August 19, 2024

I Am the Bread of Life: The Bread That Gives Wisdom and Life – Week of August 19, 2024

4 minutes

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 111:10

ECME Devotion August 19, 2024

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See series: ECME Devotions

There are a couple of experiences in my life that left me speechless. Standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Seeing the ocean for the first time. Driving from Anchorage to Kenai in Alaska. On that particular trip, I was with two other colleagues. While the conversation was lively, we also had long periods of time where no one spoke. We had run out of adjectives to describe what we were seeing. How do you put into words a description of these places that even comes close?

Today’s verse from Psalm 111 uses the word fear. When we define fear, we usually think of things that make us uncomfortable, anxious, concerned. This use of the word fear is another definition: reverential awe, especially toward God. The places mentioned above certainly bring about an overwhelming sense of awe. We marvel at beauty that is beyond explanation. Fear or awe of the LORD makes all those places pale in comparison. In the previous verses of Psalm 111, the writer describes the LORD and the amazing works for which we are in awe. Those include his graciousness and compassion, his providing of food, his promises kept, his power to protect his people, his faithfulness, justice, trustworthiness, his love that redeemed us (paid for our sins through Jesus).

The more we know about the LORD and learn about him in the Word, the more we grow in our fear, our awe of him. We see a God whose love for us is boundless. We see the amazing world that he created and shares with us. We stand in awe of a mountain range and a simple firefly—all created for us. We marvel at his promises kept for us through Jesus. We are humbled by his grace that gives us what we don’t deserve but that is always ours. More and more we understand that all of creation was created by him—”To him belongs eternal praise.” We seek to grasp his mercy and forgiveness for us over and over—”To him belongs eternal praise.” We treasure the gift of being his child, not because of anything we’ve done but because of his incomparable love for us—”To him belongs eternal praise.”

We are reminded to constantly be in the Word. We may be tempted to think that we know so much about God already. However, each time we’re in the Word, we’re reminded over and over of who God is, his power, his majesty, his love, his grace. And we stand in awe at the foot of the cross with hearts full of faith as we grow in understanding.

Words might fail in describing God’s creation. As we see the amazing world around us, they are reminders of God’s gifts to us. While our words may fail, God’s promises never fail. They are yours and mine today, tomorrow, each day, and for eternity. How awesome is that. “To him belongs eternal praise.”

Prayer:

Dear Father, each time we read your Word, we are reminded of who you are, your unimaginable love and grace for us. Thank you for this amazing world you have given us. Even more, thank you for making us your children. May we always grow in our fear, our awe of God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Christian Worship 21 633, especially stanzas 1 and 3 provide further thoughts on grasping the amazing works of God for us.

Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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