By Nathan Carlson Nathan@fearofthelord.net
“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. Psalm 65:8
Secular researchers are standing in awe of awe.
They have discovered its importance in our everyday lives. One foremost expert on the science of emotions writes, “…we have a basic need for awe wired into our brains…”[1] “Awe empowers sacrifice, and inspires us to give that most precious of our resources, time…awe awakens the better angels of our nature.”[2] It fosters “saintly tendencies” and encourages us to “put aside self-interest in favor of the interests of others.”[3]
But awe is an elusive emotion and by its very nature it is often unexpected. Can we intentionally cultivate feelings of awe in our lives? God says, “Yes” and in fact God expects the entire world to stand in awe of his creation and, most important, to stand in awe at our redemption by God.
Micah 6:1-5
Hear now what the Lord is saying,“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,And let the hills hear your voice.Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the Lord,And you enduring foundations of the earth,Because the Lord has a case against His people;And He will dispute with Israel.My people, what have I done to you,And how have I wearied you? Answer Me.Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,I redeemed you from the house of slavery,And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.My people, remember nowWhat Balak king of Moab plannedAnd what Balaam son of Beor answered him,And what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,So that you might know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
The prophet Micah writes, “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.”[4] God is the prosecuting attorney presenting his case and the witnesses are the mountains, the hills, and the foundations of the earth. The charge is Israel’s willful forgetfulness. Although it has been 700 years since Israel passed through the Jordon River on dry ground and into the Promised Land, God expects them to never forget these “righteous acts”.
He expects them and us to remember our redemption from sin, slavery, and oppression to his land of freedom and blessing; from hopelessness to hope-filled; from “foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” to “fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.”[5]
God expected the Children of Israel to remember their journey from Shittim (where they were encamped on the east side of the Jordon River), across the Jordon, and to Gilgal” where they were set apart and sanctified. Likewise, our personal faith story of redemption, baptism (i.e., crossing the Jordon), and our ongoing sanctification should inspire in us awe, wonder, and the fear of the Lord as we ponder the “amazing grace that saved a wretch like me”.
Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come to the LordAnd bow myself before the God on high?Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,With yearling calves?Does the Lord take pleasure in thousands of rams,In ten thousand rivers of oil?Shall I give Him my firstborn for my wrongdoings,The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has told you, mortal one, what is good;And what does the Lord require of youBut to do justice, to love kindness,And to walk humbly with your God?
And once this realization hits us squarely between the eyes, our response should not be evermore outlandish sacrifices – “thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil”.[6] Rather our response must be to “do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God”[7] For this is the verdict of the trial – the sentence – our marching orders given to us with the mountains and hills and foundations of the earth as God’s witnesses.
But sacrificial love is not natural. We are not native-born Good Samaritans. As secular researchers have discovered, such saintly tendencies are not possible without first experiencing awe.
Fortunately, this can be readily cultivated as we ponder our own humble beginnings. We can contemplate, “Of all the people on earth, why did God choose to place his love and affection on me?” “Why was I redeemed and forgiven through the precious blood of his Son and not cast away from his presence like the angels that rebelled?” “What were the God-ordained events that directed my path back to God?” “What would my life be like had I not met my Savior?”
As it turns out, awe is not so elusive after all. Yes, we will find awe in God’s creation, in music and art, and in the inspiring testimonies of others. But the deepest awe is readily available anytime and anywhere. We need look no further than our own forgiveness and salvation. “If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned? But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you.”[8]
[1] Dacher Keltner, Awe, Penguin Books, 2023, page xvii
[2] Keltner, Awe, 41
[3] Keltner, Awe, 40
[4] Micah 6:1 (Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.)
©Nathan Carlson, all rights reserved
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