Overwhelming Awe

Acts 2:43 “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.”

When was the last time you were filled with awe? In this world of reckless motion and activity, the opportunity to experience that overwhelming feeling of wonderment and appreciation for God and His power seem to have gotten lost.

I have beautiful memories of this past summer when our family, along with special friends, spent a week camping and canoeing in the Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada. Time seemed to stand still in that delightful place as we spent our days thinking only about paddling, eating, setting up our tents, and enjoying the marvelous scenery.

I can still remember one particular night relaxing around the campfire after a full day of paddling. The high rocky outcrop on which we had established our camp was the perfect theater for the spectacular view that began to emerge in the evening sky. As we watched the sun drop behind the evergreens, the whole expanse of sky was filled with pink, yellow, and orange and shimmered a golden path across the rippling lake. We all sat there dumbfounded before the breathtaking beauty of God’s incredible creation. What a memory!

The early church, as described in Acts, experienced a similar feeling of wonderment regularly. They were so taken up with the Lord that they could not contain their excitement. They met together constantly and eagerly devoured the apostles’ teaching. They enjoyed continuous fellowship by eating meals together, visiting each others’ homes, and praying for God’s power to rest on them. Their lives were knit together as they praised God with glad and sincere hearts and God blessed them by adding to their number daily others who were being saved.

What has happened in our churches today? At times I will feel a thrill rippling through the congregation as we sing a moving song about God and His glory. But as a general rule I don’t think I sense that everyone is filled with awe on a regular basis. We aren’t regularly hearing about wonders and signs being done amongst us either.

Could it be that in the busy merry-go-round of our lives we have lost the time or desire to devote ourselves to each other? Are we too busy or uninterested to share meaningful conversation about God’s Word on a regular basis? Is there time to prepare and eat with each other in our homes? Do we value praying and praising God together more than just Sunday morning?

God never changes but I am afraid we have. I just wonder what would happen if we started to do some of the things that the early church did? Maybe the Lord would add daily to our numbers people who would get saved. And maybe, just maybe, we could be filled with a regular overwhelming feeling of awe over our amazing God.

Love,

Mama