How Long Has It Been? | AllWorship.com

How long has it been since you let yourself be amazed by God? Have you ever? If not, don’t beat yourself up. I am not saying this is all right. It is not. Just do not put yourself under condemnation. Understand? I will talk more about that in a moment.

We live in such a fast pace in today’s world that we seldom take time to be amazed at anything. We no longer ponder things. We no longer go to quiet places and just “be”. We no longer let ourselves be aware of what we are not consciously aware of. This is an abandoned skill, an untapped resource, a lost art, as it were–and a sad loss it is!

As a child, I went to the woods a lot. It was my safe place from the abuse of my mother. Deep in those woods, there was a patch of soft, springy moss maybe seventy feet by seventy feet that I called the Moss Gardens. It made a great bed to just lie and … do nothing.

As I lay there, surrounded by woods, at first nothing would appear different. In time, however, I would begin to hear things I had not heard before (typically about twenty to thirty minutes). I heard birds answering each other in song, of which I was previously unaware. I heard insects doing their scratchy, buzzy, hoppy, chirpy life-things. I heard birds digging through fallen leaves for bugs. I heard breezes in the tops of the trees coming from a long way off, working their way through the treetops above me, playing with them gently, and then moving on.

Why was I unaware of these at first? My senses had to reorient and recalibrate to hear what I had unconsciously filtered out. Those sounds were there all along; I had just conditioned myself to be unaware of them. I discovered that the more I did this, the quicker I reached the peace to hear what I previously did not.

It was in such times that I more intimately connected with God and got my mind quieted enough to reorient my spiritual senses, to begin hearing with “other ears”. In such times I was more amazed at all God is. I was more aware of my interaction with Holy Spirit and better able to talk to Jesus as a person (and my friend) rather than a religious figure. Though it has been decades since then, you hear the result of this in the way I write and pray in Today’s Seed messages.

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. (Luke 9:43-45 NIV)

What struck me in today’s Scripture passage is that “they were all amazed at the greatness of God.” This is profound, so, let me ask you: When was the last time you were amazed at the greatness of God?

Have you ever? I admonished you above not to beat yourself up if not. I said this because most of us were never taught to be amazed by the greatness of God. To put it simply: We don’t know how. You don’t know what you don’t know until you become aware that you don’t know it. Do not condemn yourself for not doing what you did not know to do or know how to do.

But that was then. This is now. And now, today, from this moment on, you are aware of what you previously did not know. Being aware now that you have not been amazed by God should be a humbling thing. Being aware that you have not taken time to be amazed by Him, to be intimate with Him, and to communicate with Him as a friend speaks with a friend should strike your heart with grief (genuine grief, not condemnation).

Some may think, “This doesn’t apply to me.” That is a decision only you can make. I for one freely admit that though I have been pursuing such a relationship with God for decades, I still have so much to learn that there is no question in my mind that it applies to me even as I write this. This is why I assume it applies to all of us. That said, I will go on to close.

Jesus said in verse 44 “It was hidden from them so that they did not grasp it.” There is so much we fail to grasp! This idea of not being amazed by God because we have not allowed ourselves to be amazed is one of those ‘You don’t know what you don’t know until you become aware that you don’t know it.’ things.

But now you know. Now, it is up to you to accept this or reject this. Now, you must choose to act on it, or, if you do not, you have chosen NOT to act on it. And that, my friend, is ultimately a rejection of God. It is up to you to make an intentional decision to take time to reorient your spiritual awareness and grow in intimacy in your relationship with God … or don’t.

Are you aware of what I have done today? I have taken away your innocence. You no longer ‘don’t know what you don’t know’. Now, you are aware. And because you are now aware, you must make a decision. You WILL make a decision one way or another. So … what will it be?

I close with an FYI: Do not expect to get all mushy-gushy with God all at once. Relationships take time, and that is what you will be building with Him. Like any relationship, begin small, where you are, and where you can. BUT BEGIN! OK?

Now you know. How long will it be? Today is a good day …