Childlike Wonder

Mark E. Haskins

December 22, 2025

The crowd went wild as the ball sailed over the leftfield fence.  The audience’s cheers brought the cast back for an encore.  As one, they stood and applauded the speaker’s inspiring words.

I fear we may have lost our childlike enthusiasm and wonder for the things we see and experience that attest to God’s majesty, creativity, and generosity. We cheer and marvel at events like those noted above but when was the last time we gave our Heavenly Father an imagined, or an actual, standing ovation for a horizon-filled, radiant sunrise or for an ocean’s gentle waves that smooth the sands of a miles-long beach or for His peace that is hard to comprehend (Philippians 4: 7). We have allowed the Enemy, the thief of all thieves, to steal and destroy (John 10: 10) among other things, our wonder. We are often deadened to wonder by our incessant busyness, short attention spans, and a smorgasbord of stimuli that scream for attention every day. Both the mundane and difficult things in life can blind us to beauty, stifle our belief in the miraculous, and impose a sentence of taking almost everything for granted. Oh, how the Enemy has captured valuable territory.

With childlike anticipation and excitement as on a Christmas morn, let’s open the gift of a new day with eyes and hearts primed for the wonders God has set before us. Indeed, “The quiet mind, the youthful heart, the perceptive eye, the racing blood—these [can flow together] to produce wonder.”¹ And in preparing ourselves for a daily dose of “radical amazement”², we can find that God-focused wonder is worship.³ I love that thought—appreciating and praising our Heavenly Father for the wonders we encounter is a form of worship! The psalmist David emphasizes this point, and he challenges us to live accordingly: from “far and wide they’ll come to a stop, they’ll stare in awe, in wonder. Dawn and dusk take turns calling, ‘come and worship’” (Psalms 65: 8 MSG) for “the world’s a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes close to You! …” (Psalms 40: 5 MSG).

We can reclaim wonder. We can experience “radical amazement”. We need to set aside our unwillingness to be surprised and our reluctance to be amazed. It starts with a desire and an attentiveness to see and contemplate the wonders before us. Quite simply, what amazes you? What do you see, hear, and feel that speaks to you today of God’s artistry, power, love, humor, beauty, and lavish generosity? Note them, bring them to the fore of your mind and they will find their way to your heart. Naming and speaking the wonders you see and know will foster a heavenly perspective and endless praise for Him. Here’s my list from one week’s quiet morning reflections. What wonders do you perceive today? Let them lift your heart to Him. What do they speak to you about our Heavenly Father?

The Human Body

• The miracle of a healthy baby’s birth
• The intricate, normal systems/processes of the human body
• The five senses—portals for experiencing life
• The gracefulness and power of a world-class ballet dancer
• The human body’s healing capability

Nature

• Snow and rain, sunrises and sunsets
• All the subtle and diverse colors
• The renewal, optimism, and aromas of springtime
• The mesmerizing dance and warmth of a campfire
• Continuously moving rivers, streams, springs, and seas
• The beauty of, and variety in, plants and flowers
• A high-altitude, aspen, mountain meadow
• Camels, giraffes, hippos, and hovering hummingbirds and bumblebees
• Windblown clouds and clear starry nights
• A galloping horse and birds circling on unseen thermals
• Fruit—delicious and ready to eat
• The sheer power of nature (thunder, lightning, wind)

People

• The capability to learn
• A newborn baby’s helplessness and innocence
• Imagination and curiosity
• Laughter (especially that of an elderly person and a toddler)
• The vast number of different human faces and talents
• The sensations of excitement, anticipation, discovery, and adventure
• The pleasures of rest, reflection and remembrance

Relationships

• The timeless beauty and effects of music, paintings, poems, and sculptures
• Acts of human courage/bravery/sacrifice/compassion
• How tender and yet how powerful a hug can be
• Tears that can express, at different times, joy, pain, frustration, care, or relief
• Writing and reading—means of communicating across time and distance
• Falling in love and experiencing unconditional love
• The give and take of a good conversation
• The power of a thoughtful question
• Friends

Science/technology

• The determination and vision of inventors
• Surgeons and the surgery they do
• The mathematical complexity and precision of the universe
• Helicopters, cell phones, and GPS
• Antibiotics
• Artificial intelligence and the internet

And most importantly I am amazed by …

• God’s invitation into the greatest love story ever known
• God’s amazing peace that we can access in the midst of today’s turmoil
• God’s faithfulness in being available to us even if we have been AWOL for a season
• The nudges we sometimes get from the Holy Spirit to take the initiative in a certain situation or with a specific person
• The vision or image God sometimes provides to help us gain clarity as to next steps or a certain direction
• The assurance God plants in our heart about being His beloved and not overlooked
• The desires that fuel us to want to know more of Him and …
• The amazing love gift that Jesus volunteered to die for me and that He did!

We can delight in the wonders He offers each day for there are “… wonders without number” (Job 9: 10 BBE) to behold. Indeed, “the world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.”⁴ It is healthy, uplifting, and a taste of heaven if we “… don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour …” (Ecclesiastes 11: 8 MSG). Like a child marvels at a bug close up, or smiles at the energetic romping of a puppy, or enjoys birds gathering at a birdfeeder, let’s marvel at what is in front of us for it is true, “wonder is more essential [now] than ever”⁵. We are on a journey of discovery with Him. A journey to know how deep and wide (Ephesians 3: 18) His love is; to discover His handiwork in us (Ephesians 2: 10) and around us (Psalms 19: 1); and to find our place in His present-day kingdom (Mark 1: 15). His wonders will inevitably fuel, in part, that journey and bring us to an appreciation of the amazing love He has for each of us. Surely, we must not let God’s usual become our ordinary!

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¹ E. B. White (1979), The Points of My Compass: Letters from the East, the West, the North, the South, (Harper & Row, NY, NY), p. 132.

² Abraham J. Heschel (1951), Man is Not Alone, (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY, NY), p. 11. A good friend introduced me to this Rabbi’s “radical amazement” theme.

³ Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, The Heroic in History, eds. D. R. Sorenson and B. F. Kinser (Yale University Press, New London, CT, 2013), see especially p. 27.

⁴ G. K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles, available at https://gutenberg.org/files/8092/8092-h/8092-h.htm (updated 4-27-22 and accessed 7-27-25).

⁵ From a National Geographic radio ad heard mid-afternoon on 5-13-25, FM 107.5, Charlottesville, VA.

NOTES: MSG (The Message) Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. BBE (Bible in Basic English), Published 1949/1964, in the public domain.

Photo on blog home page with this month’s post is used with permission.

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