IN AWE OF GOD

Awe is a profound sense of reverence, wonder, and respect that is often accompanied by fear or admiration, particularly in the presence of something greater than oneself. Biblically, awe is frequently associated with the divine majesty and holiness of God, as well as His mighty works and acts.

The Webster Dictionary defines awe as mingled dread, veneration, and wonder. English bible translations employ the words "awe" and "awesome" almost exclusively to refer to the person or work of God.

When confronted with God's awesome presence the inevitable human response is to quiver and cower. The Bible never records a direct personal encounter with God in which that individual was not visibly shaken by God's awesomeness.

Adam and Eve had seen God on many occasions between the creation in Genesis 2 and their fall in Genesis 3. But the most famous account is when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and when they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden they hid. But the Lord asked Adam, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:8). It was not because God did not know where Adam was, but because Adam didn’t know that he was now lost.

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit, from the tree, and I ate it" (Genesis 3:8-12).

After sinning, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God. The thought of two human being covered with fig leaves trying to hid from the ALL-SEEING, ALL-KNOWING God is humorous. But yet we do the same thing when we try to hide things from God.

God appeared to Moses and spoke to him from an unexpected source: a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he went to investigate. Moses "saw" God in a burning bush and spoke with him. "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses! Moses! and Moses said, Here I am. Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God" (Exodus 3:4-6).

Moses had many accounts of seeing God face to face. But probably the most well remembered is when Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate or drank. This is the time that God wrote out the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets. When Moses descended from the mountain, the bible says, "Moses didn't realize as he came back dow the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God. Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him. But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him. Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face, but whenever he went in to the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again" (Exodus 34:29-34).

"Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank" (Exodus 24:9-11).

I know without a doubt that God is the Head of my life. There is no one or nothing that comes before God. He is truly awesome. He is deserving of our devotion and our awe. When was the last time you really just sat back and looked through the Scriptures and looked over your life and said, "WOW," God you are just amazing and so incredible? God you are awesome and glorious, and majestic. God you are worthy of all praises. The Bible says, "Dominion and awe belong to God: he established order in the heights of heaven" (Job 25:2). God deserves our praises because of who He is. Let's not forget what He has done and what He is doing for us. Maybe if you just ask God to reveal Himself and His awesomeness, I believe your life will truly be changed.

We find awe in God because of who He is. Moses said, "Who else is like the Lord among the gods? Who is glorious in holiness like him? Who is so awesome in splendor, a wonder-working God" (Exodus 15:11). In Isaiah 40:25-26, the Lord asked Isaiah, "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

Because of who God is and because of His great strength, not one of any star, no heavens, nor any planet is missing. Because of WHOSE mighty hand? Is it yours? Mine? Absolutely not! God is the great Creator and He is the one who holds the universe together in His hands, and He is the One who takes care of it.

Now I am pretty sure that many people who don’t have a relationship with God would probably give you a scientific explanation of how the universe is held together, but they can't explain the why or the how or the who. Then you may have someone that will provide you with some far fetch, ridiculous story, and believe it or not, some people will truly believe their story.

God created you and me. He created us, each uniquely. Jesus tells us that the very hairs on our heads are numbered. As of 2023, there are over 8 billion people in this world, and guess what? God knows every single detail about every one of us. That's awesome!

God is our Creator and Sustainer. What else is He? I am glad you asked me that question. He is the Master of the Universe, not He-Man. He created it, He sustains it, and He runs it. That's mighty powerful! Now this alone, should bring us to be in "awe" of Him.

He is holy. Perfectly holy. Not just holy on the outside, but perfectly holy through and through. He is so holy that the Bible reminds us that He cannot even look on sin, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? (Habakuk 1:13). And yet, because of who He is, when we sin all we have to do is confess our sins and He forgives us. God would be perfectly just to punish us for our sins, but yet God punished His perfect sinless Son in our place.

Doesn’t this fill you with awe? If not, I think that you should take some time and ask God to show you how this should fill you with awe. I know that I don’t deserve a God like this. But He is so wonderful. God loves me and you and He made provisions for us. It is incredible that God would want to have anything to do with anybody, much less than sinful me. Because I am not perfect. I am full of flaws.

God doesn't want to just be a part of our life. He wants to transform our lives. He wants His power to transform our lives. God actually wants to do things in and through us. And when I reflect on this that God wants to be involved in my life, I am filled with awe. I don’t have anything special to offer God, because He doesn't need anything from me or anyone else. This is a aah-ha moment!

Sometimes I ask myself, am I worshiping with awe? I have a reverence for the Lord, but sometimes, I must confess, I don't have that sense of awe and wonder. Do this happen to you? Now please don't get me wrong, I love the Lord with all of my heart, mind, soul, and being. And when we lose that sense of awe of God, the Scripture tells us that we fail to worship God correctly or acceptably. I want to always have a sense of being in "awe" of God.

We must always remember that we should never lose our "awe" of God because we have more than just a knowledge of God, we have a personal relationship with God. King David reminds us, "The LORD is my light and my and salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall" (Psalm 27:1-2).

Knowledge is having heard or read that God is salvation. A personal relationship with God is when you have experienced God's salvation in your life. Knowledge is having heard or read that God is mighty. A personal relationship is that you have experienced firsthand God's strength in your life. Knowledge will not help you keep your awe of God. A personal relationship will.