Let There Be Wonder by Matt RedmanSample

 LET THERE BE WONDER

“Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11 NIV

We can appreciate without wonder. We can applaud without wonder. We can even adore without wonder. But we cannot worship without wonder. For worship to be truly worship, there must always be an element of ‘otherness’ – the realisation that we are encountering One who is far greater than our minds could ever fathom or our hearts could ever contain. In authentic, biblical worship there will always be a sense of wonder. 

For those with the eyes to see, there is wonder all around us. One look up at a starry night sky and ‘the heavens are declaring the glory of God’ – they are telling us we are caught up in something so much greater and grander than we ever could imagine. We don’t even need to look beyond ourselves to experience that same sense of awe – the exquisite and elaborate designs of our bodies are in and of themselves an invitation to revere the Maker. As Saint Augustine put it:

“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars - and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.” 

And of course, that is just our created bodies – how much more we stand in awe when we start to think about the spiritual aspects of who we have become – redeemed souls made clean by the precious gift of a Saviour’s blood; children beloved of God and welcomed into the everlasting arms of the Father. And so much more besides.

There is much wonder in our creation, and there is much wonder in our salvation. But perhaps the most heightened mystery of all wows us when we don’t just witness the Creator’s majesty and the Father’s mercy in isolation, but we view them both together. The writer of Psalm 8 had a moment just like that: 

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

He starts with the macro and moves to the micro – amazed that the One who laid out the moon and stars in all their magnificence would turn His thoughts towards the likes of us. The more we stand in awe of the greatness of God, the more we will be amazed by His grace. The song ‘Let There Be Wonder’ invites us into that same glorious paradox:

“We’re in awe and we fear Your name, but we will not be afraid – 

For the King in His holiness is our Father and our friend.”

To worship Jesus is to be caught up in a glorious, mysterious and magnificent mystery – one that while we walk this earth we will never fully comprehend. Let there be wonder!