Awe: Why it Matters in All We Think, Say and Do

by Paul David Tripp

I know that you are like me. The war that rages in my heart rages in yours as well. Things in the creation not only capture me; they capture your heart too. And I know that, like me, you need to spend more time gazing upon the awesome beauty of your Lord so that your heart would remember, and in remembering, be rescued.'

So writes Paul David Tripp. He looks at the subject of awe through a number of lenses: ministry, transgression, materialism, growth, worldview, church, parenting and work.

Awe of God puts other things in their proper place. It enables us to see as God intended, to lift our eyes higher, and worship him alone.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Theology, Faith, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian Non Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2015

About the author

Paul was born in Toledo, Ohio to Bob and Fae Tripp on November 12, 1950. Paul spent all of his growing years in Toledo until his college years when his parents moved to Southern California.
At Columbia Bible College from 1968-1972, (now Columbia International University) Paul majored in Bible and Christian Education. Although he had planned to be there for only two years and then to study journalism, Paul more and more felt like there was so much of the theology of Scripture that he did not understand, so he decided to go to seminary. Paul met Luella Jackson at College and they married in 1971. In 1971, Paul took his first pastoral position and has had a heart for the local church ever since. After college, Paul completed his Master of Divinity degree at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary (now known as Philadelphia Theological Seminary) in Philadelphia (1972-1975). It was during these days that Paul’s commitment to ministry solidified. After seminary, Paul was involved in planting a church in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1977-1987) where he also founded a Christian School. During the years in Scranton, Paul became involved in music, traveling with a band and writing worship songs. In Scranton, Paul became interested in biblical counseling and decided to enroll in the D.Min program in Biblical Counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Paul then became a faculty member of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF) and a lecturer in biblical counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Paul has also served as Visiting Professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 2009, Paul joined the faculty of Redeemer Seminary (daughter school of Westminster) in Dallas, Texas as Professor of Pastoral Life and Care.[1]
Beginning in June, 2006, Paul became the President of Paul Tripp Ministries, a non-profit organization, whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." In addition to his current role as President of Paul Tripp Ministries, on January 1, 2007, Paul also became part of the pastoral staff at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA where he preached every Sunday evening and lead the Ministry to Center City through March, 2011 when he resigned due to the expanding time commitments needed at Paul Tripp Ministries.
Paul, Luella, and their four children moved to Philadelphia in 1987 and have lived there ever since. Paul is a prolific author and has written twelve books on Christian living which are sold internationally. Luella manages a large commercial art gallery in the city and Paul is very dedicated to painting as an avocation.[2] Paul’s driving passion is to help people understand how the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ really does speak with practical hope into all the things they will face in this broken world. Paul is a pastor with a pastor’s heart, a gifted speaker, his journey taking him all over the world, an author of numerous books on practical Christian living, and a man who is hopelessly in love with Luella.

Reviews

[Akash Ahuja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a gift, and while it was a pleasant read, I do have a problem with how the author spends about 170 pages to drive his single (and simple) point home. The claim that this book makes is that every single aspect of our broken and flawed existence is ultimately based in the fact that we fail to revere and admire God for all that God is. While this is part of the problem, Paul David Tripp writes that literally everything that goes wrong is based completely on the issue of having the right amount of "awe" for God. I am skeptical of people who say that every issue can be fixed by just changing one thing. The danger lies that if we were to seriously pursue this, and get discouraged by the continuing disappointments in our life, we can be tempted to say, "I just still haven't gotten it *just* right", and keep trying this route instead of taking a more holistic approach to life's problems. There were still good things to pick up from this book, but the lens through which it views life, Church, relationships, community, parenting, and other things is far too narrow for me.

[Ana Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

True rating: 3.5 stars

The author’s message is very important, but after a few chapters the book got very repetitive.

[Cam Hilt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing for someone who is naturally logical and because of that attaches limitations to God that don't exist. This has helped me broaden my vision of who God is and has pointed out how so many patterns in my thinking, decisions, and actions are due to the lack of awe of my Creator. He covers such a vast variety of topics that it feels like he addresses any questions you would have after finishing this book. He easily demonstrates how awe (or lack of it) plays out in multiple facets of our lives. Anyone who feels a lack of joy (which we all do at different points) in their devotional life, fight for holiness, ministry, work, relationships etc. would benefit greatly benefit from reading this book! This is a book I will consistently look back to whenever I feel this lack of awe that we all often experience during the course of a normal week.

