“IN AWESOME WONDER”
“Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great You are, how great You are
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great You are, how great you are!
And when I think that God, His Son, not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee
How great You are, how great You are.”
This song, written by a Swedish Preacher named Carl Boberg, has always moved my soul. It explains in simple language exactly how I feel about God.
When I consider God, I am also filled with an overwhelming adoration.
The first of God’s ten laws that He gave to Moses directs His children to love Him with all of our hearts, and all of our minds, and all of our being. And what is not to love?
Do you remember your first love? Remember how wrapped up with your love that you became. You spent most of your time talking to, thinking about, bringing gifts, and sharing your love with your words and actions. You were consumed with communicating your feelings with your love. You were obsessed. You were not quiet about your love. You told everybody about it. You bragged about your love to everyone you knew. Shouldn’t we behave with that same obsession for our God, Who sacrificed everything for us?
Isn’t it strange how little time we devote to pledging our love to the one who has proven His love for us in countless ways, whose love for us is unqualified, uncompromised, incomprehensible, and eternal?
Jesus taught us that the four primary weapons of the evil one are:
- The lust for other things.
- The pride of life.
- The cares of this world.
- The deceitfulness of riches.
We are bombarded daily with all types of distractions, mainly from the news, entertainment, sports, social media, and the routines of our lives. Many of these are negative and harmful and have no positive benefit at all.
This fall, many men will devote entire Saturdays to pursuing college football, but reading the Word of God, meditating on those Words, consuming them, and making them the most important things in our lives for more than a few minutes a day seems like an impossible burden.
Here is a beautiful directive from the writers of the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous to its members:
“That we are to actually practice a genuine humility, this to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.”
(twelfth tradition long form)
There is only One God, Yahweh, The Great I Am. God the Father, God Jesus, God Holy Spirit, God His Word.
When we see the mighty works of God, the stars, the oceans, a newborn child, dogs, the human eye, the feeding of everything on this and every other planet, and then consider that God has given us everything in exchange for nothing but to believe and believe in Him and to make Him our King, How can we not love Him above all else. How can we not give Him our everything?
The awesomeness of God is breathtaking. When I consider that the God who created and maintains all things loved me and you so much that He put on an earth suit and sacrificed Himself on the cross, enduring the pain, suffering, and humiliation of the worst death anyone ever has or ever will, just to prove His love for us and to purchase us for Himself for all of eternity, I feel the same way as Preacher Boberg; I can hardly take it in.
Our belief and belief in Jesus has made us the children of God (John 1:12). We have been created in His Spiritual image (Genesis 1:26). We are challenged to represent God as His earthly representatives and to teach ALL people about Him and His love. This is, as Paul taught us, our reasonable service.
“Go then and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
Our overflowing love for our God should be a beacon to others. As we cherish Him, we should cherish others and, in doing so, reflect His love and goodness to them. God’s irresistible love, and His Words will save the lost. But they must hear the Word. If not from us, from Whom will they learn the “Good News Of Great Joy!”.
READ THE WORDS OF HOLY SPIRIT:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the Word of faith that we proclaim) because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on ALL who call on him. For “EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
(Romans 10:8-15)
