When Was The Last Time You Were Astonished By God?

When was the last time you were astonished by God?

This question arose from an article in Faith Today. The author asked the question arising from the story in Luke 5:1-11

“For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.” Luke 5:9 (NIV)

Astonished

One definition of astonished is: you’re feeling the emotional punch of a huge surprise.

Sometimes God surprises us when we are not even looking for it.

Here’s my emotional punch of a story.

In the summer of 1973, my church youth group gifted me a beautiful silver charm bracelet as a going away gift. My Dad had accepted a job in Truro, Nova Scotia, and we were moving from Pembroke, Ontario to the Maritimes.

Jocelyn’s bracelet from 1973.

I had been out with some friends on a Friday night wearing the bracelet, however Saturday morning I could not find it in my room. I imagined I would certainly find it later, so I left the house to start my Saturday. That day an Ambassadors In Mission (AIM) team was visiting in the city to do some street and park evangelism. Another volunteer and I hit the park at the end of town along with other members of the team. I tried to engage one guy with the gospel but he didn’t seem all that interested in what we had to share so we moved on.

God Surprises

It could have been a couple of hours later and we came across the same guy at a different place in the park and once again engaged him in conversation. As we were about to leave, he reached into his pocket and drew out my charm bracelet. “Does this belong to you?”

I was astonished to say the least.

I had never seen this guy prior to these two encounters in the park. He did not go to my school; he was not part of our youth group. I was so surprised that I don’t remember asking him where he found it. But I do know we were miles away from where I had been wearing it.

Regretfully, I never asked his name and my partner, and I left the park.

It was a miracle. That experience has sustained me through hard times or difficult circumstances when I needed to know that God saw me or was still walking with me.

Definitely a time when, like Peter, I too was astonished!

How about you? When was the last time you were astonished by God? Please share this post and join the conversation and leave a comment below. Thank you.

PS It’s Jocelyn’s birthday on August 26th. Please wish her a happy b-day in the comments. Thank you.

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