It struck me that I'm not living in awe of God when I was able to read Romans 5:2 without stopping, I moved to verse 3 without missing a beat. I forced myself to re-read verse 2 over and over, I eventually had to ask myself why this verse isn't provoking anything in me.
Romans 5:2 "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory."
After some soul searching, it was clear God does not impress me. The reality of undeserved privilege and SHARING GOD's GLORY was small fry. This was quite disturbing to me, so I began to delve deeper. What did impress me? What was I in awe of? Two things were apparent to me, at times I'm in awe of nothing and other times I'm in awe of life's pleasures.
When I'm in awe of nothing
The grind of life can become robotic. I can become accustomed to doing the same thing day in and day out. Major goals in life are hard to accomplish, life gets in the way and it hurts too much to face it. I put my head down, go back to the grind and occasionally look up to be reminded of thwarted goals. In this place I'm reminded that I'm in awe of nothing. Further soul searching with help from The Spirit revealed to be in awe is to let go of control or the appearance of being in control.
To be in awe you have to become insignificant and at the mercy of something bigger than yourself. I think of nature; the most awe-inspiring acts of nature are also the most frightening. A lion, tornado, earthquake, volcano and hurricane all remind you of how small and not in-control you are.
To be in awe I need to let go of trying to control my major life goals and give way to God's plan. I think the serenity prayer captures this concept nicely.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
In my next post I'll discuss living in awe of life's pleasures.
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About Me: I'm a Christian counselor in Vancouver, WA. I specialize in treating male teens and men's counseling. Please contact me with any questions about my blog, counseling or to set up an appointment.
All information and opinions shared on this blog are for educational purposes only. Please contact me or another mental health care provider for diagnosis and treatment.