AWESOME
Do we fear the
Lord? Many say, “Oh that word just means “reverence.” We looked up the Hebrew
word for “fear” in Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance of the Bible and saw the synonyms listed there are “reverence”
and “dreadful.” Those who have not yet trusted Jesus have ample cause to fear
and dread the all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present Creator of the
universe. It is this fear of the Lord that helps us realize our need of mercy
and grace. We water down the words of scripture way too often. The Amplified
version above by way of defining reverent fear says we regard God as “truly
awesome.” Talk about a watered- down word! People say their spouse is awesome,
their pet is awesome, even their purse is awesome! Our favorite dictionary does
not list the specific word “awesome” but defines awe as follows:
AWE, noun aw. [Gr. to be astonished.]
1. Fear mingled with admiration or reverence; reverential fear.
Stand in awe and sin not. Psalms 4:4.
2. Fear; dread inspired by something great, or terrific.
AWE, verb transitive To strike with fear and reverence; to
influence by fear, terror or respect; as, his majesty awed them into silence.
If “awesome” is
inspiring awe, can your purse really be awesome? Can even your spouse be
awesome? We think that word is best reserved for describing God and His
miraculous works. That fear, reverence, awe of the Lord is where wisdom begins.
That awe helps us to realize that we can never raise ourselves to His level,
can never be completely obedient to His laws. However, then the marvelous
occurs when the Holy Spirit draws us to Him by His kindness and leads us to
repentance (Romans 2:4). The almighty God opens the eyes of those who fear Him
to see that He is not only the all-powerful, righteous Judge, but is also the
embodiment of love, mercy, and grace. Now that is truly awesome!
Father, help us to have a healthy fear of You and in light of
that fear, a greater appreciation of Your love and grace toward us even when we
were sinners (Romans 5:8). May we stand in awe of Your work in and through our
lives every day!
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