The wind was gently blowing through the wooded hollows as we made our way around the bend. It was such a beautiful day Saturday, and we went walking in the Arboretum. A good walk clears the cobwebs, cements relationships and provides an experience of walking with God. As Nancy and I came around the bend in the path, a dozen or more eastern bluebirds were dancing from limb to limb and hovering in mid-air. With the shafts of piercing sunlight bouncing off of their beautiful blue wings, it was a moment to take your breath away. We also saw yellow warblers, which I thought it was too early in the year for them. But we just stood in reverent silence, watching these aviary antics. An overwhelming sense of being privileged at that moment to experience God’s creation permeated our very being. Together we sang in response “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
This has caused me to pause and take inventory of the daily gifts of blessings that God provides. It is easy to lose the ability to be “awed.” The dictionary definition of “awe” is…an emotion experienced, tied to a wondering reverence tinged with fear inspired by the sublime. That just about sums up our sanctified strolling in the Arboretum!
Awe…what is it that inspires this in us on a daily basis? In the NIV 53 times the word “awe/awesome” is used. I like the reference in Deuteronomy 10:21, “He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” This is in the context of Israel receiving the law on two tablets of stone the second time. And Israel is reminded of their recent past where they witnessed the might acts of God that demonstrated His ways and His will among them.
My challenge for all of us today is to keep our eyes open to marvelous wonders of God. It may be something extraordinary in His creation. It may be something extraordinary as an answer to a prayer. It may be a direct discipline that we receive from God to help us mature. It may be a transformation in a relationship we once thought was long gone and over. It may a million different ways that God’s marvelous wonders are shown. Let us never lose the childlike faith and the reverent awe that stands dumbfounded before God. May the God of heaven and earth continue daily to inspire within us a deep and profound sense of awe with His simplest gifts!
In Christian love, Curtis
No comments:
Post a Comment