Have you ever taken a moment and thought, WOW, God? As I sat on an airplane staring out the window, all I could say was “WOW, God.” As I marveled at the pillowy clouds which resembled freshly fallen snow during a flight, I contemplated the ups and downs of the past year. Only God could give me this full-circle moment. again I said, WOW, God. It’s easy to hustle through life and forget the God, who sustained us. We overlook the One who opened and closed doors for us. No matter how we feel about our lives at this moment, we can always find a reason to give God a “WOW, God.”
The Story: Acts 10:9-48
In Acts 10:9-48, Peter had a dream that hit at the very heart of his Jewish traditions and customs. Based on what he knew, he couldn’t eat certain foods or associate with certain people. He held steadfast to those traditions. That is until God interrupted his whole way of doing things.
In Peter’s vision, God declared that Peter couldn’t declare unclean what He called clean. While this was a shock to him, an even greater WOW God moment was on the way. As part of God’s plan, Peter was summoned to the house of Cornelius. Cornelius, a Gentile, was in the house with his family and friends eagerly awaiting an encounter with God. During this visit, Peter preached Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit fell on the attendees. Therefore, Peter’s eyes opened and his traditions dismantled. Because of the interruption, Peter saw God in a new way.
The Lesson
Like Peter, we can have WOW, God moments. These are moments when He does the unexpected or solves something we struggled with. They also include God opening our eyes to see something new. These moments occur often; however, we miss them because we’re focused on our plans or treat God as common. When we lay aside our opinions, ideas, and traditions, we can see the WOW, God moments.
So, how do we recognize WOW, God moments? Ephesians 1:17-18 provides a prayer for opening our eyes and understanding. Therefore, we can ask God to open our eyes so we can see Him in new ways. Then we place our thoughts and plans under subjection to God. Our thoughts and ways can limit the path God has for us. Therefore, we lay ourselves aside and surrender to God’s ways. Isaiah 55:9 reminds us that His ways are higher than ours. A higher elevation is necessary to recognize the WOW, God moments.
