Awesome God

Saturday, September 5, 2009 (6:18 a.m.)

Most Dear and Holy God,

Good Morning Lord. Good morning and thank You. You are such a good and loving Lord.

Considering Your goodness, Your awesomeness, I find myself once again gaining encouragement from Nehemiah (the great rebuilder of Jerusalem). Reading parts of his ‘autobiography’, I am again reminded of the importance of encouragement and good, solid boundaries.

Lord, how I thank You for Your availability to those who love You. Nehemiah’s example of turning first to You (1:5) “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commands…” is inspiring. To read of the hard work and determination it took to ‘recognize the garbage, resolve the problem and then remove it to continue on the path of recovery’ (4:10 – commentary) is heartening, Lord.

Being reminded that we don’t have to face any degree of sadness on our own, while in and of itself, is not necessarily a joyful thing. It is absolutely hopeful! Upon Ezra’s reading of scripture (the scroll of Moses’ laws – 8:8) “All the people began sobbing when they heard the commands of the law” (9a).

Oh but You did not leave them alone in their sadness and grief Dear Lord. Ezra had chosen a team that was responsible for the public teaching of the Word, a group of men to assist the people in understanding what the Bible meant and how to apply it to their lives.

Because You are such a good and awesome God, the people were told “Don’t cry on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God – it is time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!” (8:9b-10)

Thank You Lord, for the hope and encouragement I gain from the rereading of these verses. “And now, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your promises of love and kindness – do not let hardships we have gone through become as nothing to You.” (9:32a)

Thank You Father, that at this time, on this day, I get to go away from this time with You wholeheartedly singing, “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above With wisdom, power and love Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God…”

Thank You for reminding me of Your greatness, Your mightiness, Your awesomeness. O great, mighty and awesome God, thank You for Your love. Use me today that I might share that same love with others. I love You Lord. Amen.

(465 words ~ 7:34 a.m.)