This is difficult to understand when the horses are riding rough shod over your life because when you are at the centre of deception, war, death and pandemic you wonder where God actually is.
How is God in control? Look at the verses of the horses again.
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals v1.
I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown … v2.
When the Lamb opened the second seal v3.
Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power… To him was given a large sword v4.
When the Lamb opened the third seal… v5
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal … v7.
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth v8.
Can you see what John is saying? He saw it was the Lamb who released the horses. The riders were given their ammunition and ability. It may look like they had taken them but they were given.
This is not a God who is in crisis but in control.
Today each one of us are close to coming underneath the horses of judgment. Winters of discontent, economic pressure like never before, threats of missed payments on utilities and loans, insecure jobs. We have come through a pandemic and have lost loved ones in a blink of an eye either to Covid or some other disease. Further afield catching malaria always brings fear to both young and old.
The whole earth and its inhabitants stand underneath the pain, the suffering, sin and death. No one is immune. We all die. However, for the followers of Jesus, we do push back against evil and injustice, we are not afraid to stand up for the downtrodden, but we do so knowing that God is in control. Within this world mess there is a redemptive long-range purpose of salvation that is so much wiser than we are and if we hold on we will get to see that at the very end.
Missions Paul 