Standing in Awe
by Laurie Aker
Focus Scripture: Luke 1:57-66 ESV
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth,
and she bore a son.
58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown
great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child.
And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,
60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”
61 And they said to her,
“None of your relatives is called by this name.”
62 And they made signs to his father,
inquiring what he wanted him to be called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote,
“His name is John.” And they all wondered.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened
and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 And fear came on all their neighbors.
And all these things were talked about
through all the hill country of Judea,
66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts,
saying, “What then will this child be?”
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
______________________________
What was God doing?
This fear mentioned by Luke came from
a feeling of reverence for God’s power.
It impacted their minds, their emotions,
their sensibilities, their bodies.
When God works miracles He is not doing them to amuse Himself.
He is not looking to entertain us.
“In working miracles God isn’t seeking
to supply us with a pastime, but arouses our senses,
which he sees to be stupified and asleep” (John Calvin).
We are often momentarily awed.
We momentarily stand in fear of our holy God.
We get a high from a worship event,
a conference, a book, or someone’s testimony
but then we allow the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life
diminish the glory of the Lord.
The senses of men today have been desensitized
by the culture of extreme and endless entertainment.
Effervescent electronics captivate our attention.
No moment is without stimuli.
We are live in a world with so many bells and whistles
we are awed and amazed, constantly…
we have an electronic “buzz”
and we really never get “sober” “quiet” or “still” long enough.
We live in a culture “high” on media.
God, please separate us.
Please have mercy upon us.
Please grant us grace to be able to be truly awed by You.
And may that awe produce a life lived in awe…
Help us be still…and know that You are God and that there is no other.
You alone are worthy of our worship and our praise.
Even when it is obvious that God’s hand is in something
it is sometimes easy for us to disregard it.
“For the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:66).
The hand of God was clearly upon John,
the Spirit in him and with him
and working through him. No man could have denied this.
And yet, many, many, disregarded him.
O Lord, have mercy upon those who disregard
a messenger sent from God.
O Lord, have mercy.
TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART
O Lord, have mercy on us when
we don’t respect those whom You have sent.
Please have mercy on us.
Please have mercy on me.
Open my eyes…open my ears…open my heart.
God will do a great and awesome things one day
and we will think to ourselves…”Oh, how He loves me.”
And then a day or so later He will allow a test or a trial
and we then think to ourselves…”Oh, He doesn’t love me.”
Like a little schoolgirl…
“He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not…”
Oh, that we would know that He loves us.
Oh, that we would be awed by that love each an every day.
Oh, that we would know that He alone is worthy
of our worship and our praise!
Our one true and great reward.
MEDITATE or MEMORIZE
Write out the following passage from Luke 1 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote,
“His name is John.” And they all wondered.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue
loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 And fear came on all their neighbors.
And all these things were talked
about through all the hill country of Judea,
66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,
“What then will this child be?”
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
PRAYER
Lord God,
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!