July 10, 2012

Where’s the AWE???

When was the last time something made you tremble?  Not in fear, but in awe? Or another way to put the question:  When was the last time you realized there really was something bigger than yourself going on? When there was that undeniable sense that God may not be so invisible after all???

Sometimes those moments come with:

·      witnessing the sunset over the water

·      standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon

·      experiencing the birth of a baby or saying goodbye to a loved one

·      living through a “God moment”…perhaps when He provided without you even realizing your need yet

It may be that the last time you remember one of those moments was not recent enough.

And the more time that passes, the easier it becomes to…

            Take life for granted

            Stop looking for the “God moments”

            Stop even expecting them

            And just take control of everything yourself

Potentially forgetting how big God really is and how much love He’s given.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to teach on Malachi in a Sunday school class.  I say opportunity, because any chance to teach the Bible really is an opportunity for me to soak in lessons for myself tenfold.  The focus of the lesson was just on the first five verses of Malachi in which the Lord's declaration, “I have loved you” is met with the response from the people:

HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

No trembling in that response.  No awe. It sounds much more like a challenge than any awe-struck response to the love that God had showered upon His people.

How dare they respond so flippantly?? So irreverently!!  Could they have really forgotten God’s faithfulness to them that easily??

I find it so easy to judge them.  To point my finger at them and say “How could you question God and His love??  How could you not be in AWE of God??”

And yet…It’s so easy for me to forget as well.  To forget God’s faithfulness, to forget He really does know what’s best, to forget how much He loves me.


John Piper says about Malachi: "Malachi's burden in this book is to show us a God who makes us tremble with reverent fear.  Therefore, when He begins His prophecy to Israel in Chapter 1 with the good news, "'I have loved you,' says the Lord," he unfolds the love of God for us in a way that makes us tremble before the majesty of God."

Sure it would be easier if there were more “God moments.”  Except then, wouldn’t I take them for granted?  They would not stand out as anything spectacular...they'd become expected and part of the ordinary grind of life.

Perhaps to capture the awe, I need to do some more remembering…

Remembering just how much God loves me.