August 14, 2013 … < ?WGO,G? ><

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 226

Devotional Song: Go to this link -  … Today in my devotional journal entry, please take the time to watch/listen to a powerful song sung by Nicole Nordeman, singing “What IF”, challenging us go beyond our selves with the ultimate question about God, “What if it’s all true?!”

Highlight Study passage found in Job 42: 3b [NLT] …
 1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You. 3You ask, ‘Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me.

Contextual reading study of Psalms, Chapter 145: Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Romans 8: 28 [Really! … REALLY!!] … [NKJV] …  
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

 Reference Passage #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 [Yes, …REALLY! … It’s all true!] … [NLT] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.

My Journal for Today: If you’ve been with me, maybe reading here with me over the years, you’ve seen me use a few 1st Century type short-hand symbols to indicate some personal Christian expressions … like my symbol for my signature, which is “ <'wrb>< ” … which means “William Robert Berry is in Christ.” Or another I often use is “ <'KOKO>< ” … which would mean “Keep On, Keeping On in Christ,” my way of encouraging fellow Christians to stay strong in their faith.

Well, above I’ve used another such symbol; and perhaps you’ve already guessed what it might mean from the highlight scripture for my blog this morning. But if not, let me define it for you. It means, “What’s going on, God?!” And Os Hillman had titled his devotional for today: “Things I Cannot Understand;” … and he used Job as his biblical example of a righteous believer who probably has become God’s primary example from His word as to God allowing inexplicable, bad things to happen to people which cause the believer to ask, “What’s going on, God??!! 

But Job wasn’t the only example in Scripture of this syndrome of confusion, was he? No, … there was Moses at the burning bush; and Jonah in the belly of a big fish; and there was Habakkuk, asking “Why God?” in the midst of circumstances he couldn’t understand. And also in the Old Testament, there was old Abram and Sara, who just couldn’t get it when God laid His covenant on them; and finally there was Abe’s grandson, Jacob, who had to wrestle with God, in confusion, trying to get God’s blessing. And then we go into the New Testament; and how many times did Peter get confused, blundering forth with his “foot-in-the-mouth” impulsiveness; … or there was Paul, having to be knocked off a horse and healed from blindness to understand with Whom he was dealing; … or there was Thomas who just couldn’t get it until he could put his finger in Jesus’ wounds after the resurrection?

And I would bet that any who’re reading here with me, like myself, could recall an instance when we were asking, “What’s Going On, God!?” … Are you with me? … Right now, I’m recalling the morning when God used the number “13” so powerfully to break me to my core after He had relentlessly pursued me for so many years? Well, that’s too long of a story to tell (or retell) for you here; but save it to say that God had allow this hard-head agnostic (really, an atheist) to blunder about for over 20 years with me pushing Him away and questioning His existence and absolutely denying His place in my life. My story was much like the dilemma and question which Nicole Nordeman sings about in her song, “What If?” And I hope you’ve taken the time to go to You Tube and see/hear that song, which poses the ultimate question which all must ask themselves, “What if all God has said about Himself, in the Bible and elsewhere, is true?”

 But it’s even quite often the case that believers – yes, even we born-again Christians – can be in a place in our lives where we are asking “ <’?WGO,G?>< ” … What about you?

 Ever been there, done that, and now you have the t-shirt on that spirit of confusion. Well, God’s truth; and all of His promises in His word are there to lift you up with His declaration, … especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, … that IT’S ALL TRUE? And like Job, Moses, Jonah, and all the others, we can come to the conclusion which Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished!” And then God the Father, through His Spirit, punctuated this reality by raising His Son from the grave, defeating death, and inviting all of mankind to see exactly what was and is going on for us to come to Himself in faith.

How about you, are you having a < moment right now? If so, go cling to the cross and realize that you can “ <’KOKO>< ” and be assured that it’s all going to be “ <’OK!!>< ” … i.e., yes, … Okay in Christ!

My Prayer for Today … Yes, Lord, it’s totally OK in You!!! … Amen