Regain Your Sense of Wonder

Ava Pennington is known for her wisdom in the Word. In this Attitude UPGRADE, she encourages readers to upgrade their lives by regaining their godly sense of wonder.

"G. K. Chesterton wrote, 'We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.'

"I can relate," Ava says.

One year I (Dawn) chose the word "wonder" as my word of the year. It was one of the most wonder-full years of my life—life changing! I'm so glad Ava chose to write about this. Our attitudes and perspectives can be so much more to the glory of God.

Ava continues . . .

I often lose my sense of wonder these days, taking for granted things as imposing as a jet plane or as fragile as a butterfly. I ignore a sunset or overlook a rainbow as I rush to the next task on my to-do list.

Many of us seek miracles for our problems, yet miss the miracles in each day.

Consider the human body in all its wonder: 60,000,000,000,000 (sixty trillion) cells, unique fingerprints, and 600 muscles.

Or the beauty of a rainbow resulting from the interaction of light rays and water droplets.

The greatest wonder of all?

Our holy God provided a way to restore sinful humanity to Him. Because of Jesus, we’re able to call the awesome Creator God, Father.

I’m determined to delight in the large and small wonders inhabiting my days.

Have you lost your sense of wonder at joyful intimacy with the living God or the marvels of His creation?

If so, join me in regaining your sense of wonder.

1. Cultivate faith in our limitless God.

The pressures of daily life can cause our circumstances to overwhelm us. But our finite abilities don’t compare to God’s infinite wisdom and power.

He’s the One who set the stars in space. Don’t let the children’s poem, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” fool you—“little star”?

Consider our star, the sun. Its mass of hot plasma totals more than 99 percent of our solar system. Additionally, the sun converts 4,000,000 tons of matter into energy every second. And our limitless God created it along with countless other stars in the universe!

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) reminds us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

When circumstances overwhelm our finite minds, faith offers assurance we can trust God’s infinite faithfulness.

2. View the world with childlike humility and wonder.

The first time I flew, I knew the scientific explanations for cloud formation. But you’d never have known it by my initial reaction. Sitting in a window seat, I repeatedly squealed, “Look at the clouds!”

You’d have thought I was nine years old. Uh…no. More like twenty.

Decades later, despite the hassles, I intentionally remind myself of the sheer wonder of flying—

• of sitting safely while hurtling through the sky at 500 miles an hour;
• of soaring above the clouds while reveling in the Creator who made them.

Even more important than viewing our world with childlike wonder, God calls us to trust Him with childlike faith.

When the disciples asked Jesus to identify the greatest in heaven’s kingdom, He pointed to the humility of a child (Matthew 18:3).

It takes humility to approach the world in wonder.

 And it takes humility to acknowledge our helplessness and approach God for the salvation He offers.

3. Be present and attentive in the moment.

I have a tendency to multitask, even when I’m with other people. I’m often consumed with to-do lists. Can you relate?

Today gets lost in the shuffle between tomorrow’s worries and yesterday’s regrets.

Inattentiveness causes missed opportunities for wonder right in front of me.

Replacing New Year’s resolutions, I now identify “one word” for my focus each year. This year, my word is attentive.

I want to be intentionally present in the moment—

• to pay attention as God speaks to me through His Word and the Holy Spirit’s prompts;
• to be more attentive to the people He places in my path.

Proverbs 12:15, and 19:20 are just two of the verses reminding us to listen to—and apply—wisdom. Wisdom is found in the Bible, the Holy Spirit’s whispers and the counsel of mature Christians. My attentiveness has already led to increased wonder!

4. Default to joy.

As we get older, it becomes easier to focus on negative aspects of life.

Here’s an easy one: I dislike driving in the rain. Yet, although low visibility requires additional concentration, I can still choose to default to joy at the refreshment it brings.

Consider the recent Australian bushfires that burned more than 12,000,000 acres. Desperate prayers addressed heaven for the inconvenient rain I complain about!

The Bible is replete with verses reminding us to be joyful.

• We’re told to rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12a)
• We're to be joyful when we suffer trials (James 1:2).
• The apostle Paul included joy as part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
• We’re to always rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:4).

Defaulting to joy changes our perspective, preparing us for the time when we’ll have fullness of joy in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11).

Children naturally exude a sense of wonder. Since you and I are God’s children, we should do the same.

