What astonishes you?
For example –
Paige is astonished by how quickly I can fall asleep (and begin snoring)!
My dogs seem to be astonished that they are going to be fed again today, even though we feed them every day.
My church is astonished at how quickly I can put my foot in my mouth from the pulpit.
And me – One of the things that astonishes me is that Jesus could be astonished.
The idea that the Creator has made us in such a way that He can still be astonished by us is a remarkable thing.
In two instances Jesus is said to be astonished about faith (or the lack thereof).
When Jesus encounters a man who easily believes that Jesus can heal by just the power of His spoken word, Jesus is astonished at the faith of the man. I don’t know that I have that type of faith. I want to! But if my child were sick, I would want to make sure that Jesus came to the house. In fact, I would be dragging Him by the hand, and then bring Him to my child’s bed and have Him heal my child by laying His hands on Him. That way, if it didn’t work (see, I’m already doubting), Jesus could do it again. This guy was willing to tell Jesus – “You don’t need to bother with coming all the way to my house. Just say the word and I know that my child will be healed because of Your great power.” Wow.
But when Jesus went to His own hometown, even though they had certainly heard the reports of Him healing people in other areas, they just couldn’t believe in Him or His abilities. And it says that Jesus was astonished by their lack of faith & their unbelief.
That’s more like me. Maybe you too? We find it so easy to slip into worry and doubt. When life throws us a curveball, when difficult circumstances appear on the horizon, we lack the faith to trust God during the storm.
What would Jesus say about my faith? Or about yours?
Is your trust in Him so complete that you never worry nor are anxious due to your complete surrender to His authority & plan for your life? When we make it to that place of faith, then even when the security & peace we desire are shattered, we are OK and keep trusting without worry, because we know that God will walk with us through whatever we are facing.
Do you cause Him to marvel because you trust Him completely?
Or instead, does He marvel at your lack of faith in His plans and ability?
We need to be like the child on the edge of the swimming pool that fully believes Dad when he says “Jump to me! I’ll catch you!”
How do you keep a childlike faith and trust in God?
