Unseen Wonder

Hey there, welcome to this edition of the Our Daily Bread Devotional.

It's written by Mark DeHaan, and he titled it Unseen Wonder. In the twilight of her years, Mrs. Goodrich's thoughts came in and out of focus, along with memories of a challenging and grace-filled life. Sitting by a window overlooking the waters of Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay, she reached for her notepad. In words she soon wouldn't recognize as her own, she wrote, Here I am in my favorite chair, with my feet on the sill, and my heart in the air. The sun struck waves on the water below, in constant motion. To where?

I don't know. But thank you, dear Father above, for your innumerable gifts and your undying love. It always amazes me, how can it be, that I'm so in love with one I can't see? The Apostle Peter acknowledged such wonder. He had seen Jesus with his own eyes, but those who would read his letter had not. Though you have not seen him, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, he wrote in 1 Peter chapter 1. We love Jesus not because we are commanded to, but because, with the help of the Spirit, we begin to see how much he loves us.

It's more than hearing that he cares for people like us. It's experiencing for ourselves the promise of Christ to make the wonder of his unseen presence and Spirit real to us at every stage of life. Now let's join together in hearing God's word. This is today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading.

It's taken from 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 9. Please be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who, through faith, are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Now let's pray. Dear Jesus, it is beyond our imagination that you, the Creator of all things, would love us, would value us, call us yours, and call us friends. And as if that wasn't enough, you gave your life for us to rescue us and redeem us. Thank you for inviting us into your family and for filling us with joy and wholeness as we allow you to live in and through us. It is in your loving and gracious name that we pray. Amen.