He’s worthy of our wonder and childlike faith, so bask in the wonder of God’s faithfulness and love today!

How will you apply the above steps to regain your sense of wonder?

Ava Pennington is a writer, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) teacher, and speaker. She is the author of the adult devotional, Daily Reflections on the Names of God, and has co-authored two children’s picture books. Ava has written numerous articles for magazines such as Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse, and contributed to more than 30 anthologies. Visit her at www.AvaWrites.com.

When a Biscuit Blunder Reminded Me of God's Love

Susan K. Stewart is a no-nonsense Christian with a strong desire to inspire and equip people in various walks of life. In this UPLIFT post, she encourages us to find hope in God's love in the midst of life's "blunders."

“Little did I know," Susan says, "my granddaughter, Wendy, would remind me of God’s love when she baked biscuits for dinner.”

God's love? Biscuits? OK, Susan. I (Dawn) think you've got our curiosity!

Susan continues . . .

Eleven-year-old Wendy had just made her first batch of homemade biscuits. She put the plate down in front of her grandfather. “Papa, try one of my biscuits!”

Wendy followed instructions carefully, but the biscuits didn’t rise as usual.

No concern.

The color wasn’t quite right.

Well, it was her first try.

After slathering with butter, Papa took his bite. For a moment his face gave away a concern—just for a moment.

Wendy bit into hers.

“These are great, aren’t they?” She was proud of her effort.

Papa’s initial reaction confirmed that the biscuits weren’t quite right. They were course, not fluffy, and a bit gritty.

I pondered what had happened. What could have gone wrong?

I had supervised the baking effort and didn’t see any mistakes. Well, other than the flour looked odd. While munching my gray, gritty biscuit, the proverbial lightbulb came on.

It wasn’t flour. It was diatomaceous earth (DE).

We keep DE in the pantry to use for bug control. It looks similar to flour except a little finer. The wrong container had been grabbed.

Thankfully, DE isn’t harmful to humans.

In spite of the odd gray color and gritty feel in our mouths, we laughed about the blunder and enjoyed Wendy’s first made-from-scratch biscuits.

Even after learning what happened, Wendy was not discouraged. This was her creation and she was pleased.

Isn’t that like God? We are His creation, and we can sometimes be gray and gritty.

He doesn’t throw away any of us.

God said His creation, including humans, was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Not just “good,” but “VERY good.”

Even after Adam and Eve fell into the snare of Satan, God didn’t give up.

He wasn’t discouraged and didn’t throw us in the trash can.

Instead, God had a plan to restore His creation to Himself:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8 ESV).

God made a way for us to come to Him. Jesus died to renew our connection with God.

That’s amazing! Even when I have a gray attitude or am abrasive, God shows His love. He says, “Isn’t Susan very good?”

Like Wendy, God sees beyond the blunders, my blunders, to His creation. He’s not downcast or unhappy. God continues His love. He is still proud of His effort put into me.

The next day, Wendy called her mom to tell her and laugh about her biscuits. She was so happy to have had the opportunity to be part of the meal preparation. We’ll forever talk about the DE biscuits.

“(God) will rejoice over you with gladness” (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV). Sometimes it’s hard to fathom that God takes delight in us, just as Wendy was delighted in her biscuits. He created us, saved us, and takes pleasure in us no matter what.

He continues to rejoice in His creation.

A few days later, Wendy made a new batch of biscuits—this time with flour. They were tall and white with a hint of brown crust. The butter melted into the fluffy bread. Each bite was a delicious. A new baking creation to replace the old.

God does that for us; He makes us a new creation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

In spite of our sin and rags, He offers us hope.

God doesn’t see us as those old dark and sinful creatures. He sees the new, clean creation we are in Jesus.

Take joy in what God has created—a new you.

Have you mistaken one ingredient for another other when cooking? Was the result a disaster or a fun story for the family? What is your reaction to blunders? Are you downcast? Or do you rejoice with God? What is your hope today?

Susan K. Stewart—when she’s not tending chickens and donkeys—teaches, writes, and edits non-fiction. Her passion is to inspire others with practical, real-world solutions. Susan's books include Science in the Kitchen; Preschool: At What Cost?; the award-winning Formatting e-Books for Writers; and her most recent book, Harried Homeschoolers Handbook. Learn more about Susan at Practical Inspirations.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Olisa655 at Pixabay.