Awestruck

I enjoy parts of the Bible that give sneak peeks into the realm we can’t see. Specifically, there are parts in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Daniel, along with the New Testament book of Revelation, where the authors convey experiences where they visit places that our current bodies were not designed to withstand. These passages more or less illustrate that our bodies cannot physically handle being in the presence of divine glory.

Often the authors of these passages will say something like “I fell on my face” or “I fainted.” Daniel says in Daniel 10:8 that “no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.” (See also Ezekiel 1:28 and 3:23, Daniel 8:17, and Revelation 1:17)

Can you imagine being so awestruck that your strength just gets sapped from your body?

I can remember a time like that. We took a family vacation to the beach when we only had two very young kids.

We’d gone to the same beach about two years earlier, when we only had our daughter, but our son arrived a couple of months later. Even though she had been less than two years old for her first beach trip, pictures helped her remember the trip and helped get her excited to go back.

My son, on the other hand, had never been there before. Now roughly 23 months old, he saw that his big sister was excited, and that Mommy and Daddy talked about the upcoming trip with smiles. When the day finally came, we took an hours-long car ride on a rainy morning and arrived at our home for the week, just a few blocks from the ocean.

We were all excited to go see the beach right away, especially after being cooped up in a car for so long. We started the walk toward the shore with a bounce in our step.

As we crested the dune and caught our first glimpse of the ocean though, my little guy grew quiet and slowed down. He became almost lethargic. His boundless energy disappeared.

I picked him up, and he cuddled in close. He clung to me in the face of something that, to him, obliterated his concept of just how big the world was. He’d never before experienced the breeze coming off the ocean or the roar of the waves that crashed on top of themselves as they beat against the shore; it was unsettling for him and it sapped his strength.

Those verses listed above give us a sneak peek at just how small we really are, how all the things that stress us out on a daily basis are completely irrelevant compared to the bigger reality.

I look at that picture now, years later, and think about how sweet it was to have my little guy awed into a stupor, silently clinging to his daddy and afraid to let go. What a picture of how our Heavenly Father is there for us and is completely at ease dealing with things that would blow our minds. To me it’s a beautiful image of our acknowledgement that we’re inadequate, and our complete dependence on His strength to sustain us. He holds us and comforts us, safe in His arms, even in the face of elements that are seemingly full of rage and beyond our capacity to process it all.

As we start a new chapter in American history, look out for one another, support each other, and spread the news of Christ’s love for us. Whether hopeful or fearful for the future, this is our calling.

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