LIVING IN WONDER DEVOTIONAL

This devotional first appeared in the July, August, September 2013 issue of Words of Hope.  It is reprinted with permission. (You can find others in the category Living in Wonder Moments  on the right hand side of the Home page.)

Read:  Job 37:14-18

“Have you noticed all this?  Stop in your tracks! Take in God’s miracle-wonders.” (Job 37:14 (The Message)

A little girl and her grandmother were snuggled in chair reading a book together.  Lightning flashed and the sound of thunder cracked.  The girl jumped off her grandma’s lap and ran to look out the window.  She shouted, “Grandma, look!” The grandmother hurried over and saw a double rainbow in the sky.  Looking up with wide eyes the child asked, “Who made that, Grandma?”

Sometimes I envy little children who are still alive to th e wonder of discovering colorfully striped skies.  To often I need the wake-up call that Elihu gives Job:  “Stop in your tracks! Take in God’s miracle-wonders.”

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel notes that without wonder there is no worship.  If we walk blindly through the wonders of life, we risk becoming blind to the glory of God, and our sense of worship will fade.  God makes himself known to us through the slant of sunlight in the trees, through a wave of pink petunias overflowing a clay pot, through the sound of birds serenading each other at dawn.  We are reminded of God’s delight in us when we smile at a baby – and the baby smiles back!

When we practice living in wonder,  we will see God everywhere and our lives will be filled with spontaneous worship and praise.  This series of devotionals invites you to be open to the blessings of living in wonder. – Karen Bables

Prayer:  Father, give me the eyes of a child so that I can take in your “miracle-wonders” and worship you.

Click on The Beauty of Pollination link below for an  opportunity to “live in wonder” through photography by Louie Schwartzenberg presented in a TED talk.  If you enjoy this, you can might want to check out another TED talk by Louie in the post Gratitude in the Living in Wonder Moments category

The Beauty of Pollination