It’s become a common prayer for me to ask God if He has a particular word or phrase for me to start a new year.
I heard no answer from my request and actually had not given it any more thought. My lack of attention was primarily because of the word I received last year. It wasn’t a word just for the year but for the next decade. God told me at that time that the next decade will be amazing! A word spoken over Annette and I weeks later by an individual confirmed the next decade time span. Why need another word when you receive one like that right?
While I was not looking to hear anything else, I did begin to see something for the very first time. I spotted a large red-shoulder hawk in our backyard. I’ve seen hawks in our yard and area before but never a red-shoulder, nor one this large.
It’s a beautiful bird and seemed to linger awhile each of the several occasions I’d seen it during the week. From my immediate research I discovered that it’s not uncommon for these hawks to be in our state, but my neighborhood does not match it’s favorite habitat.
A day after my last visit from Red, (the name I gave my new feathered friend) I took a late afternoon walk at a nearby lake. My thoughts had just drifted towards meeting Red when I noticed something large from the corner of my eye flying low over my head. It was my first sighting of a bald eagle! I thought Red was big but this eagle was huge in comparison.
This bird glided over the lake, swooped down and gracefully touched the wet surface as he sailed across the water. The eagle then soared to the top of a tall distant tree. In my amazement at what my eyes had viewed, I said to myself… wow, I’ve seen things I’ve never seen this week.
And then I heard Him…
His voice…
As clear as the screech of the wild among a backdrop of silence.
God said to me…I will show you things you have never seen. I knew immediately He was referring to my prayer earlier in the week regarding my word for this year.
God told me that this year I will see things that I’ve never seen.
It’s exciting to think about the endless wonders I have yet to see that could appear before me. Drifting into a wonderland can be easy. Who hasn’t had moments of awe and imagination while dreaming of living them out? Dreams can become reality you know. God creates reality wonderlands in the land of the living.
God creates reality wonderlands
in the land of the living
Though you might not have had an encounter such as I, your wonderland can become a reality as well.
We serve a good God. A God full of awe and wonder. A God who doesn’t keep all of that wonder to Himself for His own pleasure. He loves us with a love that is unfathomable. He shares His creation and miracles.
He enlightens His people and carries a positive resume. He desires to give us wonderful gifts…loads of wonder we’ve never heard of nor seen. Things that bring us into astounding awe, smiling laughter, and fullness of joy. He is just like a parent who chooses to love their children with an unmeasurable pile of happiness.
Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change. James 1:17
Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, You inspire shouts of joy. Psalm 65:8
Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. Habakkuk 1:5
What’s in store for me and you this coming year? Perhaps your schedule and plans are already laid out in many areas. Even if they are, look for the unexpected among your planned days. God has ways of getting our attention when we least expect it.
Communicating with Him consistently will help you remain open to hearing and seeing without missing Him. Ask God to give you fresh encounters of His Presence.
Maybe someone needs to give you permission to be like a kid again and let your imagination enter into a wonderland of possibilities. Do it. There…… you can’t say someone didn’t tell you to begin envisioning things you’ve never seen before. Much better yet, listen closely and God will confirm it.
You might be saying…how do you know God will confirm it?…I hear nothing.
He desires to communicate with you. Follow His instructions.
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and He will help you. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Psalm 37:5, 7
A wonderland of possibilities….for you…for me…for anyone who will believe. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word.
While I sit in my favorite spot in the living room working on this post, I look through my kitchen and out its window. There, perched in our winter bare limbed maple tree sits Red. He is centered perfectly in the rectangular pane glass as if posing in a framed picture.
Not a dream….but a reality.
Title cover by Create228studio