Last Sunday morning, I settled into my usual seat in church – fourth row from the front – strongly feeling the lack of an additional hour of sleep, all for this predictable 90 minutes of service.

That day was just like any other week – we didn’t have a special programme, there were no guest speakers… It was a feeling that seemed to mirror my life at present: A clear routine of places to be at and things to do, nothing out of the ordinary. The sea of my life felt neither stormy nor terribly still, at least for now.

Some days, I wished that it could be more exciting, that I could dream up more things into existence; on other days, I would’ve been happy with just more sleep. It wasn’t the Sunday service, really. Life was just sian.

My Senior Pastor, Jeff Chong, was preaching that morning. I found myself surprised by what he was saying, “Many of us lead fast-paced lives, and we can so easily go on autopilot.”

My eyes widened and I might have sat up a little straighter. At the back of my mind, I reviewed my past weeks and even months and realised that it was true.

I WONDER, WHERE’S MY WONDER?

While I might not have entirely been on autopilot, I realised that wonder had been leaking from of my system, and leaking even faster because I’d been dealing with a bout of flu that just wouldn’t go away.

The more tired I got, the more grouchy and dissatisfied I become. The busier I became, the more I lost the bounce in my step.

And I missed my sense of wonder. I had been so well-acquainted with it just a few months ago, when I relied on it daily – it was like fuel to me.

Wonder is a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.

But as it is with all fuel, it needs to be replenished, again and again – for as long as you want to keep going. Even – especially – when things are going well, we have to watch the indicator on the tank.

There are so many things in our lives that pick at our sense of wonder – a discouraged heart cannot possibly dance and a soul bogged down by comparison is not free.

Wonder is a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.

So even if our routines are familiar or drab, it doesn’t mean we cannot find beauty in it; it doesn’t mean that it cannot be remarkable.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE WONDER?

I think that the one who can find beauty in anything will never be disappointed. I believe that beauty is everywhere – in everything  – because God is everywhere.

I also think that God brings beauty everywhere because of His expertise at bringing good out of bad. But we need a trained eye to see that, especially when it is still dark.

In the dimmest of situations, God’s presence is enough to flood a soul with eternal hope, and His hope creates endless streams of amazement and admiration – wonder!

“The world is larger and more beautiful than my little struggle.” 
(Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder)

Are you in a situation that is draining the good stuff out of your system and causing you to lose hope? 

Perhaps your life is more stormy than still, at present. If something doesn’t look good – at home, in your health, finance-wise, or in one of your relationships  – would you consider committing it to God who is able to work good out of bad?

Ask God to come into your situation and do what only He can do.

God can see far beyond what we can, and He knows the most strategic move for us to take – even if it doesn’t make sense now.

A long time ago, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi (where northern Greece is today).

God could have kept them out of prison, but because they were in prison, their jailer got to experience the miracle of God and became a believer (Acts 16).

Before that happened, another man was thrown into an even more dire situation: Jesus Christ was about to be crucified on a cross. It was the most terrible punishment for a man to endure, yet God allowed it, because He knew that it was only by Jesus’ death on the cross that the world may be saved (Matthew 27).

God can see far beyond what we can, and He knows the most strategic move for us to take – even if it doesn’t make sense now – so that He works out good from the bad.

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)

It may not be what we expect, sometimes it might even take a long time – but God is trustworthy.

Even in familiar routines, in the otherwise unspectacular humdrum, same-ness of life as we know it now – the presence of God alone makes all the difference.

When you’re in need, stoke the fire of wonder, think of what God has done and can do for you.

I see the world in light
I see the world in wonder
I see the world in life
Bursting in living colour
I see the world Your way
And I’m walking in the light
(Wonder, Hillsong United)