Preparing for Wonder

                                                                                              Psalm 131:2

 This little creature

quivers and groans

as she tries to please her people.

"Place!" is the command

And she runs to her spot

All noiseless and still. 


Oh, but if you only knew! This little Grandpuppy of mine is anything BUT still! She is a force of nature bursting with energy. Chasing her human-boy-sibling, and guarding the home, there's never a moment for rest. But offer a treat, and call the word, "Place!" and all else around her dims. Her focus is keen and alert, quietly waiting.
  

Ahh, the lessons I could learn! 

In the middle of my quest to learn more about Heart-Stillness, I have been part of an Online Devotional Study on the book of Luke, led by Ifeoma Samuel, who blogs at: Purposeful and Meaningful.  Last week my thoughts were stirred within me as we read the Christmas Story in Luke 1 and 2 -- not your usual readings during Lent, the time of preparation before Easter! The story of Zechariah, and his questioning of the angel's promise, followed by his time of silence until his own son, John, was born, struck a chord within me.

And then just this week, my readings led me to another great Biblical blogger, Joanne Viola, and her site:  Joanne Viola, Days and Thoughts, where she wrote more beautiful thoughts about the waiting time required by Zechariah. As I typed out my response to her blog, I heard the Lord say "pay attention to what you are writing."

Has that ever happened to you? In the middle of your own writing, or speaking, have you heard the Lord say,

"Just listen to yourself!"

And there were my words, the cursor flashing before me: "I’ve often wondered if God used that time of silence in Zechariah’s life to grow wonder & awe in his heart?"  

. . . 

In these days of my own stillness and silence, is God perhaps wanting to grow something similar in me? I have sensed a longing for more awe, for more child-like wonder in my heart over many years, throughout many seasons in my life.  


Lifting up that longing for wonder to the Lord, I would spend several days trying desperately to keep my eyes open for that wonder.  Hunting and digging, as for buried treasure, I searched out those nuggets in my days that seemed to speak of awe or wonder.  But invariably, the busyness of life returned. Days became months, and the hunt for treasure took a backseat to duties and chores and the need of the moment.

So what have I been missing? 

How could a heart filled with such 

deep longing for wonder 

become so numb and so quick to move on?

Is it possible that the very lifestyle

I have now been given

could become a precursor

to AWE?

Is it possible that Zechariah's curse of silence

was actually given

to make way for a newness of heart--

a heart ready to receive

WONDER?

So I searched the Scriptures to find what kind of basis is  there for these questions of mine, and what kind of path is laid out for this journey I feel led to follow.

  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.  

Lamentations 3:25-26 NASB     

 

Only in a posture of waiting can my heart truly understand the salvation that has been won for me. This time of Lent, of laying down my own selfishness, is the perfect time to be still and watch for the Beauty that Jesus accomplished when He laid down His own life for mine. 

As my thoughts are stilled, 

as my heart seeks its "place" before Him,

will my ears become

ready?

Can I wait, quietly with Him,

to watch for

His Salvation

even here, even now?

Can I hear the angel's words

about Zechariah's son,

John, the one who would

 
"make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 1:17 

Yes, Lord, still our hearts, 

and prepare us

for your salvation. 


May you be blessed by this Messianic offering of worship:

  


I am linking today with:
Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday