Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
Psalm 72:18-19 NASB
We are currently building a new home and are nearing the end of construction. It has been a satisfying project and a blessing, but I am currently experiencing house fatigue, weary of the details and decisions. In addition, the work and responsibilities of my job have added to the fatigue. Add to these the selling of our current home, the preparations for moving, and all the rest of the good things in life, and sometimes it seems a bit too much. It is easy to see how wonder gets lost.
God alone works wonders and they are all around us. We witness them in the big and the small, if we but pause and allow our hearts the space. Yet in seasons of busyness and activity, it is easy for wonder to get overlooked and pushed aside. Since we can’t do it all, we focus on the practical, the things we can do and control. And since those things multiply, we work on this and that and spend our time planning, administrating, organizing, coordinating, and executing, and wonder gets lost along the way.
Hardship and pain can also shield our view of wonder. When we are hit with difficulty, the severity of the impact can blow wonder far away and out of reach. In those seasons, it is hard to see or feel anything other than our own pain or loss and we can ask along with the Psalmist, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1 NIV).
I have asked that question many times myself, including on a recent Sunday morning. The band was leading a song entitled “Do it Again” written by Elevation Worship. We sang the words…
“Walking around these walls
I thought by now they’d fall
But You have never failed me yet
Waiting for change to come
Knowing the battle’s won
For You have never failed me yet
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence; You’ve never failed me yet”
As we sang, I looked across the aisle and noticed a man who weeks before lost his Father to an incurable disease while praying for his deliverance and healing.
“But you have never failed me yet”
Sitting directly in front of me was a middle aged mother, a beautiful woman, who had lost her husband a few years earlier to a heart attack. Their lovely 13-year-old daughter was playing in the band leading us in song.
“Waiting for change to come,
Knowing the battle’s won
For you have never failed me yet”
I thought of my own recent loss of loved ones passing unexpectedly.
“Your promise still stands
Great is your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in your hands
This is my confidence; You’ve never failed me yet”
We were three people in a radius of no more than 6 feet. If in that small space there were such stories of devastation and loss, what were the other untold stories in our congregation. As we sang together, the most beautiful thing to me was not the song itself or the sound of the congregation worshiping, but the expression of worship coming from our broken lives. I began to wonder.
“I know the night won’t last
Your Word will come to pass
My heart will sing Your praise again
Jesus, You’re still enough
Keep me within Your love
My heart will sing Your praise again
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence; You’ve never failed me yet”
We need wonder and God alone works wonders. They are called wonders because we don’t understand them. They give us pause, take away our breath, and fill us with joy and delight. My favorite author, Brennan Manning, taught that the biblical meaning of the “fear of the Lord” is silent wonder, radical amazement, and affectionate awe at the infinite goodness of God. May your heart find such wonder, amazement and awe as you make room in your heart for God.