God Wonders and God Thoughts

by Elizabeth Stewart

I just got home from spending time with my youngest daughter and her family at the Grand Canyon. I'd been there once before, the summer I turned six, but the memories are vague. What a wonder it was to see it again! There are some God wonders that are smack you in the face obvious, like the Grand Canyon. It's so massive and awe inspiring that I don't know how someone sees it without knowing that there has to be a magnificent Creator Who made such majestic beauty. Then there are some God wonders that we can miss in the mundane or the busyness or the stress of our ordinary days-the dimple in your son's cheek when he smiles, the freckles sprinkled across your granddaughter's nose, a hummingbird sipping nectar from a bright pink flower, a field full of Queen Anne's lace, a perfectly ripe, juicy cantaloupe. These God wonders take more intention to notice. These less obvious God wonders can be like treasure that is buried in all the other things of life that clamor for our attention.

Similarly there are God thoughts that can be loud and more obvious. God's Word and His amazing creation practically shout at us that there is a God Who Created the heavens and the earth. God also clearly tells us that He loved the people of this world so much that He sent His Son to die so that all Who receive Him as Savior and Lord can have eternal life. But then there are God thoughts that are like treasure that is buried in all of the other things that clamor for our attention. Psalm 40:6 in The Message Bible says, "You've opened my ears so I can listen." Sometimes, we need God's supernatural assistance to hear the God thoughts that He wants to whisper to our heart. Psalm 40:8 in The Message Bible says, "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me...that's when God's Word entered my life, became part of my very being." Sometimes we need to be willing and committed to dig into God's Word in order to hear the God thoughts buried there.

It's all too easy to lose sight of the wonder that God has filled our life with. It's all too easy to not listen for God's whispers to our heart or to us through His Word. Sadly, when we lose sight of God's wonders, we tend to only focus on life's difficulties. When we quit listening to God's thoughts, we tend to only hear the loudness of enemy's lies. The good news is that we can discipline ourselves to notice and give thanks for God's wonders and to listen to His voice speaking to us through His Spirit and His Word. Where we are weak in these areas, God is willing to help us when we ask Him. Our God is so WONDER-FULL and THOUGHT-FULL if we are willing, committed and determined to notice and see and to listen and hear.

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