I went to a birthday party for my friend’s son who turned one. There were lots of kiddos running around having a ball. There were half rubber balls set out for the children to play with. You played with them by flipping the balls inside out, setting them on the table and waiting for them to pop back into shape. A friend of mine started playing with one of the kids and I promise you that kid squealed every single time the thing popped! His level of excitement on the twentieth pop was the same as the level of excitement he had on the first pop. Even though he knew it was coming, his amazement never dwindled.

Isn’t that how we are supposed to view God? Shouldn’t we have pure amazement every time we see God work? Even if we are expecting it, our awe of God’s goodness should never cease to dwindle. I think too often we allow ourselves to become immune to God’s awesomeness and we lose our excitement and amazement. But this is God we’re talking about. Athlete, our amazement over all He does should elicit the same response of awe and wonder -- from His healing a paralytic man in the context of this verse, to the very breath He puts in our lungs.

Prayer to consider today: Lord, let me never lose my awe of You. You don’t have to, but You show me wonders every single day. Forgive me for all the times I’ve overlooked them.

Reflect: When was the last time you were simply in awe of God?

Challenge: Look out your window. Really think about all the things you’re seeing. Write down 50 things that strike you and give you a sense of awe or wonder. (Here’s a freebie…You can actually look out your window and SEE).

Outreach Challenge: Buy a few sunglasses and keep them in your car or your bag. On a sunny day, if you see someone squinting because of the sun, bless them with the sunglasses.