It can be elusive and hard to define, but you know it when you see it…or feel it…or touch it. It’s those wow moments in Scripture that bring pause, when truth reaches past your protective shell and grabs your heart, leaving you better in any number of ways: more resolute, courageous, awakened, convicted, motivated, inspired. In short, you’re better equipped to live life. Yes, we need more of it.
As a Christian culture, we seem to be content to let others—noted authors, pastors, etc.—experience the holy wow for us and tell us about it. We devour their books and listen to their podcasts. This is OK; but if that’s our steady diet, we run the risk of passing along secondhand faith. Secondhand faith is described in Judges 2:10, and it didn’t work out so well for Israel. We need more firsthand holy wow. As A.W. Tozer observed in The Pursuit of God, “the scribe tells us what he has read, and the prophet tells what he has seen.” We need more prophets and fewer scribes. Or to borrow from “Saturday Night Live,” we need more wow bell.
The Text
So, let’s let the prophets of Scripture do the seeing and talking. As you ingest these passages—verses that teach us about the holy wow—linger with them until something wells up in you, until something makes you think, “Wow.”
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law” (Ps. 119:18).
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” (Ps. 19:7-8).
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13).
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Col. 3:16).
“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Think About It
When given an opportunity to “dwell richly” in the Word of God—whether in written form, as manifest through God’s Spirit, or as experienced through the message of Christ—it refreshes, restores, convicts, teaches, illuminates. It alone has the ability to be the answer to the prayers we constantly pray on behalf of our students: That they be strong, resolute, encouraged, courageous.
Apply It
Obviously, we need to dedicate time to allow for the wow. So, why not start here? The title of this column is “10 Minutes in God’s Word.” Let’s make it 20. Reread each passage noted in this column. As you read each passage, personally answer, “What do I need to do?” To take another angle, finish this sentence: “Because this is true, I need to______.” Answer on behalf of your personal journey and on behalf of your student ministry.
We need more holy wow. It can start right now.
Barry Shafer has been in youth ministry for more than 25 years and is the author of Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry (Youth Specialties/Zondervan). As director of InWord Resources, he has written many small-group Bible studies and devotionals to help youth workers and teens experience the holy wow. He lives in Middletown, Ohio, with his newborn son, Reade, and his wife, Jessica, a Grammy-winning opera soprano. Peek into her opera world at JessicaRivera.com.