[Claire Barham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book is great, the gospel is clearly presented multiple times throughout, etc. What I missed from this book was a nuanced and deepened discussion of awe and how it affects our lives. The chapters are all written based on different categories of where our awe-problems affect our lives. This served only to make me focus more on my lack of awe, and less on God Himself. Every scenario and issue he presents (which sometimes go for multiple pages, one after another) of a person struggling with a hard situation is concluded by saying that misplaced awe is the issue. This is true in part, but it dismissed the depth and breadth of human experience, which in turn dismissed the fact that not every human emotion and disappointing experience is inherently sinful.
I would have loved to read a book more about why I should always be in awe of God and how my awe of God affects my life in light of legitimate suffering, rather than why I’m bad at awe.
Sadly, that’s not what this book was.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t agree with the premise - that every single thing in the Bible and in life hinges on awe - but this was written by Tripp which means there is a lot of great content that will make you see things in a way that will make you stop and contemplate.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really like this book. Tripp talks the whole book about Awe-forgetfulness or other names like that. He often says “you don’t have a [this] problem, you have an awe problem.” Just replace “awe” with “sin” and that’s the whole book. I like that but I was hoping Tripp would give practical steps on how to cultivate awe for God, something positively practical on how we use the gospel to fix our awe problem.

Sadly he never gives this. It frustrated me incredibly. I wanted to give this book 2 stars by the end but the gospel aspects of this book are good so 3 stars it is.

[Lexi Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Truly so so so good! How many ways do I not live in awe of who God is? How often am I falling into discontentment, wanting control over every little thing, or finding contentment in small finite things? How can I live more in awe of a good God?

[Lula Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al principio se me dificultó entender el sentido que le daba Tripp al concepto de "asombro", por la traducción al español, pero mientras iba leyendo, empezó a ser más claro.
Es un libro que vale la pena porque volvió a enfocar mis ojos en la grandeza de Dios y entendí cómo muchas cosas comienzan a estar mal en mi vida cuando pierdo de vista su hermosura y dejo de estar asombrada por Él. Me hizo hacer una pausa y redireccionar mi corazón. Lo recomiendo.

[Titus Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be summed up with one quote. “The seedbed for a life of obedience is awe.” Paul put “awe” into so many different perspectives really taking the time to examine where we as fallen individuals allow our awe to land on. He really hones in on the placement of awe and how if it lands anywhere other than God we become out of step with our Father. One of the most convicting chapters was on Ministry. As a kid who grew up in ministry where awe was placed on the act of ministry and not the one to who our ministry is dew it was heart wrenching. Several times throughout this book I had to sit back and process where I often times allow my awe to run to. I highly encourage you to read this book especially if you feel as though your excitement and joy for the Lord is faded. When we are not in awe of God and what He is continually doing and has done that means something is stealing it.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wavered between 2 and 3 stars for a while. This is the first time I’ve wished for a 2.5 rating, because I’m still uncertain.

The first couple chapters left this theologian’s daughter bothered and bewildered. Tripp offers a great many examples of people struggling with sin who came to him with a wrong view of God and His attributes, then claims they don’t have a theology problem but an “awe” problem. As if misrepresenting God’s character isn’t theological. Hm.

He spends an entire chapter trying to push his trendy acronym (AWN - awe wrongness) that I ended up skimming whole paragraphs whenever it popped up. This is a pity, because the chapter most littered with this ridiculous acronym also had the most Biblical examples of sin. Except he was too busy driving his “awe” theme into your skull that he failed to use Biblical terminology for the sins in question. Self-worship. Idolatry. Pride. Worldly desires. Selfish ambition. He’s so focused on wrapping everything up into an “awe” issue, that he fails to call sin like it is. In fact, I’m having trouble remembering him ever using the word “sin” at all.

