One night years ago I was jarred out of my sleep when an earthquake struck our area. Beds shook, figurines fell off of shelves, and cracks formed in the sidewalks. When tremors strike, things are shaken and forever changed.
Holy Tremors
I believe in holy tremors! I believe in a shaking of the soul that comes when God’s holiness is dramatically encountered. When the soul is shaken by God’s righteous transcendence, then former loyalties, lesser values, and selfish pursuits are abandoned. When the soul is shaken these things are cleared away, making room for a singular loyalty to God.
We have lost that holy fear of God in our day. God has become so familiar to us in our minds that we view Him as our big buddy in the sky.
This is disturbing in a couple of ways.
First, it robs God of the honor due Him. He is the Mighty, Holy, and Transcendent God.
But second, it robs us. It prevents us from truly being impacted by His Greatness.
I believe that the great need of our day is to be shaken with holy tremors. O’ that men and women, boys and girls, in our world would be so shaken by God’s holiness that sin would seem utterly foolish and that we would surrender to the Master’s weighty lordship.
What does it take for this to happen? It takes people like you and me encountering the Awesome Holiness of God. It takes us willingly humbling ourselves before the Righteous LORD.
The great prophet Isaiah encountered the LORD in His holiness and power and it forever changed him. In the temple he saw the LORD. He witnessed angelic creatures proclaim that God is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” (Isaiah 6:3)
And the temple shook. But it wasn’t only the house of worship that was shaken, Isaiah trembled. “Woe to me!” he cried out, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)
Isaiah encountered the weighty righteousness of God and that shook him to his core. That caused him to get honest about the sinful condition of his life. That compelled him to confess his sin and be willing to turn from it.
We must pray for our souls, our church, our community, our country, our world, to shake with holy tremors. It is time for us to see God as Great and Awesome.
When we read the Scriptures and see God in His greatness, do we humbly tremble? Do we recognize how grand He is and how small we are?
When we think of Christ’s love, His death for us on the cross, His glorious resurrection, do we tremble?
The old Negro spiritual asks the question, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Then the refrain goes like this, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble…tremble…tremble.”
Oh, that our souls would tremble before God’s Greatness, His Holiness, His Righteousness. Oh that we would be overwhelmed by Him in every way.
It is only when we tremble before Him that we truly understand His power and begin to experience His overwhelming love. Today, humble yourself before the Greatness of God.
Question: In what ways have you experienced holy tremors and how has it changed your experience of God? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
