Recover the Wonder

The worship band Passion recently released a powerful worship song “Build My Life” that captured my heart and led me to the throne of God in a unique way. It realigned and recalibrated my heart to the very heart of God. These lyrics led me to begin praying one of the most powerful prayers I’ve ever lifted to Christ:

Open up my eyes in wonder, Show me who You are, and fill me with Your heart and lead me in Your love to those around me.

Open up my eyes in wonder. Goosebumps. Since then, I’m captivated and drawn to Scriptures about the wonder of God…

Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! WONDER! Because I am doing something in your days youwould not believe if you were told!” - Habakkuk 1:5

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done” - Psalm 40:5

Wonder reignites our faith. Asks us to live with eyes wide open to God. Wonder invites us out of the shallows and into the hallows of the divine.

won·der

ˈwəndər/

noun

-a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected,

unfamiliar, or inexplicable

-a strange or remarkable person, thing, or event.

-having remarkable properties or abilities.

-a surprising event or situation.

verb

-desire or be curious to know something.

-feel admiration and amazement; marvel. be dumbfounded.

To be dumbfounded. Marvel. Caused by something beautiful, unexpected, inexplicable—- Since this word study, I’m praying for wonder. And now I'm encountering these moments of spiritual awakening that make me want to know God even more.

The prophetic book of Isaiah describes a people whose hearts have grown hard, numb, and calloused. They've mastered the art of going through the motions of faith, but they're empty inside. They've not only lost God, they've lost themselves. Isaiah records God's response,

Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish" - Isaiah 29:14

Rather than answer the people with fire or judgment, God does something remarkable. God takes their breath away. God performs miracles beyond anything they thought possible.

What if God wants to do the same in our own lives? And ministries? What if experiencing the wonder of God sparks our affection and desire for Him even more?

I began to ask the Lord to reveal areas of my heart in which I’ve begun to lose the wonder and He immediately highlighted four areas in my life. Ones where I’d began to grow numb, no longer awestruck. It was convicting words to hear but since praying for God to “Open up my eyes in wonder, Show me who You are, and fill me with Your heart and lead me in Your love to those around me,” I’ve seen, known, and experienced the wonder of…

1) His Creation. It took an eclipse, destructive fatal hurricanes, and sweeping wildfires to bring international attention to the creation God has so graciously given to us every single day. Do we take the beauty and extravagance of the world for granted? Do we ignore the wonder of creation? David, a man after God’s heart never lost the wonder  of writing,

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You haveordained,What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? - Psalm 8:3-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands - Psalm 19:1

Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course…we would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God.

Instead, the stars come out every single night and we watch television. When we lose the wonder of God’s creation, we lose the wonder of who God is. He spoke the world into being. He created an unfathomable universe with our galaxy of over 100 billion stars and knows everyone by name. If we were closer to the sun, we’d burn to a crisp. Were even a degree tilted away from the earth, we’d turn to ice. Yet, God keeps us inbound.

Have you lost the wonder of His creation? Watch Louie Giglio’s sermon series “Indescribable”. Be awestruck at God’s glory in our everyday universe. Take some time to sit, look, and travel around at the beauty of the world.

2) My Salvation Salvation: being born from above, being born again, eternal everlasting life with Jesus. When was the last time you shared your story? When was the last time you thanked God for saving you? Nothing…absolutely. Nothing..could be more wonderful than salvation—-to wonder that the Creator of the Universe sent His only begotten Son to die a gruesome, painful, torturous death on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Enabling us to believe in Him and have eternal life. Destined for heaven. To have life and life abundantly.

When evangelizing, it is encouraged to share your testimony with people because they cannot disagree or challenge what God actually did in your life. It’s always powerful sharing my testimony with someone who doesn't yet know Jesus. But when was the last time you thanked God for your testimony? When you shared your testimony with yourself?

I am in a constant state of marvel that God saved me. And not just from my past, but He saved me from what I could have become. I had forgotten that salvation is miraculous. He didn’t miraculously take away any addictions, heal me from some disease, or raise someone from the dead. However, He did an even greater miracle in my life….and transferred me from eternal tormenting death in hell to everlasting life with Him in heaven.

When was the last time you were in wonder of your salvation and gave “thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light? The One who has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. He in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13). Have you lost the wonder of your salvation?

3) My Mission Not only did Christ save you, but He uses you to bring others to His kingdom. Let that sink in for a moment. That’s also miraculous. Worthy of great wonder. Sometimes, I confess, I get caught up in the hard work, the busy schedule, the long days and lose the wonder that God calls me to serve Him and uses me in the lives of other people. I cannot comprehend how or why God chooses to use someone as wretched, frail, and sinful as myself. But miraculously, God has been expanding my ministry, using me in ways I am just awestruck. It is wonderful that God would use me to help others, whether

I cannot comprehend how or why God chooses to use someone as wretched, frail, and sinful as myself. But miraculously, God has been expanding my ministry, using me in ways I am just awestruck. It is wonderful that God would use me to help others, whether through my writing, facilitating Bible studies, or simply inviting people to church. It is mind-blowing because I have nothing to offer anyone. Yet God truly uses the weak, lowly, and foolish things of the world, to shame the strong. That’s a wonder!

Do you remember what God has called you to do? Simply go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). This is not a calling reserved for pastors or those with the spiritual gift of evangelism. It is a calling for each and every child of God. We are to proclaim the gospel—-how the Lord leads you to do this may be different, but that mission is the same. And you know what is even more wonderful than being called for “such a time as this”? That we can actually be effective in this call.

He saves us. Uses us. Equips us. Take another moment to let that sink in.

It was only 11 men in the early Church to turn the world upside down. 11 men, sold out for Christ in obedience. Filled with the Holy Spirit, who went out and preached the gospel to the nations. How much more could we accomplish in His name? God has chosen found people to find people. We can be that holy remnant set apart for His purpose. We have the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18-19)

Has your ministry, what you do for God, simply become just another thing in your busy schedule? Have you lost the wonder that God would, could, and does use you as part of His kingdom work? Ask God to restore the wonder of what you are called to do. Reveal the spiritual gifts you are not fully utilizing or areas of disobedience to His call? Lord, lead me in Your love to those around me.

4) Jesus Mark 9:15 reads, “as soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him. While we would never admit this, it is evident that we have lost our wonder of Jesus. Now this is a tragedy. That is a tragedy worse than any hurricane, earthquake, wildfire, terrorist attack, or nuclear war. When was the last time you were “overwhelmed with wonder” because of Jesus? Recapture the wonder of Jesus. Return to your first love. Recalibrate your heart to the things of Jesus.

Read the gospels all over again. Pay close attention to how Jesus interacted with His people, His disciples, His enemies. And remember, “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). Restore your wonder of Jesus.