There were a few chapters I appreciated and could glean conviction and encouragement from. Namely, the ones on Ministry, Church, and Parenting. Those chapters may deserve a 3 or 4 star rating on their own, being devoid of childish acronyms, yet they still don’t deliver much applicable knowledge for repentance and reformation of life. Instead, they repeat grace, grace, grace, as if all you need to do is think, “Wow! God is awesome love!” and all your problems will correct themselves. God’s awesome grace is certainly sufficient. But he calls us to repent and crucify the flesh, not to simply be in awe of “who He is for us.”

I also take issue with that entire section regarding “who God is for us.” God does NOT exist for us. He does not need us, rely on us, nor does He call us to a life of mere feeling how good His goodness is. If we truly want to be in awe of God, we need to know that we are but dead, rotting corpses, blighted by sin without His abounding mercy that calls us to newness of life. The message instead came across as, “God is there for you, so stop beating yourself up and just be in awe of Him and His grace!” I’m oversimplifying it, and as I said, there were some good things to glean.

Overall, however, I would advise Christians to put this aside in favour of Jeremiah Bourough’s “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.” Far more powerful, convicting, awe-inspiring, uplifting, and that without trendy acronyms and turns of phrase.

[Eva Rocío RM · Rating 4 out of 5]

El asombro significa que verás todo lo que hay en tu vida a través del lente de la existencia y la gloria de Dios.

[Catherine Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a reminder about where your deepest affections should be placed, man this is the book for you! A book of simple truths that are easily lost in the feebleness of the human heart. It is extremely convicting to think that there are other places in which I place my awe, but the God who created me and sustains me should be the one recipient of my awe. Read this book! I would read it again right now!

[Lacy Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book met me in a very needed way. If I had read it in another season of life, maybe it would not have been as impactful.

This book is diagnostic. It opens up areas of life where we may lose sense of our awe of God. I found my heart had waned and even lost its sense of awe in many ways. I am thankful to have my heart opened up and able to detect where awe of myself, others, creation, etc. has taken the place of God.

[Brett Wiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this 3 stars because @Eelinh Torell gave it 3 stars and I want to be more like her. In all seriousness, this was a church staff read and I love Tripp. The main point of this book is so important for understanding the core human problem/struggle and our need for a renewed awe for God. However, the book gets really repetitive at times and it feels like he could have said it in 100 pages rather than 170. Great content overall though.

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books are meant to be read. Others are meant to be devoured. Paul David’s Tripp’s new book is of the later sort. Awe: Why It Matters For Everything We Think, Say, And Do is a soul-searching work that draws readers in, grabs them by the throat, shakes them around, molds and transforms their hearts - with the ultimate aim of setting them free to serve, worship, and glorify the God of the universe.

Dr. Tripp argues with Scripture that God’s goal is for creatures to be “in awe of his creation, but that awe cannot and should not be an end in itself.” “Where you look for awe,” says Tripp, “will shape the direction of your life.”

The author helps readers understand their position between the “already” of Adam’s sin and the “not yet” of final redemption. Our current position is where the war ensues. While sinners struggle with what Tripp calls “awe wrongness” (AWN), namely, misplaced awe, God patiently draws people to himself so they might find their satisfaction in him.

Dr. Tripp repeatedly shows how people turn to awe-substitutes to find satisfaction, a sure-fire road to depression, frustration, and meaninglessness. “Only grace can give us back our awe of God again,” writes Tripp. This marvelous grace principle dominates the book and urges readers to find their satisfaction, i.e. awe in Christ alone.

Tripp’s book is a real gem. Some Christian books are descriptive. Many are prescriptive. But very few Christian books these days include a deep, transparent, admission of personal struggle. That is to say, very few Christian writers these days admit weakness, struggle with temptation, propensity to fearfulness or anxiety, and the like. Paul David Tripp speaks clearly and biblically. But he also shares from the depth of his heart. He shares about his struggles. He shares his weaknesses. He admits that the ministry is often times lonely. He confesses his secret hope to “throw in the towel.” This kind of transparency is difficult for most writers. Indeed, it is difficult for most Christ-followers. So the author should be commended for his candid and transparent approach.

“Spiritual growth is about recapturing your awe,” writes Dr. Tripp. Here lies the essence of the book, a theme that emerges throughout this fine work. Awe: Why It Matters For Everything We Think, Say, And Do may be the most important book of 2015. I trust that many will read, wrestle, digest, absorb, and be awakened to the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ - the only One worth of our worship. Indeed, our awe should be found in him alone!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Christian Glisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome.

