Thursday, February 16, 2006
Our granddaughter was almost three when her parents took her to the place that blew her little mind - Disneyland. She loves Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh and Cinderella, and this was where they live! For many months afterward, she continued to talk about the experiences she had there. But it was her first reaction that was the most priceless of all. They got off the tram and walked onto the main street of Disneyland with a castle in front of them and Disney characters greeting them. Her reaction wasn't verbal, so it's a little hard to convey it. But imagine a dark-haired, dark-eyed, round-faced little girl stopped in her tracks with her eyes wide like saucers, her hands suddenly covering her mouth, and only one audible reaction - gasp!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living in the 'WOW' Zone."
Our granddaughter saw a world that literally left her breathless and speechless. That wide-eyed, awe-struck little girl is a picture of how you and I should be when we enter the personal presence of Almighty God. Or at least it should be a picture.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 1:17, John gets to see the living Christ as He is in heaven today. This is the Jesus you depend on, the Jesus you cry out to, the Jesus you worship, the Jesus you claim to serve. His eyes are like a blazing fire, His voice is like the sound of Niagara Falls, His face is shining as bright as our sun. He's overwhelming, and the Bible says, "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead." When John sees Jesus, he enters the "wow" zone where he can't even stand anymore.
The same thing happened to Joshua. When he saw the Lord outside the walls of Jericho, he "...fell facedown to the ground in reverence" the Bible says ( Joshua 5:14). The same thing happened to the prophet Ezekiel. He got a glimpse of the glory of God and said, "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown" ( Ezekiel 1:28). The great prophet Daniel's reaction to heaven's appearance was, "I bowed with my face toward the ground" ( Daniel 10:15). When Simon Peter saw what Jesus could do, "he fell at Jesus' knees" ( Luke 5:8). When the disciples saw the glory of Christ on a mountain, "they fell facedown to the ground" the Bible says ( Matthew 17:6). Again and again, powerful, looked-to men are leveled by the greatness of God. Our response should be no less.
This "facedown" thing is all through Scripture. When I look at how many of us seem to take God for granted, seem to feel little or nothing when we pray or spend time in God's Word, I've got to ask, "What happened to us?" What's happened is God has become something we believe in instead of an awesome King that we experience. Our study of Him should excite us - not sedate us. But sometimes we know so much about Him, He becomes just theology to us, or just a "genie" to give us what we want, or someone with whom we have a loyal but lifeless relationship.
But facing up to who God is should bring us to being facedown before Him; sometimes physically facedown - always spiritually facedown. Maybe our first word when we pray should be "wow!" realizing just Who we're with - the Sovereign Lord of 100 billion galaxies, the object of worship of angels who number 10,000 times 10,000. The people and beings in heaven are with Him everyday, but they are constantly on their knees and their faces before Him. And they cannot get over the price the Son of God paid for us. Neither should we.
If things in your life seem really big, it's probably because your God is too small. You're dwelling on so much earth-stuff that you're missing the majesty and breathtaking awesomeness of your God. If your Lord's become everyday stuff to you, it's time to stop and let Him overwhelm you again. Think about His blazing glory, His amazing plan, His total control of everything He's made. Think about His inexhaustible, unfathomable love for you. Think about the Prince of Glory hanging on a cross for you and let Him take your breath away. Let Him get you off your feet and off your seat and on your knees, facedown before Him. It is the most powerful position on earth.