The scriptures give us a precious view of these pillars of remembrance, as scripture tracks the people of God thru their journey, when God intercedes in their life, they set up these stones. The idea is that any time someone passed by the piles of stone, they'd say "What happened here!?" It was a physical, visible way to remember the moments of AWE when God intervened on their behalf. How ill frequently do we stand in true Awe of God.
God is Awe-Full. If we could stand in His presence, in the fullness of His majesty, we'd be completely overwhelmed by majesty. Whenever someone encounters the majesty of God, they are forced to their face in worship and humility. Our pure unworthiness is laid bare in the light of absolute perfection. Yet how often do we really stand in awe of God? So rarely do we worship God in both spirit and truth. Sure we direct our thoughts toward Him, we give an hour of our "precious" time, we even dedicate part of this "holy day" we call Christmas (probably about 15 or so minutes if we're really honest), to him each year. But when was the last time you were Awed by God? By the creator and sustainer of your soul. Of the God who created you, but then also gave himself up to restore a relationship that had been broken with you?
I was thinking about this today as we sat in church on the rare Sunday Christmas Morning. I was definitely not in awe of God (I think I was more in awe of the fact that another year has passed and that we made it thru the craziness of the holidays again). How do we allow a God we cannot see or touch or audibly hear, to suspend us in speechless awe each day? It's now 1am on December 26th, Christmas is over and the "high" of the holidays is wearing off. Did I worship the one we claim to celebrate yesterday?
So a couple of thoughts have kept me from sleep tonight... take them for what it's worth.
First, to be in awe of GOD, we've gotta know Him. I was thinking about one of the times that I stood in awe of the beauty of this world we live in, it was a spectacular foggy morning here in North Central PA. The valleys had filled up with fog and our campsite was on a high peak about the sea of white below us. I was stricken speechless by the beauty of the valleys we'd hiked up out of the night before. An overwhelming feeling of ownership. Like the creator had given me the gift of such beauty, just for me, in the mountains I've grown up knowing. Here's the picture (which hardly does it justice) ::
To stand in awe of God we need to know Him. We need to be familiar with His ways and how He moves, speaks, and reveals Himself. Some of this I think comes with time, but more if it comes with knowing His Word. The Bible.
Second, to be in awe of God, we have to listen. I've found very rarely does God ever speak outside of the pages of His scriptures. So we've gotta be reading with ears to listen to what the Word is saying. Some of my most awe inspiring moments have been during the quiet hours spent on the same passage I've read a thousand times before, and then all of a sudden a certain word or phrase will literally jump off the page like a fresh flame... God still speaks, but we've the need to be in position to hear.
Third, is by recalling the things He's done thru our history so far. I'm not talking about national or even spiritual history but rather personal days spent on this rock. If you give your life a good looking over you can probably see just how God's been crafting your story from the beginning. You may not be a finished book yet, but you can see the tapestry of your life beginning to take shape and that should inspire awe as we think about the God who works all things for good. Even the roughest parts (by the way, if you're in a rough place, remember to look back on how God's brought you thru the past... He is still there, working, and He loves you). By setting up these "stones" of memory, we can bring glory to the God who brought us to each one.
Finally, see how God has worked in other people's lives. Read the legacy of faith of guys like the Apostle Paul, Martin Luther, John Perkins, EM Bounds, John Piper, Richard Foster and so many others from every generation... Spend time in their stories and look for the patterns that made them connect to God in such an awe-full way.
As we spend time in God's word, he will reward us with a spirit of Awe... because the more we know the Divine, the more we have no more proper response. May we be Awe - Full people! Psalm 1 is one of my favorite passages, it speaks of a man who delights in the law of God as one who is like a tree planted by flowing streams that flourishes in every way... may we be that kind of people.
As a way to begin standing in Awe... spend the next 30 days reading this psalm each day [PSALM 139].
Let's start this AWEFULL year of 2012 together on the right foot! Much Love friends...
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