You know something must be important when it’s brought up several times within a few days.
When that happens I begin to wonder what the Lord’s saying to me.
Kind of like when God called out to Samuel several times in the middle of the night. Eli the priest told Samuel to say, “Speak, for your servant is listening”. And that’s when God spoke to him.
This has happened a few times to me during the Race. I’ll read a verse or someone will say something and it’ll stick out to me so I write it down. A few days later, the Lord makes it even clearer to me what those words mean and how I’m to apply them.
This happened to me again this month and I’m thankful the Lord continues to speak to me and make His Word, “living and active” every time I read it.
I was reading Ecclesiastes last week and at first it can seem like a depressing book because it seems as if every other paragraph is shouting “Everything is meaningless!” But there are some good truths that can be found in it. I got to chapter five and it’s titled, “Stand in Awe of God”.
Some of you may know the song that goes, “You are God in heaven and here am I on earth, so I’ll let my words be few, Jesus, I am so in love with you. And I’ll stand in awe of You, and I’ll let my words be few, Jesus I am so in love with You.”
That song came straight from the fifth chapter of Ecclesiastes! The part that stood out to me from this chapter was that we are to stand in awe of God.
Everything is meaningless in this life unless we stand in awe of Him to give Him glory for what He’s done and who He is.
A few days after reading that, during a team time, my teammate Savannah had some words for me and one of the things she said was to stand in awe of the Lord! I hadn’t yet shared with anyone what I had learned from Ecclesiastes but she was telling me to do exactly what I had just read.
Then the third time was in a dream a couple nights after that and it was someone telling me that my focus this month should be to stand in awe of God. Talk about clarity. OK, God, you’ve got my attention! Of course, I should always be in awe of Him, but this final month on the Race, I guess it’s especially important for me to do that.
In thinking about all of this, it made me start thinking of what the Israelites were told as they were about to enter the long-awaited Promised Land. They had just spent forty years in the desert and had seen the Lord work in mighty ways as He protected them, provided for them, and made them His people.
Several times in Deuteronomy 24 and 25 they are told to remember.
“Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt”
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there.” “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt”
“Do not forget”
They are being told to remember so that they stay founded in the Lord for the rest of their lives.
Like the Israelites I am to remember what the Lord has done and taught me this past year and stand in awe of Him.
Remember that the Lord has used this year to give me His eyes and heart and wants me to continue doing that for the rest of my life.
Remember that only He can satisfy me. Nothing and no one else in this world can.
Remember the times the Lord has worked in mighty ways right before my eyes as demons were cast out of people and freedom was brought in the name of Jesus.
Remember the time that I wanted Him to speak to me in ways I saw Him speaking to others and He told me that, just like an earthly father speaks and treats each of his children differently according to their needs and personalities, He speaks to each of us in different ways. It doesn’t mean any of us are loved more than others but it means that He has a unique relationship with each of us.
Remember that He has given me a joy that is contagious to those around me when I let it flow out so others can see
Remember these things and stand in awe of God
The Lord has done amazing things in your life as well. Consider what you need to remember and praise Him for today.
