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EN(dur)ANCE by Robin Gudal

“I stand, I stand in awe of you. I stand, I stand in awe of you. Holy God to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you.” — Mark Altrogge

We were at church, and the sermon being preached went into detail about the crucifixion of Christ. It was well prepared, and the young pastor was effectively communicating.

Then emotion overtook; he struggled in forming the words as tears began to flow. A moment of composure; more tears. Pause.

It was one of those “you could hear a pin drop” moments. I will never forget the humility, compassion and love displayed by him. It transcended any words spoken. It challenged me. Do I stand in awe of what Jesus has done for me?

Two days later, we were in a staff meeting as Greggy read from “My Utmost for His Hghest” by Oswald Chambers. The devotion was titled “How could someone persecute Jesus?” One of the staff started to tear up as the words in the devotion challenged us to look at our own actions:

“Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds his Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve his Spirit. And when we finally understand that this is Jesus, we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.”

Do I stand, stand in awe of you? Do I stand, stand in awe of you? Holy God to whom all praise is due. Do I stand in awe of you? So often I fall short and disappoint Jesus.

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23, KJV

I am thankful for his word and promises that nurture me forward.

Many years ago, during a Teen Encounter Christ weekend, a young man began to sob following a skit. He had never experienced emotional healing from Jesus. He sobbed for several hours, inconsolable. This big, strong teenage boy just wept and wept. As the tears fell, you witnessed a transformation taking place.

All three of these moments individually felt like I was standing on holy ground. I pray each of us will stand in awe of all Jesus has done for us and surrender to him.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” — Ephesians 2:8, NIV

I am loved by the Beloved and so are you!

Robin (Beckman) Gudal is intentional in life, a wife, momma, nana, friend and a flawed and imperfect follower of Jesus.