Keeping Wonder Alive

"On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp.”    Numbers 9:15-17 NLT

​Isn’t this an outstanding part of scripture? For forty years, this pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night was a constant companion to the children of Israel. 

Imagine waking shortly before dawn each morning and standing at the entrance to your tent. As the dawn begins to break, you watch as the fire slowly dims until a cloud is clearly visible. Again, at dusk, as darkness begins to fall, you watch the transformation as the cloud slowly starts glowing until the whole pillar is ablaze. How amazing to watch that day, after day, night after night, month after month, year after year...for forty years!

However, I suspect for many, that it didn’t take terribly long for the wonder of the miraculous to wane. I think that after a relatively short time, many of the gathered company would take this miracle for granted and the wonder of it would ebb away. 
Before we criticise the children of Israel for complacency, perhaps we can can be guilty of this very same thing. God has worked wonderful miracles in many of our lives. We have marvelled at the wonder of what He has done...for a time. Then, like the children of Israel, the wonder fades and with it, something of the vibrancy of the life of God that we felt.

Wherever you are today, whatever you are facing, let God ignite in you again the fire of the wonder of what He has done in your life. Meditate on it. Share it with friends.  Share it with family. Share it on social media! Never again let this fire of wonder wane and keep it burning till the end of your wanderings on earth.

Pauline Anderson