AWESOME!!

Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. - Psalm 66v5

Those of us who a little bit older remember when the word 'awesome' became a fad word. While I don't remember the show, there was a television character back in the 70s or 80s whose catch phrase was simply the word 'awesome.' For a while there everything was awesome. The word became sort of a synonym for other slang words like 'cool' and 'groovy.'

Because of that when we see the word used in scripture it seems to have lost some of its impact. Another translation for the word used here is the one the King James translators chose when then picked the word 'terrible.' That doesn't seem to suit either today because our modern minds tend to think of terrible always in a negative sense.

I don't know what word we would use to give us the right idea. The original meaning of the word 'terrible' meant something that is 'formidable in nature.' The word 'awesome' meant what it sounds like, something that inspires awe.

Both of the these words deal with the concept of reverential awe. It is this concept that the psalmist is pointing out here. 'Come and see the works of God; He is awesome (terrible) in His doing toward the sons of men.'

My issue is that sometimes I get so caught up in my own issues and local problems and challenges that I miss seeing the awesome works of God. I see the miserable works of Roger and what he wants to the point that I miss what God is doing.

God is doing an awesome work toward the sons of men. I need to get my eyes off of my failures and desires and wants and wishes and instead focus on His awesome works.