Shock And Awe | Northstar Church

“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.” – Hebrews 1:3

In the series “I want to believe, but…” we look at four different versions of God which don’t exist. They are fabrications people want to believe about the nature of God. Too often we put God in a box, we take God for granted, or we become too comfortable with God. We view God’s job description as primarily getting us out of sticky situations that pop up from time to time. But once that sticky situation has been resolved, we expect God to move into the background once more until He is needed. When we view God through a lens of habit and familiarity, when we view Him as an on demand God, we have lost sight of who God really is.

We should regularly seek, find, and connect with the true character of God. God is not there just to direct our paths and make sure we don’t screw up. He’s not there to passively receive our list of requests. He is the God of the universe, the King of Kings. We should marvel at Him, to be awestruck by His holy presence each day.

Understanding God in all His fullness is impossible. In fact, Job 36:26 says “Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.” However, does that mean we should avoid the subject all together? No, because God has made many of His traits and attributes understandable. These characteristics, as revealed in the Bible, are crucial to understanding the truth about God, who He is, what He is like, and what He does.

First, there is the wisdom of God: He knows everything, and His knowledge is infinite. He makes no mistakes. He is the Father who truly knows what is best. (Romans 11:33, Psalm 147:4-5) God is infinite. He knows no boundaries. He is without measure. (Hebrews 13:8) God is sovereign. He is in control of everything that happens (Isaiah 46:9-10). God is faithful. Everything that God has promised will come to pass. (Deuteronomy 7:9) God is love. (1 John 4:8). God is fair and impartial. (Psalm 75:7) God always has been and will forever be. (Psalm 90:2)

Too often we have an inadequate understanding of God. We have a superficial, shallow, popularized, sort of personalized understanding of God. And losing the understanding and awe of God often leads to wanting things our way from an on demand God. I hope we never lose our awe for our God who is abundant in grace and mercy, slow to anger, who loves all who sin and redeems them, who is righteous and faithful to us, who is near to all who call on Him, who hears the cries of the oppressed and weak, who watches over us and protects us and heals us.

Discussion Questions:

Read Psalm 145: What is that Psalm telling you?
How can we better understand God?
What can we do to ensure we never lose our awe of who God is and what He did for us?