New Morning Mercies #95

Human beings, who were created to live in awe of God, are in grave danger when familiarity causes them to be bored with God.

Familiarity is a beautiful thing. It’s wonderful to be familiar with a beautiful piece of music. It means you’ve been blessed to hear it over and over again. It’s a blessing to be familiar with roses because it means you have the privilege of having bushes nearby that you lay your eyes on every day. But the blessing of blessings is to be familiar with the ways, the character, the presence, and the promises of God. That means that grace has bridged the separation between you and God, and has drawn you into close communion with him. It also means that the Spirit of God has opened your eyes, heart, and mind to the things of God, so that what was once foolishness to you now brings you hope, comfort, and joy.

Yes, familiarity is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a very dangerous thing. Here is the scary dynamic of familiarity—the more you are near something and the more familiar it becomes, the less you actually see and appreciate that thing in the way you once did. When you first bought your house, perhaps you were blown away by the grand, majestic two-hundred-year-old tree that stood regally in the backyard. But something has happened as the years have gone by. You don’t really see that tree anymore. It doesn’t blow you away anymore, and the only time you talk about it is when you complain that you have to rake the piles of leaves it annually drops. Familiarity can be a dangerous thing.

Now, here’s the vertical connection. Every human being was designed by God to have his hopes, dreams, choices, words, actions, desires, and motivations shaped by a jaw-dropping, heart-controlling, life-shaping awe of God. The stunning reality of God’s existence and his grandeur and glory were meant to be at the center of human consciousness. We were all meant to live with a God awareness and, because of that awareness, to live in a Godward way. Awe of God was designed to be the principal motivation for everything we would ever do. But something happens to us as we are drawn into a close relationship with God and are blessed to live close to his secret things. Familiarity causes us to lose our awe of God. What once stunned us doesn’t anymore. What produced worship in our hearts doesn’t anymore. What caused us to act with hope and courage doesn’t anymore. What caused us to say no to sin and yes to righteousness doesn’t anymore. I am afraid that many of us have lost our awe of God and we don’t even know it.

Is there evidence in your life that you are awe deficient? Cry out for eyes to see once again, for a heart ripped by awe once again. And be thankful for the grace that assures you that you will be heard and answered.

For further study and encouragement: Isaiah 6