Go, God! Astonish Me!
I was in the “blog-writing” mode when I remembered an old song, “I Believe in Miracles” written by Carl C. Buck in 1950. I started singing the chorus in my head.“I believe in miracles
I’ve seen a soul set free
Miraculous the change in one
Redeemed thru Calvary
I’ve seen the lily push its way
Up through the stubborn sod
I believe in miracles
For I believe in God.”
How beautiful and “miraculous” are those words, but more importantly, are we astonished? Are we astonished by God’s wonder-working power? Are we astonished by Christ’s words and actions when we read scripture?
I’ll admit that very often I’ll attend church, or I read God’s Word and it is rote (the process of learning something by repetition, rather than by really understanding it). I’ll go through the motions of worshipping, or I’ll read God’s Word to get my “daily readings” done. What a shame! The treasure chest of hearing and living God’s Word is the answer to EVERYTHING!
Oh, I’ll often read a verse and re-read it a second time because I think “Really? Jesus, You turned the water into wine? You brought a dead man and a dead girl back to life? You walked on water?” But I can’t remember a time I felt an emotional and enlightened moment of pure astonishment when thinking about the life-changing words and life of Jesus.
I’ll also admit that it’s often hard to tap into spine-tingling emotions every time I pray. I like to take what Jesus says and apply His words to my life and to the world around me, but often the words of Scripture don’t hit me with waves of emotion.
I really do desire to live in astonishment – to be amazed and in wonder how God knows all, sees all, loves all so much and that He gave His only begotten Son to this world and me as our Lord and Savior.
Astonishment doesn’t have to mean a profoundly emotional experience. But, seriously, how can we NOT be emotional when we think about Jesus and how He paid the ultimate price for you and me?
During these 40 days of Lent, I am purposefully leaning into astonishment as I walk through the scriptures leading to His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Yes, you heard me clearly. Dead…..as a doornail. But that “doornail” aka Jesus, broke out of the tomb so that we break out of our tombs of fear, doubt and unbelief! THAT, my friends, is astonishing.
And the good news is we don’t have to do x, y, and z to obtain His divine favor. He set the example for us. He explained that if we hear His words, then we should live His words. It is astonishing that God Himself is asking us to give Him everything we have because He values every part of our lives. We matter. Our thoughts, beliefs, and actions matter.
Jesus wants us to take everything He teaches and live it out in every part of our lives. Jesus asks this knowing full well it won’t be easy for us. We will wrestle, struggle, and question. There will be hardship, suffering, rain, floods, and wind. But He promises that if our faith is built on Him and His words, we will always be on solid rock.
And those of us who have found His peace during the toughest times, shout to the naysayers – “It is worth it all!”
Isn’t that ASTONISHING?