Learning to Wait in Wonder
[Versión en español: Aprender Esperar en Asombro y Maravilla ]
A father tells his two girls he has planned a family vacation to Grand Canyon.
— The older girl wanted to know the “when,” the “where,” and the “how long.”
—The youngest was just excited to go!
Which girl exhibited loving trust and a childlike waiting in wonder?
Which girl would probably have most blessed her father’s heart and caused him to smile?
Our definition of “growing up” and thinking we are smarter is not maturity at all from the perspective of God’s kingdom! Consider the psalmist’s decision to reduce his life to childlikeness in this sweet, short, and simple psalm:
Psalms 131 Amplified Bible – A Song of Ascents. Of David Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting]. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.
Paul says this about the “wait of wonder”:
1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
In this passage, Paul is actually quoting from Isaiah 64:4. Interestingly, the Holy Spirit changed up (which He has the right to do since He knows the Father’s heart and authored the Scriptures!) one of the keywords in this passage. Instead of “those who love Him,” Isaiah has it as “the one who waits for Him.” Wow! That is a beautiful revelation in itself:
Love waits in wonder!
And consider what Jesus says about one essential requirement necessary to “enter the Kingdom”:
Matthew 18:3-4 Amplified Bible And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Some years ago, while I was still in ministry training, a missionary-pastor always reminded us of how important it was to always be children in our relationship with Jesus no matter how old we get. This was his favorite expression:
“Never lose the awe and wonder of it all.”
Those words have challenged me ever since. Oh, to be childlike in all we think and do! If something or some situation is “un-figure-out-able,” not only will we be “okay” with that, but we will, in childlikeness, choose to stand back, wait, and enjoy the wonder of it all, knowing and believing that our Heavenly Father understands everything. This is the way to love life and enjoy each moment in a way that puts a smile on our Heavenly Father’s face!
Heavenly Father, forgive me for losing the “awe and wonder of it all.” It’s all my fault. Things get so complicated and tangled up in my struggle to put my life in neatly organized folders, bins, and boxes, and I am guilty of assuming I could figure You out, too. However, life doesn’t work that way, and neither do You.
Father, I choose to cast all my cares upon You and to put all my worries to rest, knowing that You know what is best for me. Like the psalmist, I will “behave and quiet myself as a child that is weaned of his mother.”
Jesus, You said that we must become like little children in order to enter into the Kingdom purpose and life for which You have called us. Oh Lord, please reduce me to childlikeness! Forgive me for exercising myself “in great matters…in things too high for me” – thinking I can figure it all out. Your Word informs me that such complexities are nothing more than just another distraction strategy coming directly from the enemy of my soul:
1 Corinthians 11:2-3 NASB …for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
Therefore, I choose to let You take care of all the “figuring” so I can focus on the “simplicity and purity of devotion” to You, my Savior and Lover of my soul.
Holy Spirit, fill me and let Your power flow throughout my being. Soften the oldness and callousness of my heart with Your oil and new wine. Let me be a “new wineskin” (Luke 5:36-39) to “walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4) as a “new creation” – a life in which “all things are becoming new” (2 Cor 5:17). I choose to purposely seize each new day and declare, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
O Father, I long to live in the spontaneity of childlike trust, accepting everything as from Your loving hand – living by the precious faith which alone can please You (Heb 11:6). I choose to enjoy the “awe and wonder” of each moment in a way which puts a smile upon Your face and also upon mine!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen!
