The Great Awesomeness of God

Imagine walking down a trail in a national park, enjoying the scenery, listening to the birds and other sounds of the wild when all of a sudden a loud roar seemingly right in your face brings you to a dead stop. Heart failure seems to set in. There in your path is a large black bear, standing on raised hind legs roaring in his hunger. As he lumbers toward you and you feel a scream in your throat, you wonder what you will be like after he is gone. Is your attitude going to be different after the encounter than it was before? If help comes, you will definitely have a new appreciation for survival.

The Bible talks about the devil being like a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour. He is your adversary, your enemy. This is found in I Peter 5:8. If you know he is out there, do you go into the places where you know you will find him? If you hear his roaring, do you run from him or do you think it’s not you that he will be causing harm to? If you suddenly find him in your path do you think he is as real as that bear might be if you stumbled upon him? Before you know what harm he can do, will you believe that you will be the same after an encounter?

Satan is like a serpent, very subtle and very silent sometimes. Few serpents will warn you before you are bitten. Some will, giving you a moment or two to react and decide what to try to do. Most are camouflaged, hidden in their surroundings and just waiting for the perfect timing to strike. Satan will get you where you are most vulnerable. You will never be the same after as you are before. If you learn from the experience you will be better but you will not be the same.

Evil is as real as is God’s goodness. He can attack you in places that you would never believe. In your thoughts, feelings and emotions he can stir up so many ungodly feelings that your only hope of survival is to be aware of God and His love and mercy. He has more to give to you than evil, but that serpent can present to you in ways that will be sure to make you different after he is gone than you were before if you listen to him.

The good thing in all of this analogy is that God is watching us and caring for us even before we know it. He is with us in all things and he does make himself known to us when he knows that we need to be aware of his grace and mercy. You are always different after you have been through something with him than you were before going through it. He always leaves us with something that we need and leaves plenty of it. When we run out he comes with more. After visits with bears, lions, evil or the serpent, he is the same as he was before. We are the ones that are different. Before we know him, we are lost and on the wrong path to hell. After we meet him and get to know him we are on the path to eternal life. You always want to be better after meeting with Father, God than you were before.