Awe of God: The Pathway to True Thanksgiving

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here! Where has this year gone? I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “awe” lately. I know it’s not a word we often associate with turkey, family gatherings, or the swirl of holiday preparations. Yet I’ve come to think awe is the doorway to true gratitude.

Awe is the deep, heart-level sense of wonder, reverence, and worship that rises when you see God for who He truly is. It is the inward response of being captivated, humbled, and moved by His greatness, goodness, and glory.

Awe is not just an emotion; it is a posture of the heart, the orientation of our thoughts, desires, and affections toward the majesty of God.

Where awe lives, worship lives. Where awe fades, gratitude shrinks.

Paul David Tripp often says that “awe of God is meant to be the deepest motivator of your life.” Awe shapes how we see everything - our circumstances, relationships, trials, blessings, and even our own hearts. Tim Keller reminds us that thankfulness isn’t something we manufacture; it flows naturally when the heart sees and treasures God as He truly is. 

When Awe Fades, Gratitude Shrinks

When awe is misplaced and set on ourselves, our circumstances, comfort, performance, or other people, our thankfulness narrows too. We become:

• Entitled instead of humbled.

• Restless instead of content.

• Anxious instead of anchored.

• Distracted instead of worshipful.

Not because God has stopped being good, but because we’ve stopped seeing Him.

Awe is always happening, we never stop being in awe of something. The question is simply: What has captured our awe this week?

“Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” — Psalm 111:1

Psalm 111 reminds us that true thankfulness begins with awe. The psalmist gives thanks out of the overflow of his meditation on the greatness of God—His works, His character, His redemption, His faithfulness. Awe fuels worship, and worship gives birth to gratitude. Gratitude isn’t something we try harder to feel. It’s the fruit of a heart that is freshly stunned by who God is.

So as we enter Thanksgiving, here are a few awe-restoring truths we can sit with:

• God is unchangingly good—even when life shifts under our feet.
  “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” — Psalm 118:1
  “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever.” —Psalm 100:5

• God is sovereignly wise—He sees the full picture when we only see the corner.
  “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” — Romans 11:33
  “His understanding is beyond measure.” — Psalm 147:5

• God is endlessly patient—slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.
  “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” — Psalm 103:8
  “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” — Psalm 86:15

• God is intimately near—present in the ordinary, not just the dramatic.
  “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
  “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:20

• God is the giver of every good gift—including the next breath in your lungs.
  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” — James 1:17
  “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” — Acts 17:25

Awe grows when we trace every kindness back to Him, when we recognize that each mercy bears His fingerprints, each grace comes with His intention, and every gift arrives from His faithful hand.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!