Awe

I cannot remember a time that the weather in Michigan has been so beautiful for so long. It feels like an amazing gift from God. I am sitting out on our deck in the backyard typing this and the breeze and the sunshine along with the birds, trees and leaves changing color is reinforcing some teaching that I had this week.

Aaron and I have been going through a message series by Mike Bickle on Tuesday mornings. This week he talked about the Fear of the Lord and the Joy of the Lord.

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to the Fear of the Lord isn't there? I mean, for me at least it was always this idea that God - we're talking Old Testament hellfire and brimstone here - could crush you at any moment or send locusts to devour your land. Is that true? Of course it is, it could be argued very convincingly that God's judgments are happening all the time all over the world right now.

So are we supposed to be running around scared of Him, hoping that He doesn't vaporize us? There is truth in that, God is calling us to have respect and awe for Him. He is our King. We've lost that reverence for Him. There is not the same feeling in our land of "democracy," no one technically "rules" over us. Not too many people respect the President or are in awe of him.

The way I see it in Christian circles is that we have gone so far the other way - having the Joy of the Lord - that we are missing out on some amazing things in our relationship with the Father. The Joy of the Lord is delighting in the knowledge that we are sons and daughters of God. That He loves us, cares about us and delights in us. If that doesn't make you happy, start praying now. Beg for God to open your eyes and cast out lies that stop you from having that Joy of the Lord. Seriously, go ahead, I'll wait...

The problem, as I see it, is that we have lost site of His Majesty. We see Him as a Father, which is great, but we also need to see Him as King. It can go the other way as well, but I see myself falling into the Joy category a lot more than the Fear side of things.

Mike Bickle says it this way:

We are not just sons and daughters, we are servants too.
He is not just our Master, but our Father as well.
We can't just delight in His love, but also be in awe of His holiness and majesty.

God is both awesome in power and gentle and loving toward us. Have you ever been singing a song about His awesomeness or His power and majesty and just felt the Spirit stir in you? It's amazing when we think or sing about it!

I love the Chris Tomlin song Indescribable. There are some lines in that song that always move me in that song. They talk about the awesome majesty of our King...

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God