My son is sobbing.
He’s been crying a lot the last few days. He cried when he realized Christmas Break was almost over and he would need to go back to school. He cried when we put away some of the outdoor Christmas decorations, including his favorite inflatable. But, he cried the hardest last night when we took down the small Christmas tree which sat in his room.
He loves the Christmas season and wonders why it can’t be Christmas all year long. For my son, he’s still in full possession of wonder. One dictionary defines wonder as "a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.” This is a feeling a lot of us have lost when it comes to Christmas. What’s even more concerning though, is the loss of wonder when it comes to our faith and relationship with God.
This kind of wonder was the origin point of Sean Curran’s song, "1,000 Names." Phil Wickham, Curran’s co-writer on the song, described the song’s origin on a Worship Together video. Wickham was reading John Mark Comer’s book, God Has a Name, which expands on Exodus 34:6-8 where God declares himself to Moses.
“The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.’ Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.”
Wickham shared the story of the chorus coming to him one day while driving and listening to some cinematic-type beats a friend had sent him. The rest of the song, however, would require a collaborator. So, Wickham shared the chorus and the idea with Curran, who began to consider how learning a name of God is often connected to experiencing God personally.
“When you learn a name of God, it’s because He built a bridge to you…If you’re a wanderer, you’ll meet him as the shepherd. If you’re an orphan, you’ll meet him as Father. If you’re struggling with sins you can’t shake, you’re going to meet him as Friend of Sinners. It’s kind of overwhelming to sing all of God’s names because that’s full of encounters.”
The list of names Wickham and Curran wanted to include was so long that they leveraged the bridge to cram in as many as possible. They shared their hope that those standing in congregations singing this song might be able to point or grab onto the one name in the song which described their encounter with God, leading them into deep and profound worship.
The kind of attitude these songwriters express here is indicative of their level of wonder. Despite decades of following Jesus and many years of songwriting, they remain in awe at the character and majesty of God. It’s from that sense of wonder and awe that they wrote a song about how impossible it is to contain all of God’s names within a song.
“You've given me a million ways
To be amazed at what You've done
And I am lost in wonder at all You do”
So, where are you when it comes to wonder and awe at what God has done in your life and how He has built a bridge to you?
I encourage you to go listen to "1,000 Names" today here on Air1.com. As you do, consider a few thoughts.
First, what names of God represent the ways you’ve experienced Him? What names describe how He’s built a bridge to you?
Second, what is your current level of wonder today? When I internally rolled my eyes initially at my son’s grief over the end of Christmas, I revealed the wonder gap between him and me.
Third, how can you worship God in response to what He’s done? Elizabeth Barrett Browning famously wrote in one of her poems:
“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes.”
May you take off your shoes today and worship the God who has given us so many reminders of who He is.
“I know You by a thousand names
And I'll sing them back, I'll sing them back to You.”
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani and they are the proud parents of three children. He loves helping hurting people forgive others through his Free to Forgive course and you can read more of his writing at scottsavagelive.com.
