Articles
In Awe of God
Does the thought of God awe you? There is a fine line between our concept of God as a loving, gracious, approachable Father and an infinitely powerful, all-knowing, dazzling Creator whose unfiltered, pristine glory would snuff out our lives if we were in His direct presence. Indeed, this latter truth about God is so unnerving that we might diminish it in favor of the former. But we cannot afford to do that lest we lose our awe of the majesty, grandeur, purity, power and glory of Deity.
But how do we capture that awe-inspiring glory? First, we must avoid some obstacles. One is that we are a people hard to awe in the first place. The ages of science and information that have held sway in the past century-plus have overexposed us to the wonders and mysteries of the cosmos. Not much is left to the imagination these days as we are constantly bombarded by news, images and discoveries from land, sea, air, space, cultures, our own bodies, celebrities, crime, political intrigue, etc.
Just one small example: for decades the wreck of the Titanic lay 2.5 miles beneath the cold, dark waters of the north Atlantic. At the bottom of an impenetrable ocean lay both artifacts of the great White Star liner and the evidence of what had happened that fateful night when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, killing 1,500 passengers and crew. Until 1985, that is, when Robert Ballard first found the wreckage, now documented by voluminous photographic and video recordings. Such developments, not wrong in themselves, tend to dull our senses to things wondrous and mysterious.
Further, our awe of God can simply get lost in the hubbub of daily life. Since we lack sensory manifestations of God’s glory as in days of old, it is easy to dismiss His reality. Our awareness of God must be deliberately cultivated, and this occurs in our minds via study, prayer and meditation.
In what ways did God occasionally manifest Himself in ancient times via sensory apprehension? Here are a few:
The burning bush. After forty years of exile in Midian, Moses came upon a sight unseen by man before or since: “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush … the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight’ … and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Ex 3:2-3, 6). Yet in the midst of his awe, Moses argues with God over his assignment to lead Israel to freedom.
The pillar of fire and cloud. When Israel left Egypt, “the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night” (Ex 13:21-22). This guidance, awesome as it must have been at first, became mundane to the people, for Moses referred to it when interceding for his mutinous brethren at the border of Canaan (Num 14:11-19).
The limited vision of God’s glory. Moses, discouraged by his complaining, idolatrous compatriots, was in dire need of assurance as Israel departed from Sinai. God promised him, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex 33:14). Moses replied that if this is not the case, the people should not leave the mountain, “for how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth” (33:15-16). Moses is afraid for himself and Israel if they encounter hostile nations in the absence of God’s glory among them. Thus Moses requests: “Please, show me Your glory” (33: 18). God replies, “‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you’ … But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live’” (33:19-20). God does, however, make the following concession to Moses: “‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen’” (33:21-23). This is both an exciting and a frightening prospect, and perhaps Moses got more than he bargained for. At any rate, God is so transcendently glorious, majestic and perfect in purity and holiness that He must guard Moses from the full impact of His appearance. This bears some similarity to Paul later being “caught up into Paradise and [hearing] inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor 12:4).
It is obvious that such wondrous manifestations of God’s glory did not of themselves create faith in the observer. While this may be hard for us who have never seen a miraculous depiction of God to fathom, it illustrates the power of the human mind to normalize or even downplay that which at first produces awe and amazement. In the absence of such displays in our own day, where does such awe of God come from?
Creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard” (Ps 19:1-3; cf. Rom 1:18-20). The further we look out into space, or the deeper we examine the fundamental building blocks of life, the more obvious becomes God’s surpassing complexity, knowledge and power. Let your mind confidently explore the wonders of the cosmos, for they do not disprove God. Rather, they make it more obvious that what exists is not the result of a mindless, random explosion. Look around, and stand in awe of God.
Jesus Christ. Jesus deserves more than a paragraph … but the more we explore the wonders of the incarnation – the character, teaching, death and resurrection of Christ – the more in awe we should be of Him and what He has done on our behalf to restore our fellowship with God. In our mind’s eye we should strive to envision Jesus as ruler over His creation (Eph 1: 20-23), overseeing the kingdoms and societies of men, knowing each and every one and making sure that all remains viable and intact until the end that He will bring about. Let’s not let the mundaneness of the world and a jaded view of life numb us to the glory and majesty of God. If we do, we will be poorer in spirit. Look at Christ, and stand in awe of Him.
