“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”
- Psalm 33:8
Whenever I first started driving, I loved it so much. I was so excited to drive myself around and be in charge of my own transportation. However, as soon as I realized that paying for gas, going on errands, and seemingly having more responsibilities wasn't all that it was cracked up to be; driving lost a bit of its original flavor. Soon enough it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be because I got used to it. I eventually experienced the same thing whenever I graduated high school, it was all fun and games until I noticed that I had to do more assignments in college. In life, we find new things to be adventurous and breathtaking, and as time goes on the very things that once excited us can become quite mundane.
Truth be told, the very same pattern can easily be done with our walk with God. Becoming a Christian is the most life-changing thing that anyone could ever experience. It's very exciting whenever God answers prayers, does miracles, or leads us into seasons of harvest. But once the dust settles, it’s so easy to allow our relationships with God to collect dust as well. We must continue to have wonder whenever we think about God, and we mustn't allow ourselves to get used to him. Being well acquainted with God and getting used to him are completely different things. We should desire to have an intimate relationship with God that grows with time, instead of one that grows stale.
The definition of wonder resembles the meanings of fascination, admiration, awe, astonishment, and amazement. Now it can be very difficult to preserve those feelings because life is rough. However, it isn't impossible.
I often try to think about where I would be without God, honestly, I can't even begin to imagine what my life would look like. However, I know that my life would be unfulfilling and unintentional without him. I can also tell you that I would be without peace, comfort, truth, and direction. I'm truly curious as to how non-believers cope without God! Life is truly a rollercoaster, there are moments that are really high and others that feel pretty low. Either way, I'm so grateful that I serve a God that's consistent regardless of what my circumstances look like. He is always orchestrating things for my good and providing for me in multiple ways. Although becoming a Christian doesn't mean that I've automatically reached perfection, it does mean that I have acknowledged the standard of perfection. Which allows me to be sanctified and ultimately become a better version of myself.
In order to maintain our wonder for God, we must fight to maintain grateful hearts, because whenever we have gratitude then were able to look at God with awe. We must never think that we got to where we are by ourselves, there is a God in Heaven writing our story and directing all of our steps. Whenever we become prideful and forget that God brought us here, we begin to glorify ourselves. Which results in us believing that we are our own gods, and instead of dying to our flesh we begin to die spiritually. We have to give credit where it is due while taking the time to reflect on our lives. Being intentional about thanking God will allow us to remain amazed by him and all that he does for us.
Our wonder fuels our commitment and reminds us of why we serve God in the first place. I worship God because of who he is. God is truly worthy of our praise at all times. Remember who God is, read the bible and study the character of God. Jeremiah 32:27 tells us that he does the miraculous, Deuteronomy 7:9 tells us that is he is faithful, Proverbs 15:3 tells us that he is omnipresent, Ephesians 2:8 tells us that he is gracious. Of course, don't forget that creation reveals how powerful and big he is as well. God isn't our buddy across the street, he's the uncreated one. We must continue to acknowledge his glory and remember his authority. If we lose sight of who he is and limit him to our understanding then we will miss out on what he has to offer us.
And Peter answered him, “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind,[a] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
- Matthew 14:28-31
Peter walking on water is a very popular story in the bible. Although the story is often used to demonstrate faith, it also speaks to the topic of wonder. As Peter was walking on the water he lost his focus and began to sink. He began to sink because he was more fascinated with fear that he was with his savior who wasn't too far from him. If he had only fixed his eyes on the Lord, then he wouldn't've begun to sink. Nonetheless, it was Peter's wonder in who Christ was that led him to even step out of the boat in the first place. Peter’s fascination with Jesus led him to believe that he could do something as miraculous as a walk on water. Imagine what would've happened if he had held on to his wonder instead of allowing it to be swept away with the winds that distracted him! In life we will experience intimidating winds, however, we must never forget that our savior is stronger than any wind that we could ever face. He is always watching and desiring for us to be walking alongside him, instead of sinking due to our lack of trust in him. Of course, he will always be there to save us, but as long as we remain focused on him we won't have to experience the delay that comes with momentary sinking. Whenever we sustain the wonder that we have for God we will remain aligned with him, and sturdy even on the rough waters.
We must never lose our wonder because we are prone to find amazement in something, so it might as well be the God of the universe. Let's not allow ourselves to be so caught up in the affairs of the world, let's continuously find fascination, awe, amazement, and of course wonder in who God is.
STAY INSPIRED!
