As I encounter the Holy God, El Shaddai, Y-H-W-H, HaShem, Adonai . . . call Him by any one of His myriad of names–as many as there are aspects of His character and people who desire to know Him–I’m confronted with unwelcome truths about myself.
I am unholy. I become painfully and shamefully aware of my sinfulness in the presence of his holiness. It is impossible to enter into the divine presence without sensing how unlike Him I am. He is righteous, pure, just, merciful . . . I am not. If I were not to remember the righteousness of Christ that became mine the moment I believed, I would be desolate and inconsolable, eternally separated from the only true and living God.
I am finite. My end is clear and unmistakable in the presence of His infinite nature. I am but dust, like grass, a vapor His Word declares. With Him, I would be insignificant, a dust speck on the face of the sun were it not for the significance He has given me, ordaining my days before the foundation of time, laying paths for me to walk in, calling me by name, collecting my tears . . .
I am temporal. God is eternal and in His presence, I am pulled temporarily into the eternal realm, but my feet are planted here–in the temporal realm. The eternal part of my being calls to me, bids me seek that eternal nature of God. It is only through connecting with God that my temporal nature can be made eternal–it is only through Yeshua and the covenant of His blood that I have the promise of eternal life with God.
My heart isn’t always right. The presence of God reveals the state of my heart. It is the light that exposes darkness, revealing everything that tries to keep secret, hidden. It is impossible to hide from God.
The character of God sometimes frightens me. Sometimes I find that I have taken for granted my relationship with the Creator. I remember His righteous standards, and I fall short. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It is right to fear Adonai. It is right to give honor and glory to the King of Heaven. In His mercy, He remembers that I am mere dust and draws me close. He alone is God. There is no other.
I am not alone in this terror of God. Job experienced this terror. “This is why I am terrified of him; the more I think about it, the more afraid I am.” Job 23:15 (CJB)
Isaiah responds similarly, “Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! —because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!” Isaiah 6:5 (CJB)
Fear should lead us to worship for surely He is worthy of our praise and adoration.
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