Wonder

On the You Make Me Brave CD by Bethel Music, you can listen to Amanda Cook sing these lyrics:  "May we never lose our wonder.  Wide-eyed and mystified, may we be just like a child staring at the beauty of our King. Cause You are beautiful in ALL Your ways."   Ever since I was a young girl, I can remember being in awe of creation.  Growing up on a farm, this was easy to witness.  I got to grow up seeing baby calves and kittens being born.  Fields of crops grow from seed to fully mature plants.  Trees multiplying and blooming.  All around was fruitfulness.  Growth.  Rebirth.  Renewal.  Nature was amazing to me.  Creation witnessed to my heart that there was a Creator of it all. 
"For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks)." (Romans 1:20)
As I've grown and come to know this Creator, I've discovered that He is much, much more than a Creator.  He is love.  He is Father.  He is Savior.  Every so often, this beautiful God introduces Himself to me in a new way.  Healer…Comforter…King…Light...  And every time He does, I am refreshed and brought to humble amazement.  Each time it's like opening a present carefully wrapped in colorful, polkadot paper (I love polka dots!), complete with ribbon and bow.  There is a joyful anticipation.  I receive so much from these "reveals" - the gifts of peace, joy, humility, love, wonder, mercy, grace, depth…
"Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5
I am thankful that God is willing to reveal Himself to us.  I think He actually takes pleasure in revealing Himself.  As I think about it, we are made in His image, so I think it's in us as well to want to share our hearts and the glory God has put inside of us.  I spent some time with a small group of women over the past year, and each one of us had an opportunity to share our story.  There was a transparency, an unveiling of our hearts.  It isn't always easy to share our hearts - especially when we've been wounded in the past in doing so.  But this unveiling was so raw and real and needed.  It felt good to tell our stories.  To be heard.   To share our hearts.  To be known.  I think God delights in sharing His heart with us and is equally as delighted in us sharing ours with Him.   
Jesus prayed, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:25-26

Jesus was the reflection of God's heart walking around on earth for us to behold and witness.  He revealed to us His loving, kind, merciful heart in order to displace the lies we've been taught about Him through the world and its deceiver.  He came to unveil His great love for us, who were created by Him and for Him.  He came so we'd know the goodness of the Father's heart…the truth of Who God is.
Today I ask God to release an unveiling of His nature and character, His heart, to all of us.  I ask Him to release a sense of wonder - to marvel at how incredible His story is.  To be humbled by His selfless, gentle Spirit.  To be astounded at how full of Creative Power and Life He is.  How full of Love.  God DESERVES our gratitude and our worship.  He is WORTHY of our wonder and awe.  Let's begin to allow Him to tell us about Himself through His Holy Spirit and His Word.  And let's start sharing our hearts with Him.  He knows us, yes - every hair on our heads - but there's a  freedom we can experience in  unveiling our hearts to Him.  It allows the God of Light to shine on us and bring healing and restoration.  

"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it."  Revelation 2:17