Maintaining The Wonder of God

We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year season and your family are all well.   One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is the decision to lose weight, thus the overwhelming crowds found at gyms in January.  This is an admirable goal, but I hear the Holy Spirit say that this is actually a year of gaining weight.   Not in the flesh but in the realm of the spirit.  God is releasing a greater measure of His glory upon His church in this hour.  The Hebrew word for glory is “kabod”.  This word means, “weightiness, substance, that which fulfills the heart-cry of man”. 

The glory of God is associated with His presence.   If we are to receive and maintain the glory of God we will need to welcome, honor, and embrace His presence.   The snare of familiarity has been successfully used as a key weapon of Satan to rob us of God’s glory and presence.  It is the sin of familiarity that ensnared Satan himself.  Formerly known as the archangel Lucifer, Satan became familiar with God and His presence.  Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 give evidence that Lucifer was the worship leader of heaven.  The name “Lucifer” means “the enlightened one, the reflector of the light”.  God’s shekinah glory would shine upon Lucifer, reflecting off of the brilliant precious stones that covered his body, producing beams of various beams of colors that would shine in splendor in the tabernacle of God.   In time, Lucifer began to take ownership of the glory of God rather than reflect it as he was designed.  The beauty, splendor, and glory of the Lord were perverted by Lucifer because he became too familiar with it.  Pride and rebellion entered into the heart of the archangel, and he was cast out of heaven like lightning, his name being changed to “Satan”; “accuser of the brethren”.

As the glory of God is poured out upon us in great measure this year, let us be careful to be reflectors of that glory, not receiving it as unto ourselves.   A litmus test for us to know that we are receiving and embracing God’s presence is this:  Do I still maintain the wonder of God?    We need to ask ourselves, “How am I doing at loving God?  At loving my neighbor who is like me or not like me or who doesn’t like me?”  It isn’t about how much we know, it’s how much we love.

There is something about the joy and wonder we see in the life of a new believer that is enviable.  Today there is an average of 1700 evangelical ministers leaving public ministry each month.  Most of them began with a zeal and love for God and people.  They didn’t arrive at their place of despair overnight.  What happened?  How did they lose the wonder of God?  How’d they lose their heart, passion, and vision for what God had called them to? 

Throughout the Scriptures, there are examples of God’s people losing the wonder of God.  The Israelites witnessed the 10 plagues in Egypt and how God protected them.  They witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, the manna to eat for 40 years, the water from the rock, and more.  In the New Testament, we see the church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation.  They were forged in the fire of the first-century church, yet they became lukewarm. 

In the world, there is a shortage of the wonder.   In the workplace George Gallup shares that 87% of workers worldwide are emotionally disconnected from their workplace.  Their job has become more of a frustration than a place of fulfillment.  The wonder is gone.  Some people have lost the wonder of their marriage to their spouse.  Few things are more tragic than a marriage that has lost its wonder.  The question is; How do we keep the wonder?

1)     NEVER LET THE NEW WEAR OFF

I love the smell of new shoes, the interior of a new car, and a newborn baby.  II Corinthians 5:17 tells us “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  We are a new creation through the transforming work of Jesus Christ.  We must guard the newness and not let it wear off.  Years ago I was ministering in a church in northern Louisiana at the invitation of the Youth pastor.  The senior pastor, Denny Duron, had grown this church to over 1,000 in attendance each Sunday.  Pastor Denny tells the story of when he first moved to Louisiana, he and his wife lived a very frugal life with very little in the bank.   Just buying a loaf of bread stretched their meager budget.  As he shops at the grocery store now, he can often be seen in tears uttering the words, “Hallelujah, thank you Jesus” as he places groceries in his cart.  A few years ago, his son was with him as he shopped and asked him, “Hey Dad, why are you carrying on like this while you buy groceries?”  Pastor Denny answered him by saying, “When your mother and I first moved here, it was all we could do to buy bread and a few items to feed you and our family.  Because of God’s goodness and blessings upon us, we can now buy food in liberality.  I am so thankful to God”.   This man has never allowed himself to lose the wonder of God in his life.

2)     SAVOR AND CELEBRATE GOD’S VICTORIES IN YOUR LIFE

The psalmist, David, wrote “I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless your name forever and ever.  Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.  (Psalm 145:1-3)  Keeping the wonder is about knowing and celebrating His abundant goodness. This is the reason that God instituted feasts for Israel throughout each year.  He knew that they would tend to forget about the miracles and breakthroughs He delivered to them in times of need. 

3)     REMOVE YOUR CEILINGS

If there is a lack of life and vibrancy in our worship, our marriage, our vocation or our very existence it is time to remove some ceilings.  Wonder seeps out over time but God has a way of restoring it.  Sometimes it’s a call to repentance.  Deuteronomy 28:23 tells us that sin will cause the heavens over our heads to be like brass.   You can become so hungry for God that He can’t help but take you to a higher place.  As we begin this New Year are you hungry for more?  Remember God’s first and greatest commandment, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33) It is time to restore the wonder of God in our lives.  We do it by embracing and inviting His presence.