AWE by Paul D. Tripp
Human beings are hardwired for awe
So there’s two options for us. To either live in awe of the things seen and the creation itself or to look beyond that and live in awe of the creator himself.
Paul David Tripp embarks on a journey of why it matters for the things we think, say or do in light of our awe, whether for the created things or the creator.
The world and its fullness belong to Him, silver and gold is his, He owns cattle on a thousand hills and yet sometimes we are starstruck by mere mortals, material possessions, titles, positions of power and the pride of this life.
Our sense of awe gives perspective to how we view life, our moral values and principles because that changes everything. Our sense of awe trickles down to every single detail of our lives and mirrors that which we are amazed by.
It informs our choices, our routines, our involvement and devotion to activities and our general perspective towards life — living life meaningfully and purposefully as ordained by God.
Paul D. Tripp explains that there are things and circumstances that have blinded our eyes and the awe capacity of our hearts has been gripped by fear and doubt.
Awe goes wrong when we attribute something to a physical creation. To your eloquence and the work of your own hands. When you fail to give praise where it is due, when you withhold good because you think you deserve it more. Awe goes horribly wrong when you start to feel like you know it all and then attribute the blessings in your life to something that was created by the immortal God.
The central theme in this book is evident as you turn its pages — God’s sovereignty. Over everything on heaven and earth. God’s sovereignty in the movement of events, in the present and the future too. The right sense of awe is to really acknowledge that God has got the whole world…All of it, in His hands and that only God deserves our Awe.
There is a war that rages within our hearts — the war between the awe of God and the awe of self
We have become glory thieves when we take the credit for things that only God could have done. We are often involved in subtle idolatry as we go about attributing our blessings to things, places and the universe.
We have familiarized our tongues with phrases like, “It’s not that bad after all”, “just for today”, “the universe is in my favor.” Our awe for creation, mere mortals, material possessions and blessings should constantly point us back to who God is and in so doing, protect us from awe of self.
No other kind of awe will give you the satisfaction for your soul that you are looking for. That’s why Awe for God matters in everything we think, say or do and until we get to the other side of eternity, we were made to live in awe of God…may we never forget that.
