Wonder and Wander

I am a lover of words.

And it is no doubt that when I saw these two words together I couldn’t help but think of what sort of correlation they had with one another… if any.

Wonder and Wander.

By definition the word Wonder means = to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel; to be curious to know.
The word Wander, according to the dictionary, means = to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray; to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander; to stray from a path, place, companions.

Wonder and Wander.  Different by one little letter nestled neatly there in both words.

And yet I am curious….

Psalm 86:10 says, “For you are great and perform deeds of wonder.  You alone are God.”

Psalm 98:1 says, “Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has done wonderful deeds.”

And then there’s Joshua 3:5 that says, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.”  Ahh… to have Joshua faith!!

Oh and it’s the heart’s natural habit to wander.  Psalm 119:10 says, “I have tried hard to find you - don’t let me wander from your commands.”

And what about those Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years.  Had they allowed themselves to grow cold to all they witnessed God do?

Cold to their own WONDER of who He was?

And so maybe that’s it!

We WANDER off from our deep communion with Him only when we fail to remain in WONDER of all He has done.

Oh He has been so much kinder than He’s ever needed to be!
OH he has done more for us than we deserve!

If we would just stay in wonder of the miracle of grace, we would not be prone to wander from His presence.