April 3, 2013 … “REALLY?!”

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 93

Passage of the Day: Genesis 18: 11-12 [NLT] …  
11 And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12 she laughed silently to herself. “How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?” she thought. “And when my master—my husband—is also so old?”
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Genesis 18 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Mark 10: 27 [In the context of verses 23-27 after the rich young ruler seeking salvation walked away in anguish to Christ’s charge to give up all for God’s Kingdom; and Jesus declares the truth of His sufficiency in the context of hopelessness.] NLT] …  
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to get into the Kingdom of God. 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”  
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” 

My Journal for Today: Today a very popular catch-phrase when someone has trouble believing or following something is, … “Really?!” Of course, it’s said with a tinge of cynicism in the voice or a look of “Common, give me a break!” on the face of the disbeliever.

Perhaps you heard someone make a positive claim about your abilities, complementing you on what they think you can do; and you retorted, …“Really?!!”

Maybe you heard a sermon or read a passage in the Bible, and you were thinking … “Well, that may be true for others, but, REALLY, it’d never work for me.”

Ever been there? Well, my devotional this morning uses the situation in Chapter 18 of Genesis in which Sarah overheard the Angel of the Lord declaring that she would have a child; and she giggled in disbelief, knowing how old she and Abraham, as well as being confronted by the reality of her long-time barrenness. Can’t you just hear her, if hearing that today, declare, “Oh, really?!!!”

Sometimes it’s hard, in the context of life’s circumstance, to take in the truth that nothing is impossible for God. Jesus’ disciples had trouble taking in and believing that truth even when Jesus said it openly, teaching them to follow Him and not succumb to the teachings of the world – or even the religious leaders of His times on earth. [See the context of Jesus’ teaching in Mark 10: 27 above.]

 So, when times are tough and we’re confronted with the realities of the culture or the circumstances of life, do we cynically think, “Oh, really, God!” Or do we look for God to be God and we pray to Him, looking for our LORD to do things mankind could never believe? When God calls for us – in His word or in His relationship with us – to open the door and let Him in (see Rev. 3: 20), do we do it, joyfully … in obedience, … without saying, reflexively, “Oh, Really, God?!”

Oh, how I pray we let Him in!

My Prayer for Today … Oh, God, … I do believe You can do anything; and I pray I do so when it’s so easy to think “Really?!” … Amen