I have found myself desiring a fresh sense of wonder these days. A wonder that is profound, a wonder that is deep and abiding and not a wonder that leaves me empty and feeling used after I have experienced it. I've been moved recently by Jesus standing in the temple courts at the peak of the feast of booths in John 7. He cries out with a loud voice; "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says. (By this he meant the Spirit)"
I'm desirous of an increased flow of these rivers of life flowing out of my belly and I sense it is time to set aside a good block of time to seek the Lord for a fresh filling of his Holy Spirit. Today I listened to Ravi Zacharias on podcast and he used this illustrative story of trying to insight wide eyed wonder with his 3 children when they were ages 5, 3 and 2. To the oldest he said imagine yourself walking up to a mysterious door, as you approach you think you hear something and it makes you curious so you open that door and out lunges a dragon... her eyes widen! To the second he says imagine yourself walking up to a mysterious door, as you approach you think you hear something and it makes you curious so you open the door... her eyes widen! To the third and youngest he says you see a big door and you walk slowly up to it... and his eyes grow wide! The five year old needed a dragon; the 3 year old only needed to open the door and his 2 year old just needed to be able to get to the door! His summary thought from the talk he gave coupled with this closing illustration was that the older we get the more it takes to fill our hearts with wonder and only God is big enough to fill that void.
I think I need a bigger sense of wonder and the sooner the better!
God is Good All the Time
3 comments:
A couple years ago, I felt challenged to 'pray ceaselessly'. During the following year, my prayer life exploded and I really felt that I was talking to/with God all the time. By the end of that year though, I also felt that I had lost some of my 'fear of the Lord', as I would carelessly approach Him full of confidence, yet without an awe and respect. I felt like I was clothing myself as a tramp while dining with the King!! Thus, I began a journey to develop a greater 'fear of the Lord' (there's wisdom there). Now I am often seeking God to help me find the balance of running to Him with everything and yet honouring him and preparing myself for His presence.
I'm not sure why I've been led to share this with you, but I do know that when I began to train my mind to fear the Lord, the glory and majesty of God overwhelmed me!
thanks for sharing... i always look forward to your interactions with these blogs and am blessed by the thougths and questions you pose. miss ya.
I think that one of the reasons I go for long walks and hike to "remote" vistas is to remove my mind from the busyness and distractions that block the wonder.
It's too easy to veg out in front of the TV, or computer and become numb, when what our soul really calls out for is that wonder walk with God.
I envy the places you get to walk every day! Wish I were there walking beside ya! miss ya
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