It's a "WONDER" Full Life

 

Loving Father,

Make my heart like that of a child,

Give me again the excitement and joy of wonder

How wonderful it is that I am even able to wonder!

Remove the scales from my eyes,

The stubbornness from my will,

The callousness from my heart,

And enable me to enjoy the wonder of it all.             

Deliver me from routine worship

From business as usual

From form without force and liturgy without life

May Your Holy Spirit energize that new creation

That is now within me,

And may life be ever new, ever wonderful

To the glory of Your Name.

Amen

Real Worship

Warren Wiersbe

Do you ever wonder where your wonder went?  Do you ever wonder where the carefree days of your childhood went?  Do you ever wonder where the days when you just hopped out of bed with no aches or pains went?  One day you just wake up and you realize the days have turned into years and life seems dull and drab and you no longer say that your future is so bright you gotta wear shades but instead you say “what future?”  Well, if that is how you feel today, there is good news for you.

God is a wonder filled God and is in the business of restoring rapturous wonder to those who ask.  So let’s look at where our wonder went.  Let’s start with our eyes, our will, and our heart.

My physical eyes need help.  I have worn glasses since grade school and every year I go get my eyes checked and my eye doctor adjusts my prescription to get me back to as close to 20/20 as possible.  So why doesn’t it occur to us to have our spiritual eyes regularly checked?  You know how the eye doctor sits you down in the chair and has you put your chin on the little ledge and your eyes focused straight ahead and then proceeds to show you two different versions of the same thing and asks which is better number one or number two.  Hop right on up into God’s examining chair and let Him begin to ask some questions.  Has your vision of who God is and what He can do grown larger or smaller over the past year?  Has the God of the universe become really small and limited in your sight or to you see Him high and lifted up in majesty and power?  Do the absolutes of who God is remain strong and bold in your vision or have they developed some carnival mirror curves?  Then allow God to make some adjustments.

“What I need today is a restoration of the vision of the Most High God.” A.W.Tozer

The next step to wonder is our will.  I confess I can be stubborn, and while standing fast in your faith is to be commended, demanding your own way is not. Remember how Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life begins –“It’s not about you.”  When your life has taken on the appearance of one great big “I” wonder fades fast.  Wanting my own way, wanting prayer answered according to my terms, wanting God to act within my time frames are all wonder killers.  The metaphor of being stiff necked is used frequently to describe Israel’s resistance to God’s lordship over the nation.  

 Remember how Jesus taught us to pray?  Matthew 6:10 …your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In order for wonder to fill my life, I have to surrender my will to the will of God.  When my life takes on the attitude of surrender, then worship follows, and wonder is released into my life.

It is amazing the extremes I go to take care of my physical body. I diet, exercise, search out the best doctors and medical treatments, but rarely do I take the time to have a complete check-up spiritually.  If I did, I might be terrified to find out my heart has grown hard and that is deadly both physically and spiritually.  What has happened in life that has calloused my heart?  Has the pain of betrayal rubbed against my heart for so many years that I am now unfeeling?  Have I felt the ache of abandonment and it has left my heart thick and hard?  Has the sting of disappointment been so intense that I am now numb to feeling?  Closing my heart off to pain, sorrow, or disappointment can cause my heart to harden and not allow God’s wonder-filled love to pulsate through my life. 

So if you are sitting today and wondering where your wonder went, boy do I have good news for you.  God’s check-ups are free, no appointment necessary, and guaranteed to heal and restore wonder. 

Go get your shades because God is ready to pour out some wonder.