Another quality read from Paul David Tripp. This book is highly practical and gets to the root issue of our hearts' awe problem. Paul guides you through each aspect of your life, helping to expose where we've lost our awe. Highly recommend.

[Halle Wassink · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We curse whatever gets in our way. We hate having to wait. We get upset when we have to go without. We strike back when we think we have been wronged. We do all we can to satisfy our cravings. We think too much about our own pleasure. We envy those who have what we think we deserve. We pout when we think we have been overlooked. We hate suffering of any kind. We manipulate others for our own good. We attempt to work ourselves into positions of power and control. We are obsessed about what is best for us. We demand more than we serve, and we take more than we give. We long to be first and hate being last. We are all too concerned with being right, being noticed, and being affirmed. We find it easier to judge those who have offended us than to forgive them. We require life to be predictable, satisfying, and easy. We do all these things because we are full of ourselves, in awe more of ourselves than of God.”

This quote summarizes this book and my life. Wow. I have never felt more convicted and saddened over my sin than I have when reading this book. As someone who is an avid people pleaser and status seeker this book got me. Really what I liked most about it was that it was convicting and offered much grace but didn’t necessarily throw roses as such serious topics. Love how PDT writes this way. I definitely did skim some of his examples lol they can get quite repetitive.

[Joshua Betcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

About a third of the way through the book I considered a lower rating because it got repetitive. However, the latter half of the book redeemed it. I think Tripp has some good questions for self reflection included, and concludes with some vital insight into the essence of awe in the epilogue. Readers familiar with Augustine's Confessions may recognize some influence both in the epilogue and in the chapter Materialism. Specifically Tripp's ideas relate to Augustine's ideas of love as our weight, and our hearts being restless until they find their rest in God himself.

[Elizabeth Strickland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This is my third or fourth Paul David Tripp book, and it is once again very repetitive. It’s really good, Gospel truth that he repeats, but it’s repetitive.

That said, repetition can be good for the soul. Often my biggest sin problem is an awe problem. I lack awe of God and instead am in awe of other things—the gist of the book. A good reminder. A decent read.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have been created by God for Awe. As Tripp writes on the inside cover, " Our hearts are always captured by something - that's how God made us. All too often, we stand in awe of everything but God."

As Tripp acknowledges in the Preface he wrote this book for himself. Therefore, besides himself this book is written to the Christian community, not unlike how Paul and Peter wrote many of their books to Christians. And that is why this book is so useful and important not just now but always. We are wired for awe, so we will fill our awe reservoir with something. If it's not God, something else.

Tripp then proceeds to take us through 13 "Awe-stealers" such as: ministry, materialism, work (being some of the more obvious ones) but also addresses complaint, amnesia and church.

Yes, the message is a little repetitive but I believe it helps reinforce the criticality of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and how awesome He is, has been and always will be.

I've loved everything Paul Tripp writes as I appreciate how his inclusive style is so relatable with very relevant examples that every reader can identify with. I can't recommend this book enough for every believer.

[David Zimmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably an unfair ranking but not by much. I was strongly encouraged to read this book by someone I admire and respect, and the reputation of the author made me willing to give it a shot. I’ve not read him before (and I doubt I’ll read him again), but I suspect his earlier works are better crafted and more carefully conceived.

As it happens, this book makes for a pretty good icon for what I see as pretty pervasive problems in trade publishing generally and Christian nonfiction specifically—not by any means across the board but as an insidious form of Esau’s folly: we (I work in Christian nonfiction publishing) crave reliable sales from templated strategies, and we are willing to trade craft and intellectual durability to get it. We wind up “despising” (as the good book says) our vocational birthright as shapers of mature and responsible thought and ethical imagination. Our readers suffer—even though they might not even realize it, because this is what we’re so often serving up.

