Psalm 68:32-35

“Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people.” vs. 35

In our enthusiasm we are likely to describe most any sort of experience, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, as being “awesome.” But sometimes we use it so frequently that its impact gets watered down. After all, the more things we add to the “awesome” category, the less awesome any of them become. 

For the psalmist however, it’s likely that the word “awesome” could only be used to describe God. Everything flowed from God, the Source of all goodness and strength, the Giver of life and salvation, and the King above all kings. If we were to use that standard in describing the people and events of our lives, it’s unlikely that we would ever use the word “awesome.” Nothing could possibly measure up.

But still it would not be a good idea to take the word out of our vocabularies and decide never to use it. Perhaps it would be best to just restrict its use, and reserve it for those things which truly are awesome. Because there surely are awesome times in each of our lives. Those would be the moments in  which we are overwhelmed by the Divine Presence, times when tears come to our eyes and joy fills our hearts, not because of any human achievement, but because God has overwhelmed us. They do happen! God really is an awesome God!

Thought for the Day: How do I use the word “awesome?”