Reverential Fear - Evangelical Caucus/Devotional

“But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Matthew 9:8).

The word rendered “awestruck,” although often translated “fear,” most commonly refers to reverential awe in the New Testament. It is how someone feels who is in the presence of another, infinitely superior person.

“Awestruck” describes the reaction to numerous significant events we read about in the gospels and Acts: the shepherds hearing of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:9), the apostles when their Lord walked on water (Matt. 14:26), the guards at the tomb when the angels rolled away the stone (Matt. 28:2–4), the people in the early church right after Pentecost (Acts 2:43), and the reaction to the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5, 11).

Reverential awe of God is an essential part of the genuine Christian life (see 2 Cor. 7:1, 10–11; Phil. 2:12; 1 Peter 3:2). This attitude must undergird all important aspects of worship, ministry, love, respect, and even biblical church discipline (see 2 Cor. 5:11; Eph. 5:21; 1 Tim. 5:20).

The awe-filled response by most of the people in the crowd as they witnessed what Jesus did for the paralytic was certainly the right one, especially since it resulted in their giving glory to God. Such an attitude should never be far from us as we strive to faithfully worship and serve the Lord (cf. Acts 9:31).

How magnificent of a revelation does it take for you to be “awestruck” at God’s splendor and glory?

What simple, basic, everyday things are ready examples of His greatness, though disguised as something ordinary and insignificant?

One such incident happened to me and my daughter. It was a snowy day in CNY, and the roads were covered with that dry packed snow that's very *greasy*. We were getting on the interstate and the entrance ramp curved a little. Now, this vehicle was good in the snow and we had great snow tires, aside from the fact that I have had LOTS of experience driving in the snow so I was NOT driving fast, nevertheless, slow as I was going, I felt the van start to slide to the left, sideways, not in the direction of travel, but sideways.

I cried out a quick prayer of something like *Help us, God!* and IMMEDIATELY we felt, and heard, something slam into the van from the left and push it back sideways into the lane we were in. And it was a jolt. It was not that the van suddenly got traction and I was able to drive back into the lane. It was sudden and we felt the van shift.

My daughter and I just looked at each other in shock and neither of us could (almost) believe what just happened. But there we were, back on the road and driving safely home.

It still amazes me what happened that day.

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