Yesterday I came across an article entitled, "When Awe is Absent". It was written by Tony Woodlief of World magazine and it caused me to hesitate and take an inward look. I'm including two separate portions of the article here and I encourage you to read it in its entirety. I've provided a link at the end of this entry. May the article challenge you as it did me to not relegate God and His Word to "tertiary status" in our lives.
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"After the Pentecost, and after Peter assembled the first Christian megachurch by preaching to the multitudes, we read in the book of Acts: “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” I’ve always been suspicious of people who exuberantly declare their awe at God, and doubly suspicious of people who try to elicit the same emotion from me. Genuine awe, in my limited experience, doesn’t inspire chattiness. Then again, I can’t expect my inner workings to be true of everyone; awe inspires some people to spout praise, just as it leaves me dumbfounded."
"...God is “the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness.” An awesome God, thoughtfully considered, should inspire awe. But how I feel — and perhaps this is true for you as well — is determined by what I believe. My lack of awe stems from my habit of relegating the word and the Word to tertiary status. I am often not in awe because I am often not thinking about the Lord. I fall into the trap of confining “God time” to a church service or a prayer, and keeping it entirely separate from the rest of “my” time. I think that kind of disintegration prohibits spiritual fullness. “Be strong and courageous,” the Lord said to Joshua. “Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
He is with me, but I am not always with Him."
Full article
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