Awe
“I stand in awe” (Hab. 3:2).
There is an emerging body of science that points to awe as a particularly critical and powerful emotion with all manner of benefits. The research has roots in a 2003 paper authored by Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt but has been supported by dozens of scientists and researchers in the more than two decades since. In short, the research suggests that human beings benefit from being awed by something vast or magnificent because it causes us to cognitively set aside self-interest in order to take on new information that was previously outside our mode of thinking.
For example, when you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon or when the crew of the Artemis II recently took in the view of Earth from space, it creates a sense of awe. It temporarily allows you to escape the bonds of your smallness in exchange for greater awareness of the vastness of God and His creation!
Here’s what I love about this: The research is relatively new, but it is simply affirming what the Old Testament has been telling us for millennia!
Many of you know this, but my favorite scriptural example of awe is in Habakkuk 3:2. Habakkuk is an irreverent prophet, and he’s been in this back-and-forth verbal and mental tussle with God because he can’t get over his frustration with the state of the world. All Habakkuk can see is the despondency of his own situation, and it takes God’s repeated insistence to shake Habakkuk out of that self-centered place and to the one of engagement for which God had designed Habakkuk.
When Habakkuk finally relents, note what it is that triggers his change in posture: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”
Habakkuk was gobsmacked (let’s consider that a technical term) by God’s works. He was jarred out of his despondency and self-focus by the realization he had encountered a huge God with a vast array of mighty deeds and a sweeping fame.
In short, Habakkuk was in awe, and because of that awe he was able to shift his prayer from one of despondency to one of invitation and participation. Habakkuk’s awe is what moved him into position to carry the power of the almighty God.
Are you in awe today? If you find yourself struggling to understand the world around you or overwhelmed by its demands of you, it is likely you need an encounter with something that will remind you this temporary home is so very small compared to the transcendent God.
You need a fresh dose of awe!
Good news: Your God specializes in wondrous acts of awe (Ps. 40:5, 72:18, 77:14; Job 5:9)! Tell Him you have heard of them and are in awe. Ask Him to awe you again. Then simply stand in wonder!