Our passage for today will be quoted from the ESV. In Psalm 145:6 we read:
"They shall speak of the might of Your awesome deeds,
and I will declare Your greatness!"
When one considers the cultural use of the term "awesome", you just might miss this one entirely. However, if you can get past the often flippant use of the term and realize that what is being said here is that God's might inspires a sense of awe and wonder to think that not only does such a God exist, but that He is concerned with the lives of mankind. How marvelous and unexpected, and also quite unjustified it is that God should bother with created beings who live their lives primarily in sin against Him, not giving Him thanks nor praising His works! What an incredibly merciful God is Yahweh/Jehovah!
Here we also see the continuation of the generational confessions of eyewitness accounts of the work of God to take men, women, boys, and girls and transform them from dead sinners to living and active agents indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Our testimonies and declarations of God's greatness come primarily from the Word of God, His self revelation to mankind in the Bible. But the great and mighty, awesome deeds of God are also seen throughout the world each and every day.
From the North Korean prison camps where Christians are being beaten and dragged to death behind vehicles for their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and reigning King over kings and Lord of lords, to the sidewalks outside abortion clinics where babies are being murdered under cover of law while Christians plead and beg for the lives of babies they have never seen before, God is at work. We have seen Him reverse the course of abortion minded women, and we have heard the testimonies of those who died in faith under totalitarian regimes and self appointed dictators.
But we must not only see these things for our own edification, or even share them with Christians at church during a time of testimony and praise. We must go to the streets, the doors of our neighbors, the soup kitchens and the banks, to the young and the old, the infirm and the fitness enthusiast. And when we go there, we must speak the truth of God's wonderful and awesome deeds even if they will not listen, even when they mock and blaspheme. We have been called to love even our enemies, and surely Jesus Christ died for the ungodly, paying the debt of their sin and enduring the wrath of God poured out upon Himself in the place of all those who repent and believe, who have been born again to eternal life. Christians should be filled with jubilation and joy at the myriad blessings of every day we are given to live. We recognize our struggles, and don't diminish the pain and difficulties we face, but we face them with hope, with joy, leaning on Him who created all things to continue to produce in us His character, the fruit of the Spirit, and a reverence for God our Father.
The more we examine this psalm, the more I enjoy it. The more time passes without meditating on this passage, the easier it is to worry, to be anxious, and to not trust God. We must be on our guard, and rather than reacting when we see ourselves without the joy of the Lord and awe at His deeds, we ought to make a practice of counting our blessings, sharing them with others (especially unbelievers) and go with the humility and compassion for souls that should accompany one who knows they have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, that they belong to Him, were created for His glory, and that the greatest achievement we can hope for in this life is to honor and obey God in all things so that His purpose is fully accomplished in us, as a trophy of His grace and mercy, and nothing else matters.
The joy that fills my heart even in great trials, the loss of our son, leaving ministry due to my own sin and error, and the health issues that have kept me from providing for my family are only possible with an eternal perspective. So when I cannot go out and proclaim Christ, I stay home and proclaim Christ to myself, my wife, my children, my guests, whoever is willing to sit and listen. I can write on this blog to share my experiences and encouragement from God's Word with others. I can pray for all those many needs that come to me from friends serving God all over the world. I can prepare to know and serve God more fully and faithfully as He gives opportunity.
I want to know if these posts are hitting home with anyone. I feel compelled to write them, and believe God will use them for more than just keeping my own journal. I pray that is the case. If you have been challenged or encouraged by these posts and want them to keep coming, please contact me at cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com. Until then, I hope to keep having the mental clarity to read, digest, meditate upon, and share this precious psalm with you all.
How will you declare the greatness of God today? Who will you tell? Will you write a letter, make a phone call, go knock on your neighbor's door, or share your testimony with a coworker? Whatever way it comes out, let your heart and soul be filled with the praise of our great God, of His awesome power in Creation, His awesome promise of resurrection unto eternal life for those in Christ, His awesome character that is without spot or blemish, the awesome and incredible nature of an eternal being who interacts within time for our sakes, that we might know Him and make Him known.
We are considering how best to serve the Lord with the situation we find ourselves in. If I am still unable to work this summer, we hope to help with evangelistic VBS programs and community outreach events. If you are interested in having our family work with your church, please email me as well. We have older children who have a passion to reach kids with the Gospel, and also hope to spend more time in nursing homes singing God's praise and sharing the Word of God. If you know of a venue willing to have us (6 kids ages 6 months to 15 years) in, we will take each idea to God in prayer and see what He gives us to do.
