The word awesome is freely used these days to describe athletes, coaches, teachers, and even friends. I suppose it’s not wrong to use the expression this way. But if you ever stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon, or get a panoramic view from Sandia Peak, a point more than 14,000 feet above sea level, you’ll really feel a sense of awe.

That’s how I felt last year when I visited those places while on vacation. Although the scenery itself was breathtaking, my feeling of awe had more to do with God than with the spectacular beauties of nature. I had the sense of being in the presence of the One who created these wonders. I found myself saying, “This is only one wonder on one small planet in a universe that includes billions of stars and distances measured in terms of millions of light-years. What an awesome God!”

This sense of awe is healthy and should fill us with fear, gratitude, and love. Fear, because such a God is not to be trifled with. Gratitude, because He reached down in grace to save us from our sins. Love, because by loving us first He enables us to love Him in return (1 John 4:19).

Lord, fill us with a sense of wonder as we think of You. You are indeed our awesome God.

  — Herbert Vander Lugt