November 18th, 2024
By: Amanda Allums
Most people know what chaos feels like and some may admit that they experience it on a daily basis. Most people also know what stress is. If I had to poll 100 people, I wonder how many would say they have a completely peaceful life? Probably not many. That is not how God intended our lives to be. I know some stressful or chaotic situations cannot be avoided, but I want to challenge you to allow yourself to see past your circumstances and see the beauty that does surround you. What I am talking about today cannot be experienced without having a grateful heart and an open mind. Today, we are talking about awe.
Have you ever walked in the woods or by the ocean and something just stopped you in your tracks because it was so beautiful? Better yet, have you ever been in a place both physically and in time, where you had to stop and thank God for your life because you just had an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness? Maybe you were standing by a lake and a fresh wind blew and everything just lined up in the heavens, and for a brief moment, you felt complete peace and excitement at the same time.
That is awe. Nothing can replace it, mimic it, or re-create it. It is a feeling that only God can give and it happens naturally. “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” Psalm 33:8. The dictionary.com definition of awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.” Jason and I started going on family vacations once a year when our kids were older and some of the places we have been had us in awe.
The waterfalls in Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and volcanoes in Hawaii, not to mention all the beautiful countries we have ventured to on mission trips, are some of the most beautiful places that have made us stop in our tracks and thank God for His beautiful creation, the breath in our lungs, good health, and the freedom we have to even be there. We took pictures to try and capture these moments, but even pictures do not do them justice.
You do not have to go far to experience the awe of God. I have experienced it at home worshiping Him in my bedroom and, like many of you, I have experienced it in a church service. If you have a heart and mind set on the things of God, you do not miss much to be thankful about. You can see the beauty even in the small things. The other week, I was watering the sod at the church and a monarch butterfly came and just hung out with me for about five minutes and followed me around. I took a picture of it because it was so beautiful. I know I cannot be the only one who thinks that God put that butterfly there to remind me that He sees me, while at the same time thinking, who am I that He would do that? “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4. But the Bible tells us just how much He cares for us.
I cannot help but think of Paul and Silas worshiping in prison before the doors flew open and set them free. Sometimes the moments of awe that God gives us can be moments where we are set free from our worries, our shame, or the walls we put up. All we have to do is be open and these small moments can transform us more into His image.
I love the way the Message Bible puts 2 Corinthians 3:16-18,
“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
I am sure we will be in awe when we see Jesus face to face and I cannot wait for that day! Until then, and as we head into the Thanksgiving season, ask God to speak to you in your day to day tasks and keep your heart and mind open so you can see the beauty in the mundane and have those special moments with Him no matter what your circumstances look like around you. Because there is always something to be thankful for and a thankful heart is what allows you to be able to have those moments with Jesus.
Most people know what chaos feels like and some may admit that they experience it on a daily basis. Most people also know what stress is. If I had to poll 100 people, I wonder how many would say they have a completely peaceful life? Probably not many. That is not how God intended our lives to be. I know some stressful or chaotic situations cannot be avoided, but I want to challenge you to allow yourself to see past your circumstances and see the beauty that does surround you. What I am talking about today cannot be experienced without having a grateful heart and an open mind. Today, we are talking about awe.
Have you ever walked in the woods or by the ocean and something just stopped you in your tracks because it was so beautiful? Better yet, have you ever been in a place both physically and in time, where you had to stop and thank God for your life because you just had an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness? Maybe you were standing by a lake and a fresh wind blew and everything just lined up in the heavens, and for a brief moment, you felt complete peace and excitement at the same time.
That is awe. Nothing can replace it, mimic it, or re-create it. It is a feeling that only God can give and it happens naturally. “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” Psalm 33:8. The dictionary.com definition of awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.” Jason and I started going on family vacations once a year when our kids were older and some of the places we have been had us in awe.
The waterfalls in Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and volcanoes in Hawaii, not to mention all the beautiful countries we have ventured to on mission trips, are some of the most beautiful places that have made us stop in our tracks and thank God for His beautiful creation, the breath in our lungs, good health, and the freedom we have to even be there. We took pictures to try and capture these moments, but even pictures do not do them justice.
You do not have to go far to experience the awe of God. I have experienced it at home worshiping Him in my bedroom and, like many of you, I have experienced it in a church service. If you have a heart and mind set on the things of God, you do not miss much to be thankful about. You can see the beauty even in the small things. The other week, I was watering the sod at the church and a monarch butterfly came and just hung out with me for about five minutes and followed me around. I took a picture of it because it was so beautiful. I know I cannot be the only one who thinks that God put that butterfly there to remind me that He sees me, while at the same time thinking, who am I that He would do that? “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4. But the Bible tells us just how much He cares for us.
I cannot help but think of Paul and Silas worshiping in prison before the doors flew open and set them free. Sometimes the moments of awe that God gives us can be moments where we are set free from our worries, our shame, or the walls we put up. All we have to do is be open and these small moments can transform us more into His image.
I love the way the Message Bible puts 2 Corinthians 3:16-18,
“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
I am sure we will be in awe when we see Jesus face to face and I cannot wait for that day! Until then, and as we head into the Thanksgiving season, ask God to speak to you in your day to day tasks and keep your heart and mind open so you can see the beauty in the mundane and have those special moments with Him no matter what your circumstances look like around you. Because there is always something to be thankful for and a thankful heart is what allows you to be able to have those moments with Jesus.
2 Comments
Great piece, I’ve had many of those moments over my 68 years on earth. God is so AWESOME and He shows us in so many different ways. Thank you for reminding me to watch for those “glimpses of His Awesomeness”!
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