but to them all they can see is the here and now.

Those who follow Jesus will reign with Him for the thousand years. Yes, they will have a terrible period of time, but it pales in comparison to the eternity they will spend with Jesus. These people are wisely choosing what they want most over what they want in the moment. This is definitely an example we can look at with decisions that relate to our everyday lives!