The Awe Factor

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. As children, you and I were in awe of many things and many people. But somehow, as the years went by, we lost our sense of awe and wonder. The things and people we used to be astonished by are probably still awesome, but we had lost our admiration for them. For example, you may have really greatly appreciated some of God’s physical creation where you grew up or visited while growing up. The trees, flowers, rivers, mountains, and so on may have captured your imagination and delighted your heart. Now that you’re older, the place may have maintained much of its beauty and grandeur, but you don’t see its great beauty as big deal anymore. The creation may not have changed in any significant way, but you have changed. You lost your sense of wonder. Losing our sense of wonder, appreciation, and delight can happen in marriages. The man and the woman married each other because they were absolutely convinced that the other was awesome. They felt thrilled to have each other forever. But this sense of awe can be lost along the way to the extent that the husband can take the wife for granted, or the wife can see the husband as common and no longer special. The husband and wife may be celebrated in their workplaces as great, perhaps even the best in their companies or fields, but they can perceive or treat each other as ordinary and unimpressive. The faults and limitations they see in each other can begin to erode a high view of each other, and create a familiarity that is not healthy or good. The awe that led the man and the woman to tie the knot and live together as long as they have breath may be lost. And the result can be a deteriorating relationship. Even more sadly, the loss of our sense of awe can also happen in our relationship with God. We may start out in awe and wonder at the greatness of our God. God is this magnificent being, and everything is good and exciting. But the spiritual journey of knowing God and serving God can possibly lose its thrill and wonder in our lives. The great things of God can become ordinary, possibly even looked down on. Now, the loss of one’s sense of awe and wonder does not have to happen to you or me. So today, we want to talk about some things that steal the awe of God away from us. And we will also talk about some practical things we can do so that we can bring the deep respect and worship of God in our lives, in case some of us have lost them already. Everything in our Christian life is affected by our view of God. So let’s make sure to have the wonder of God in our lives so that we can be the people that God wants us to be, and we can do the things that God wants us to do. Our God is an awesome God! And his love for you is awesome and unfathomable. He has a big blessing for you today! Surrender to him. Trust him. Do what he tells you. And you will be amazed at the awesome things he will do in your life Lathur Badoy