STAND IN AWE OF THE LORD
We read repeatedly in the book of Psalms about the majesty of God and how humans ought to honor and praise Him. He is worthy, indeed!
One eye-catching passage in Psalms which exalts the Almighty is Psalms 33:8,9, which reads, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Who should stand in awe of Jehovah? The Psalmist says “all the inhabitants of the earth.” And who should fear Him? The Bible’s answer is “all the earth.” We may not agree totally on why the world is in such a mess today, but surely we share this viewpoint: a whole lot more reverence for the Lord God would make a big difference!
God wants you and me to stand in awe of Him. What is there about Him that should stir up awe in our hearts?
We should stand in awe of the Lord because of His power. Simply by speaking, He made the universe out of nothing, as that same Psalm informs us: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6). Is that awesome power or what?! And what about His power to wash away sins? No human can do it, but the Creator can and does do it through the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 5:9).
We should stand in awe of the Lord because of His knowledge. Hear this truth: “God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). How much does our God know? All things. He has 100% knowledge of the past – He could write a daily diary for every human that ever lived. Amazing. He knows all that will transpire in the future. To name a few items, He predicted in advance the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13), the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel 28), the rise of Cyrus (Isaiah 44), and the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5). It does not surprise us, then, that He also knows all that is going on at any single moment in time. He sees all and knows all. No single human or group of humans can compare to His brilliance. Why? Because “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5), and puny man’s knowledge is limited.
We should stand in awe of the Lord because of His love and care from humanity. Let us go back to Psalm 33, this time to verse five: “The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” God’s love caused Him to sacrifice His Son (John 3:16). Man continues to ignore or blaspheme God, but His love ceases not. God’s mercy causes Him to offer salvation to ungrateful and unworthy humanity. We deserve eternal punishment for our iniquities, yet God mercifully gives us a way out through Jesus (Romans 3:23-25). The Lord owes us nothing, we could never repay Him adequately, and we never could be deserving, but He offers forgiveness, and when it comes, He remembers our sins and lawless deeds no more (Hebrews 8:12). We stand in awe of such a forgiving God.
We should stand in awe of the Lord because of His communication with those whom He created in His own image (Genesis 1:26,27). The Almighty Creator communicates His will to mankind. How? Through His word, which provides wisdom unto salvation and provides instruction for our spiritual needs (2 Timothy 3:15-17). His word guides our lives to cause us to walk in the best path possible, serving as a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). God’s word shows us how to be the best husband or wife, best parent or child, best friend, best worker, and overall best person that we can be in this life. Better instruction to guide our lives will never be found.
We should stand in awe of the Lord because He will judge us. Yes, “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). The Lord will “bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). He will make no mistakes in judgment: “the Judge of all the earth” (Genesis 18:25) will get it right. He will grant no permission slips to “skip” the judgment, and there will be no court of appeals after He passes judgment.
These are just a few of the many biblical reasons for standing in awe of God. Let us show our awe and reverence by praising His great name and submitting to His will in all things. The glory is His.
-- Roger D. Campbell