An old mentor of mine used to filter a lot of book proposals out of his in box by saying “This isn’t a book, it’s an article.” In the case of this book I’d argue that it’s not a book, it’s a passing thought. The tells are there: wildly overwritten, which suggests that the author didn’t have enough substantive to say about each chapter’s subject matter so just leaned hard into repetitive rhetorical flourish; definitive language for reductive ideas, shouting down the need for nuanced thinking and careful scrutiny of each assertion; abounding straw men and women whose presenting problems tidily (read: superficially) reinforce the author’s argument; a missing throughline undergirding the chapters, leading to a pretty vacuous central thesis and a tragic failure to truly explore the book’s theme (the author acknowledges in the epilogue that he’d missed an important organizing idea as he wrote the book, which instead of correcting by revising the book he simply declares as his parting message). I know nothing new about the awe of God from this book; I know nothing new about the longing for transcendence in the human soul from this book. I know, because I was told over and over and over and over again, that I have an awe problem that touches every domain of my life and that my only solution is to force my brain to pursue transcendence. I know that even if I succeed in doing so, I’ll probably mess it up and worship the gifts rather than the Giver. This book read to me like a shell game. The awe of God is never where I’ve been led to look for it. The house of sin always wins.

Don’t hate the player; hate the game. The editorial process failed this author. The tyranny of the street date favored superficial writing and indulgent editing. Our “listological” (props to the author for this little needle in this haystack of a book) age prioritized quick digestibility over deliberate rumination. I wasn’t paying attention when this book was originally released, but it is optimized for what I imagine was a marketing strategy that relied heavily on sound bites and reductive provocation. A bright yellow cover with a one-word title and a single icon activated the impulse buy. An author with brand visibility and a proven sales history (and a shocking degree of self-assurance). Published before the AI explosion, this book is an example of that phenomenon’s human ancestry: wind the author up and let him go; feed it into the algorithms; count the money.

Again, maybe an unfair ranking but I trust that the author will survive it. Theres a better book to be written on this topic; I dare say the author could himself write the better book if he gave himself enough time, demanded more of himself along the way, and enjoyed a publishing strategy (and industry) that didn’t entice him toward these all too common trade-offs.

Rant over.

[CalebA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an awe problem.

Paul Tripp shows us a unique way to look at relationship with God and his creation. Sin is the issue, we know, but sin worships things out of priority. We are not in Awe of Gods goodness and character. It really does come down to this. We worship the creation over the creator in exchange for temporary unimpressive awe. I find this very close to John Piper's "Enjoying God" thesis. Our awe and joy should come from God, but instead, we worship false idols on a daily basis.

If you're interested in examing your heart to explore some of these idols, this book is for you. I'd recommend to any believer struggling with prioritization or addiction.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid work that seeks to describe what a worship-filled lifestyle looks like in key areas such as work, parenting, worldview and repentance. Tripp's writing is highly accessible and methodical. This work walks the reader through various dynamics that impact spiritual health. He addresses with good clarity the ways that distraction, personal drivenness and false trust can produce broken lives void of hope. The cure is an intentional hunger for the Living God that he repeatedly sums up in the word, "Awe".

[Bookish Fam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I’m a big fan of Paul David Tripp, and this book fits in well with his other books. The basic premise is that, as Christians, we do not need to fix our ability to follow the law or live a certain way. Our focus should be on our awe of God. Are we in awe of God in a way that transforms our mind daily and affects all aspects of our lives? This can be looked at in many different areas of life, so he takes each chapter to look at this in different lights.

[John Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Tripp gets to the core of why we do what we do and how our worship of God affects every moment of our day. He repeats over and over again regardless of the topic, "Our problem is not a _____ problem, it's an awe problem." My favorite chapter was "Worldview." Meditating through Isaiah 40 was a huge blessing and helped a lot with practically pursuing awe of God.

[Melody Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books I will return to, and that is saying a lot for this slow reader. The author made a lot of really great points across different areas of life and I have been convicted and reminded that I have an awe problem. I seek for things that I think will give me life instead of seeking the only one who can actually give me life. I highly recommend this book. I want to give this book 6 stars instead of 5. Seriously, put it on your read next list.

[Lydia Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.”
C.S. Lewis

This book was great, slightly repetitive in the middle I think. Some of my favorite chapters were Ministry, Transgression, Materialism, and Church. Would recommend!!

[Briana Mullet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great nuggets of truth hidden in the repetitive examples.

[Jessica Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love starting a book, and realizing that it’s exactly what I need to be hearing right now

[E.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trifle repetitive, but also really timely and convicting.