{"id":5900,"date":"2023-10-18T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/?p=4362"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:40:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T20:40:50","slug":"how-god-works-through-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/how-god-works-through-people\/","title":{"rendered":"How God Works through People in His Big Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My four-year-old takes the world by storm daily. There is little stopping him. He believes he\u2019s in charge and everything is his to rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was still crawling, he tore apart and splintered a wooden baby gate to get to our staircase. He believed he would not be stopped. We promptly put the item into the trash, and that\u2019s when my friend nicknamed him \u201cBaby Hulk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This last month we discovered this spunky son of ours has actually been holding himself back. We\u2019ve been exploring the woods, creeks, and hiking trails around our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While on a hike, we stopped to wade in a stream. Since we\u2019re constantly reigning him in, he was shocked we told him to get in and that it was ok to get wet and dirty all he wanted. He hesitated and then, next thing we knew, he wore a peculiar grin while smacking branches in the water and yelling to those hiking past us, \u201cThe water is fun!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God can and will work through our lives in creative and unique ways. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last week we went camping. He whacked trees with sticks, shouted \u201cHello\u201d to the birdies, and chose to run to every place we went instead of walk. His older brother asked, \u201cWhy does my brother run everywhere and get so excited about little things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s small and so everything in our world is full of wonder to him,\u201d I answered. \u201cHe wants to see what everything is about and how he fits into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m full of wonder too,\u201d my nine-year-old stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capturing Wonder: How God Works Through People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we grow older, it\u2019s harder to capture this same kind of wonder<\/a>. Truth be told, my entire year has been filled with mid-life angst and discouragement. Where is God?<\/em> I wonder often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do not take the world by storm. I am not quick to run to the next thing. With fear and trepidation after a handful of deep disappointments, I\u2019m more prone to cynicism and the loss of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that God is here for it all. He delights in our excitement over exploring His creation. He\u2019s also here in the discouragement and hopelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Bible, we can see countless examples of those who got caught in difficult situations. They got discouraged. They were sick. They were rejected by their families and in their hometowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, and when, they were able to rise above their circumstances, it was only because God did something amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTry for Free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wonder Ink\u2019s 3-year, 52-week children\u2019s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How God Worked Through Elijah<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lately, I\u2019ve been thinking about Elijah. During a drought, God directed His prophet to stay near a brook and sent food to him by ravens. (\u201cHello, birdies!\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to be fed at the home of a widow. Through Elijah, God also saved the life of the widow\u2019s son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most widely known, Elijah had a showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. To prove God was the best, water was dumped on the altar, and Elijah saw God send fire to burn up the sacrifice, the wood, the soil, the stones, and then lick up the water in the trench. What a sight to behold!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those around Elijah were not happy with Elijah\u2014or his God! So, Elijah ran away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you relate to the despair and worry and fear Elijah must have faced at that point? He was so downtrodden, he was even ready to die (1 Kings 19:4-5<\/a>). God strengthened Elijah with food and water once again and the prophet made his way to a cave where God met Elijah with His presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s presence was not like Elijah expected. Instead of being loud in a great and powerful wind or earthquake, God came in a whisper. Sometimes I\u2019m too loud to hear God whisper but He can speak to us, and He does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What eventually became of Elijah? Did he die? No. He was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is not boring. He\u2019s pretty creative when He works on behalf of His servants! Though artists have attempted to depict what that event must have looked when the chariot arrived and departed in a whirlwind, we can never know for sure what God did and what a scene that must have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How God Works Through People: More From Scripture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Elijah is just one of many people in Scripture<\/a>. God came to others who were discouraged and ready to die in the desert, like Hagar (Genesis 21:8\u201321<\/a>). God worked on behalf of others who ran for their life, like David (2 Samuel 22:1\u201320<\/a>). God\u2019s messengers in both the Old and New Testament, came face to face with those who did not believe in the One True God and were pursued or harmed for their belief in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these situations did not end in discouragement. There was wonder, and praise<\/a>, and pursuing by God. And that one time\u2014even a chariot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author Anne Lamott says there are three essential prayers: help, thanks, wow. All of these prayers and experiences can be seen in God\u2019s people and throughout His work in the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which one comes last? Wow! Wonder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God Is Moving and Working<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each of us\u2014even children\u2014can relate to the fact that our world is filled with brokenness due to the effects of sin. We all know what it\u2019s like to feel frustration and sadness and pain. It\u2019s good for kids to know that these feelings exist in the Bible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us\u2014even children\u2014can relate to the fact that our world is filled with brokenness due to the effects of sin.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They were even felt by Jesus when He was on earth. His friends died. He was put to death. As my sons get older, and they stop running toward what\u2019s next because they have experiences that give them pause and caution, I hope they will remember how God works in our world and through the people in His big story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that streams remind them of where God sent Elijah to drink deeply in a drought. I hope the sight of a bird reminds them that God provides for our needs, just as Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25\u201334<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope they know that God can and will work through their lives in creative and unique ways. That they fit into His world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I hope all of this continues to fill their lives with His wonder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*You can read all of this about Elijah in 1 Kings 17\u201419<\/a> and 2 Kings 2<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We want kids to know that God can and will work through their lives in unique ways. They fit into His Story and were made for wonder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"How God Works through People in His Big Story - Wonder Ink","_seopress_titles_desc":"We want kids to know that God works through people, including them, in unique ways. They fit into His Story and were made for wonder.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"blog_topic":[27,26],"blog_type":[13],"ppma_author":[44],"class_list":["post-5900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_topic-faith-formation","blog_topic-leadership","blog_type-blog"],"authors":[{"term_id":44,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"rebecca-stone","display_name":"Rebecca Stone","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/BeccaStone.png","url2x":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/BeccaStone.png"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Stone","first_name":"Rebecca","job_title":"","description":"Rebecca Stone is passionate about bringing the church closer to Jesus and creating ways for everyone to thrive in their calling. In her over 20 years of ministry and writing, she has done this by developing curriculum and books that have influenced the spiritual formation of many children, families, and church leaders. Rebecca grew up in Colorado Springs, CO, and loves the life she has built there with her husband, Jeff, and their four children."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_topic?post=5900"},{"taxonomy":"blog_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_type?post=5900"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}