FEB 5, 2015

Every morning I try to have what I call "time with God." Time alone in prayer, reading the bible, reading a portion of a book, listening to God.

Some times I walk away from that time filled with awe over the grandeur of God's grace, God's bigness, God's sovereignty, God's power.

Some times I don't walk away with that awe.

And it makes all the difference for the rest of the day.

Our First Big Prayer for 2015 is that God would fill us with such awe of Him that we value and pursue him more than any other treasure.

Awe leads to peace, joy, trust, confidence.

A lack of awe leads to anxiety, frustration, fear, insecurity, striving, depression.

Now you might be thinking, "He's over-simplifying my situation.....my depression, my hurts, my frustrations, the chaotic situation of my life. He doesn't know what I've lost, he doesn't know what I've been diagnosed with, he doesn't know who I live with."

Here's why I say that - if Jesus was to return today, each of us would be filled with one of two types of Awes-- awesome Gratitude......or Awesome Dread.

In Revelation 1:7, the apostle John makes a powerful declaration:

"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail[c] on account of him. Even so. Amen."

If Jesus returned today, I'm pretty darn sure all my anxiety and frustrations and insecurities would vanish.

And I'm pretty darn sure that for those who reject him, all their petty frustrations and anxieties would be replaced by one Big Awesome Dread.

When the King of Kings returns, the weight of his glory will be unavoidable, and the glory of everything else will crumble in comparison. So if we could just taste and experience a hint of that glory each day, I believe it will greatly put things into perspective.

Because we can pray with a small view of God. We can read the bible like it's a self-help book. We can listen for God's leading in "big decisions" as if those decisions will make or break everything.

And so, I have made it a goal every morning to not just pray, to not just "read the bible", but to do so with the goal of being filled with the awe of God. That's my number one goal each day.