In reading Luke’s account of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, I often see the Holy Spirit’s actions causing people to wonder, marvel, and be amazed. For example, in writing of the miracle at the gate called Beautiful, Luke recorded…
“And they knew that it was he which sat for alms
at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled
with wonder and amazement at that
which had happened unto him.”
Acts 3:10
Let me shed more light on this verse by adding insights gained from reading other translations.
- “…and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.” (Amplified Bible)
- “…and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing.” (Message Bible)
- “…Everyone was absolutely amazed at this wonderful miracle; they were speechless, stunned.” (The Voice Bible)
- “…they were all overcome with wonder and sheer astonishment at what had happened to him…” (JB Phillips New Testament)
- “…And they were filled with amazement and were in a state of mental imbalance…” (Wuest Expanded Translation)
After reading this verse and other like verses in Acts, I’ve wrestled with asking the following question knowing that I might receive some negative responses. Here’s the question. Where has the wonder gone? I’ll go one step further. When was the last time that you personally witnessed something that brought awe and amazement?
I’ve posted the questions and feeling brave enough to plunge another giant step by posting a quote that goes hand-in-hand with my questions. Because of its forthrightness, I haven’t been bold enough to share the following Leonard Ravenhill quotation for some time. In fact, I last used this quote from Mack Tomlinson’s In Light of Eternity, the Life of Leonard Ravenhill in a blog post published back on August 22, 2016.
“Do the Pentecostals look back with shame as they remember when they dwelt across the theological tracks, but with the glory of the Lord in their midst, when they had a normal church life, which meant nights of prayers, followed by signs and wonders, miracles, and genuine gifts of the Holy Ghost? When they were not clock watchers, and their meetings lasted for hours, saturated with holy power? Have we no tears for these memories, or shame that our children know nothing of such power?”
I’ve posed my questions and shared Ravenhill’s water-in-the-face cry. I’ll leave it to you to form your own conclusion as I one more time ask “What’s happened to the wonder?”.
Are we moving so fast that we have forgotten to slow down and live, to actually notice the wonders of God?
Maybe we need to slow down and take the time to seek the Lord in the Secret Place.