AMOS 4:12-13 OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!

12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”
13 He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is his name.

These words were given to Israel because of their denial and disobedience of God, but they are a good corrective to our less than awe-filled attitude toward God today. During the week we leave few questions as to how little our thoughts and actions are the result of our dependent relationship with the awesome and all mighty Creator of the universe. Even on Sunday when we gather as a community for worship, an outsider would be hard put to see any difference in our behavior or conversation other than the liturgy itself.

The writer, Annie Dillard addressed this same idea in her book Teaching a Stone to Talk.

On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.

Remember, not just on Sunday morning for an hour, but 24 hours everyday of the week that God is He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is his name. I know of no other way of preparing to meet your God, an event we will all experience one day.

Almighty and most glorious God, you alone are the ultimate power behind all there is, ever was, and ever will be. You are the One who made me out of your own love and for your purpose. Remind me always of your transcendent nature so that I might not lapse into taking you for granted and presuming upon your nature. Most of all, protect me from trying to reimage you to fit my needs and desires. Amen.