Awe and Wonder

Have you ever had a Bible verse or story suddenly surprise you even though you’ve heard it a million times? I hope that happens to you often actually. Awe and wonder are amazing things, and studies are showing that they actually help improve your health. It makes you think, doesn’t it? Did God create the things around us just complex enough so they can surprise us every day? When was the last time you looked at a sunset and were in awe? I would challenge you to find something every day that reminds you of God’s creativity and look at it like a child would. Awe and wonder.

This just happened to me this morning. I was reading my devotions and read a brief Bible story I had heard a billion times. Suddenly it took on new meaning for me. The verses are from John 21:4-6. Another story of Jesus telling the disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. They didn’t know who He was, but they did it anyway and couldn’t even haul in the net because they suddenly had so many fish. The idea of fishing for men and not catching anything came into my head. If we are casting our nets where God wants us to, He’ll take care of the rest. Even if it seems like we’ve already tried that. Even if we don’t think it will work. Even if we look down and think, “This is the same water, Lord, how is that side any different?” Perhaps we’ve been looking at things the wrong way. Sometimes changing our perspective can make all the difference. Sometimes our perspective has nothing to do with it. God is in control.

The Bible is not a book that we can read once and say, “Yeah, I’ve read it.” Every moment of our lives God wants to teach us. Whether we are new Christians or have spent our entire lives as Christians. It’s not something we do and leave behind us. It is a lifetime of growing, making mistakes, asking for forgiveness, and readjusting our direction. Constantly learning. Every single time we read the Bible, God wants to show us something new. We have to ask Him to show us what He wants us to see.

Have you ever taken a child to a park or a zoo or somewhere you’ve been often, and you suddenly see the place with entirely different eyes? We had that experience when we took our girls to Disneyland for their first time when they were 4 and 8 years old. I had been there many times before but seeing everything from their

perspective made it so much more fun. Oh, the wonder and joy of every single thing they saw, every character they got to meet. The picture to the right is of Catlyn seeing Goofy for the first time. She was so incredibly excited! And I could only imagine what a joy it was for the person in the costume to see this little one running to him or her with utter abandon. If you did not know, there are hundreds of “hidden Mickeys” in Disneyland. They are simply a silhouette of Mickey Mouse’s head and ears which have been “hidden” all over the park. Keeping on the lookout for them with the girls was a delight. This is how God wants us to look at His Word. With eyes wide open, looking for all the things He wants us to see.

What new things have you seen or heard in God’s Word lately? Did you know the Bible talks about tar pits?! I just learned that last week. How did I miss that?! Please feel free to share in the comments anything you’ve just discovered or that has come alive to you for the first time. I would love to hear about it!