Sermon Illustrations
Awe Can Quiet Your Stress
Jennifer Stellar, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, has an ingenious plan to conduct "spring cleaning for your mind." She says,
We share a universal problem right now. We’re all busy and stressed, and maybe even more self-involved because of the pandemic. Social isolation may be contributing to a tendency to ruminate more or even be narcissistic, which is related to ego. But experiencing awe can “quiet that ego.”
The article concludes:
Researchers define awe as the mostly positive emotion you feel when you’re in the presence of something so vast you can’t immediately understand it. Awe is often found in nature—the experience of watching the sun rise over the ocean on an empty beach or taking a long hike in a dense forest. But it can also be experienced by looking at a cityscape, listening to music or absorbing a piece of art that transports you to a sublime place. It can make you feel small (in a good way), reminding you there’s something bigger out there.
Possible Preaching Angle:
Believers understand that there is Someone behind all this beauty and wonder. We recognize a love so vast that you can't understand it, then an "awe walk" can do even more to declutter your mind and quiet the ego.