November 19 I Saturday

Ezekiel 11-13

James 1

“Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them…He has caused His wonders to be remembered...”    —Psalm 111:2, 4

Do we ever take a step back and look at the world with awe and wonder? When we do, we will find that the universe we live in is absolutely mind-boggling. We are just one planet orbiting around a solar system in our home galaxy called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is about 150,000 to 200,000 light years wide, and that is just one of billions of galaxies found in the universe. Isn’t that just amazing?

       Sometimes, instead of being lost in wonder over the beauty and vastness of the universe, we dissect and analyze everything. We put it under a microscope and try to describe everything so precisely that there is nothing left for us to have a sense of wonder about. Some of us may become blasé about things that should cause wonder.

       When was the last time we were filled with wonder and amazement at things that God is doing? One of the greatest setbacks in our Christian lives is when we are no longer astonished, amazed or filled with the wonder of God and what He is doing.

       There are fingerprints of God all across creation. The psalmist describes the universe with wonder: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). When we see how vast creation is, we begin to fathom how big God is. “Show me the wonders of Your great love…” (Psalm 17:7). We may debate about the doctrine of God’s love but do we ever bask in the wonder of it? When we do, we will find that we cannot fit God’s love into a comprehensible size.

       Isaiah writes about an occasion of the Lord telling him, “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13). Do we echo the sentiments of the Lord? Has our worship of God become dry, predictable, legalistic and cold? The Lord tells Isaiah His solution: “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). It is interesting that the solution the Lord gives is not for more wisdom or intelligence but of wonder upon wonder. May we seek to recapture the wonder in our relationship with God and marvel at His greatness.

Prayer: Marvelous God, how wonderful are Your creation and works. It is too great for me to comprehend. Help me never to lose delight in the wonders of You. Thank You, Lord.