Psalm 147:7-11

Have you ever seen someone who thought they were “all that and a bag of chips,” as the saying goes? In athletics, there is a saying about being a big fish in a little pond. Things change when that “big fish” is exposed to a lake or ocean and discovers they are merely a minnow compared to what else resides in those waters. Everyone needs to be put in their place at some point in life in order to develop a healthy sense of humility.

Goliath thought he was all that—and most of Israel thought so too—yet he was cut down to size, quite literally, by David, who was believed to be a teenager at the time.

The world without God likes to play “King of the Mountain,” only to realize that the mountain it takes such pride in is actually an anthill from God’s perspective.

I have had two very close encounters with God that were terrifying, to say the least. One occurred during a church service where the presence of God was so heavy that a wave of repentance fell over the entire congregation. Everyone spontaneously fell to the floor, confessing anything and everything they could think of, because a holy fear had fallen on us all. I can only imagine it was similar to what Isaiah experienced in his vision of the Lord when he said:

“Then I said, ‘It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’”
—Isaiah 6:5 (NLT)

Any casual thoughts I had about coming into God’s presence changed that day as I realized just how holy He is. That experience instilled a reverential fear in me—one I will never forget.

The other encounter took place in the privacy of my dorm room during college while I was worshiping the Lord. I was singing with my hands raised, facing the corner of my room, when a presence entered that was so terrifying I was afraid to turn around to see who it was. I wasn’t sure whether it was God or the devil—until He spoke. He was forewarning me about something I was about to go through and reminded me that He loved me.

At the time, I was confused because it hadn’t happened yet. But later that very night, God began doing what I can only describe as spiritual surgery on my heart. It was painful, yet necessary, as He healed areas where scar tissue had formed due to trauma I experienced as a child. I remembered His words as I walked through the days that followed, and I am grateful to say that I found freedom from those areas of deep hurt.

God is holy and awesome. At times, His lack of manifest presence in our lives is actually for our protection—we are not always ready to experience Him in His fullness. What do you think the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote:

“For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
—Hebrews 10:30–31 (NASB 1995)

And again, the author of Hebrews states:

“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”
—Hebrews 12:14 (NLT)

The only One holy enough to stand in the presence of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has graciously conferred that righteousness and holiness upon those who have accepted Him as Lord and King, granting them access to the Father. Without Jesus, we have absolutely no standing before God and only one destiny awaiting us.

This is the message we are called to bring to the world—a world that is hopelessly lost without Him, whether it knows it or cares to acknowledge it.
Yet, as John foretells in Revelation concerning the end times:

“Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”
—Revelation 6:15–17 (NASB 1995)

There will be a day when everyone will know. Hopefully, for them, it will not be too late.

Food for thought…