Paul's Awesome God

 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome. (Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:17‬)

Our God is an awesome God 
He reigns from Heaven above 
With wisdom, power and love
Our God is an awesome God
(Michael W. Smith)

.When we think of ‘awesome’ it conjures up images of a majestic sunset, a spectacular mountaintop view or the roaring of the mighty Niagara Falls. It could be a crystal clear night where, even if you stayed up ‘till dawn, you could not count the number of stars shining above in the heavens. All these sights are ‘awesome’. 

However, God’s ‘awesome’ power and love can be seen in other ways. We see it displayed in the lives of men and women of God, a great example which is the Apostle Paul who first encountered Jesus on the Damascus Rd. God revealed to Ananias, a disciple who first prayed with Paul, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts of the Apostles 9:16)

This suffering came in a multitude of ways over the years. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul lists some of these. He tells us that he was: 

• put in prison often
• faced death again and again
• lashed with thirty-nine stripes five different times by the Jewish leaders
• beaten with rods three times
• stoned
• shipwrecked three times
• adrift a whole night and day at sea

He also:

• traveled on many long journeys
• faced danger from rivers and from robbers
• faced danger from the Jews as well as from the Gentiles 
• faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas

More persecutions followed until Paul was eventually martyred at the hands of Emperor Nero.

We often talk of Paul as being a great man of God with an indomitable spirit. He is spoken of in almost reverent terms. He truly was a wonderful man of God. However, while I in no wise want to detract from his great faithfulness and loyalty to God, there is a danger that we miss something of the truth behind Paul’s ‘awesome’ life. It can be summed up in one verse.

'I can do all this through him who gives me strength.'
​(1 Philippians 4:13)

Paul sets the record straight. It’s all about God! It’s God who is awesome, not Paul. In Paul, we don’t just see the faithfulness of a man, but we see the faithfulness of God. We see how God strengthens and empowers a man over decades to carry out His work. God poured His power and strength into, and through, a human vessel. As we look past Paul, we get a glimpse of our ‘awesome’ God.

Friends, the next time you face your own trial or difficulty, and doubt if you will come through this, be encouraged by the power of God that is revealed through Paul’s life. Surely, we have an awesome God! 

​Pauline Anderson