Have you had any WOW moments recently?
I had the privilege of speaking at my home church a couple of weekends ago. I had prepped a preach based on Revelation 15 as part of the Exalted series we were doing and I'd recorded it to go online, But God had another plan!
The Tuesday before I was meant to preach I had a catch up with Phil Wilthew, who heads up our preaching rota at the King's Arms. He told me that I should feel really free to change my preaches last minute if God was speaking about other things. It was such a huge encouragement and led to me changing what I'd prepared, to reflect what God was speaking to me about.
I spoke about my journey over the last few months of being increasingly hungry for God's presence and inviting Him to do the stuff that only He can do. I talked about some incredible encounters I've been part of as I've increasingly surrendered to Him and His agenda. And I spoke about my prophetic sense of us needing more awe and wonder back in the church.
I told our church family that we desperately need more WOW moments that cause us to be freshly amazed at, and in awe of, God.
A couple of days later I received this message and photo on Instagram, from a friend:
WOW! How amazing is God! I had no idea that my declaration of needing more awe and wonder in the church would result - the very next Sunday - in the literal words 'awe and wonder' being displayed in our auditorium! Do you think God might be trying to get our attention?
How are your awe and wonder levels? Have you had any WOW moments recently? I think one of the keys to growing in awe and wonder in our churches is making sure we leave lots of room for God to do things that only He can do. It's when we see God move, so that impossible situations bow the knee to His superiority, that we stand open-mouthed and in awe of Him.
What impossible situations are we bringing to Jesus and going after together as church families? The more we're aware of our own limitations and our need of Him to break in, the more we'll be willing to get out of the way to give Him time and space. Without God we can do nothing, but with Him anything is possible.
It's time to be in AWE of Him again and to WONDER at who He is and the incredible things He does.
Christmas is such a brilliant time of year for our awe and wonder to go to a whole new level. Let this truth about Jesus from Philippians 2 stir your heart:
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
WOW! What a King! What a Saviour! What a God! What a Friend!
My prayer is that your Christmas season would be full of Him and His powerful presence and that, as you reflect on the mind-blowing truth of the incarnation, you would grow in awe and wonder.
P.S You should check out marfcreative - they do beautiful Christmas gifts
P.P.S The preach I recorded for the Exalted series was pretty good if you want to have a listen ;)
Wendy Mann Equip | www.wendymannequip.com
Building Family, Prioritising God's Presence, Extending God’s Kingdom