Music: "I Wonder as I Wander" by Dawn Dyson (original lyrics by Annie Morgan)
“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things” (Psalms 72:18, KJV).
God does only the wondrous things so that we wonder about Him continually, as we walk through this world. He is always “over our head” but He loves us enough to “give us our daily bread” like manna raining from the sky—a day-by-day download of His revelation, directly from Him to us, which fuels our faith—the substance that we live on (see Hebrews 10:38, AMPC; Hebrews 11:1, KJV).
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9, KJV).
“Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread...” (Matthew 6:9-13, AMPC).
Faith is a mystery, a journey, a walk—with Him. We get it wrong when we try to do it apart from Him. Moreover, there is no way to get ahead of God or lag behind God; we only progress in this life when we are right there in step with Him and His holiness—this is the art of contentment, from day to day, decade to decade. We look to His face and it lights our way. He wants to hold your hand:
“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:13, NASB).
He will reach out for your hand; He will walk beside you; He will help you with a miraculous and practical, “right on time” Divine help.
When we “meditate on His Word day and night,” we are talking with Jesus (see Joshua 1:8). We are wondering about His wonderous things. As we are so enthralled, there can be very little room left over, if any, for frivolous, temporal worry about passing things.
The mind is designed to thrive when it contemplates the things of God,
and spin out and atrophy when it entertains the useless things of the world.
God will get His will done, through us. We simply choose to think about Him, contemplate His ways, seek Him in His Word and in His sky—every moment of every day, until that last time when we will see Him face-to-face and have no more questions.
“And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23, KJV).
He is our Companion. What a wonderous thing. He is everywhere; there is no place on earth we can go that He is not. Consider this verse, and recognize Who is guarding and fueling your faith until the last day:
“Born anew into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that [final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time” (1 Peter 4-5, AMPC).
If it were up to us, our faith would fail. But, ahead of time, Christ has already prayed for us (see Luke 22:31-32). God is already providing us with the measure of faith we need. He guards it watchfully.
God is a good, attentive,
"far smarter than we are" God.
To be a disciple means to discipline the heart, soul and mind. Some people are ate up with worry, and consumed with lovelessness, but the clue is not our own intelligence, which He will frustrate (see 1 Corinthians 1:19). Rather, the key is to run our minds along the content of the Word, engaged with God’s Presence—in this habit is soundness, purpose, love and peace of mind. He has us so carefully designed and expertly crafted, that without Him in first place, we perish; we become dry souled like the wilderness we are surrounded by—this ingenious design is for our own Eternal good (see Exodus 20:3, KJV). It is an insurance policy for our faith, a guarantee that we will seek Him all our life. And what a rich life we miss when we rebel from this perfect pattern.
When people run out of love, and shortly thereafter, the will to live, we must ask God for His intervention. Like Christ intercedes for us, we must intercede for others. He is willing and able to help us with this Old/New Testament, Eternal command:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31, KJV).
God has made His people to have a heart full of love, and also to have a sound mind here regardless of the era in which we are born. This is achieved by thinking about Him, letting His power fuel our faith, and trusting Him on the path ahead.
Keep a youthful heart and mind full of wonder.
God will not lead you wrongly.
Rather, He will AMAZE you by how He sets all things RIGHT.
Like Peter, we may get weak in the knees when we step out on the water of faith. But also like Peter, Jesus is with us to hold our hand, pull us up, and cause us to succeed in the fine art of belief, in spite of ourselves. It is not that the world’s decrees are breaking us; but that God’s laws break natural laws to pieces, and will cause them to come to nothing.
Christ is our ROCK.
Remember, if a life of faith were perceptually easy, everyone would do it. It is challenging. It takes psychological surrender, it takes experience, endurance and time with God, but He makes it easy through His LOVE (see Matthew 11:28-30). Through a wonderous, vast, romantic, epic, detailed, tailored LOVE LIKE THAT, we will walk with Him anywhere, see all that He wants us to see, and know Him above all else. All He requires is our trust; for us to hold onto His hand, too.
A life well lived is a wonderous phenomenon,
achieved only through Divine Companionship.
He wants to be your Lord, yes, but also your Best Friend, closer than a brother. He wants to always be, and always has been, a friend of the quality that would die for you. Indeed, He already has.., to secure the life of you. He has planned for this Relationship with you far ahead of time and paved it with His Own sacrifice.
Do not ever consider yourself of low value.
He has been expecting you. All these many generations, He has been seeking your face. He wants you, to the point that if you deny Him, it deeply grieves His Spirit.
If a Christian does not spend daily time with the Love of their Life, the bread dwindles and the faith, the heart, and the mind atrophy. Christ alone came to heal the brokenhearted. The Church needs you; the Kingdom of God wants you—you have a role, you play a part, integral to God's great plan. Simply commit to see it, to fulfill it, to live it. Simply stay with the Love of your Life, stride by stride, every day. Spend time waiting on God, every day, seeking His new, fresh, valuable Presence, and the miraculous will occur.
Many people ask, How do you know the Bible is true? One answer is that it works. It lasts. It continues to work, no matter what problem a person encounters. It does not change. Everything is forewritten—everything about the world/universe is forewritten; all times are forewritten; everything about one's singular and private life is forewritten, from the macro events throughout history to the most micro nuances of the human spirit. Mankind could never have invented this Book on mankind's own, not with all devices contrived, not in millions of years, not with all the money in the world. No, only God could have written this Book—the scale and the scope of it is indescribable. It includes all the wisdom of life itself, from beginning to end, to after. Without it, we are miserable creatures. With it, we have motivation without end. Try it, read it, apply it, and you will see.
Once we are here, we are never gone. Eternal life will happen. Christians simply want everyone to have such a love forever. This is why we continue to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the ages. One by one, He saves. There is no one like Him. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please know, He is expecting you, too.
God bless you.
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19, KJV).
And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you (Philippians 4: 7-9, AMPC).
Accept Christ as your Savior today, why put it off?
PRAYER OF SALVATION and FREE SALVATION BOOKLET: https://www.dawndyson.com/ministry
SOURCES/NOTES:
"I Wonder as I Wander" is the song title of an American, Christian folk hymn (1933).
History of the Song: “While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, [author, John Jacob] Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police. In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song:
A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins. ... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.
The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance” (I Wonder as I Wander, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wonder_as_I_Wander).
Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dawn-dyson/episodes/I-Wonder-as-I-Wander-e25rr2q/a-aa0vhdr Artist, Dawn Dyson (original lyrics by Annie Morgan)
Video: (Classical) Artist, Megan Gallagher, Westminster Williamson Voices (Jordan, J., Cond.): https://youtu.be/aw_bNM2InDw
Video: "I Wonder as I Wander" by Dawn Dyson (original lyrics by Annie Morgan): https://youtu.be/rf4nLwhLk94
TOPIC OF INTERCESSION: This post touches upon the topic of "intercession," or praying to the Lord on behalf of others, that He would reach, save, heal, and restore them. We were once part of the darkness, but Christ saved us:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you”
Ephesians 5:8-14(NIV).
This is why it is important to pray on behalf of others, just as, very likely, someone prayed for you when you needed to be Saved. Certainly, Christ did and continues to. Let's join Him in fervent, intercessory prayer on behalf of lost souls.
BIBLE TRANSLATIONS:
Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC),Copyright © 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
King James (KJV), public domain.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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