Delighted Wonder!
God's unchanging nature and character ensure that He will always act in ways that reflect His love, justice, and mercy, leading to a sense of delighted wonder in those who encounter Him.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the unchanging nature of God, who acts consistently according to His character, yet remains infinitely beyond our full understanding. He highlights that despite our efforts to know God, we are continually met with 'delighted wonder' at His astonishing actions that exceed our expectations. God's limitless knowledge and wisdom allow Him to operate beyond our rational comprehension, making His movements unpredictable yet always rooted in love, justice, and mercy. Tozer encourages believers to embrace the mystery of God's ways, recognizing that every encounter with Him brings a deeper sense of awe and amazement.
Text
God always acts like Himself, wherever He may be and whatever He may be doing; in Him there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Yet His infinitude places Him so far above our knowing that a lifetime spent in cultivating the knowledge of Him leaves as much yet to learn as if we had never begun. God's limitless knowledge and perfect wisdom enable Him to work rationally beyond the bounds of our rational knowing. For this reason we cannot predict God's actions as we can predict the movements of the heavenly bodies, so He constantly astonishes us as He moves in freedom through His universe.
So imperfectly do we know Him that it may be said that one invariable concomitant of a true encounter with God is delighted wonder.
No matter how high our expectation may be, when God finally moves into the field of our spiritual awareness we are sure to be astonished by His power to be more wonderful than we anticipate, and more blessed and marvelous than we had imagined He could be. Yet in a measure His actions may be predicted, for, as I have said, He always acts like Himself. Since we know, for instance, that God is love, we may be perfectly sure that love will be present in His every act, whether it be the salvation of a penitent sinner or the destruction of an impenitent world. Similarly we can know that He will always be just, faithful, merciful and true.
Sermon Outline
- God's Unchanging Nature
- Limitations of Human Knowledge
- God's Rational Actions
- Encountering God with Delighted Wonder
- One concomitant of a true encounter with God
- Delighted wonder is a sure outcome
Key Quotes
“God always acts like Himself, wherever He may be and whatever He may be doing; in Him there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning.” — A.W. Tozer
“One invariable concomitant of a true encounter with God is delighted wonder.” — A.W. Tozer
“No matter how high our expectation may be, when God finally moves into the field of our spiritual awareness we are sure to be astonished by His power to be more wonderful than we anticipate,” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should approach God with a sense of awe and wonder, expecting to be astonished by His power and majesty.
- We can trust that God's actions will always reflect His character and nature, even if we can't predict them.
- A true encounter with God will always leave us with a sense of delighted wonder and a deeper appreciation for His love and mercy.