Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day Nine
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
I don’t know if you’ve ever “thought” about this before, but does God “think?” The question for today not only has God thinking, but also having an inner conversation. What is the result of God’s inner questioning? God decides to tell Abraham what is about to happen, because Abraham is going to become a mighty nation and all – but more importantly, I think, because Abraham was God’s friend (see 2 Chr. 20: 7; Isaiah 41: 8; James 2: 23).
What follows God’s inner thoughts will be a conversation with Abraham about God’s impending judgment of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Tomorrow’s question will dig into this a bit more – but for now…let’s just consider God thinking about Abraham, and having a chat with Abraham. Like friends do…
Does God think about you and me? It is so beautiful to ponder this! In my morning devotional, I came across a verse in Psalm 40 that stood out to me. Psalm 40 is a gorgeous song of thanksgiving about God’s deliverance. With poetic artistry, David describes how God heard his cry, drew him up out of the miry bog, and set his feet upon a rock…put a new song in his mouth… (vv. 1-3). At the end of the Psalm, though, David says this: “As for me, I am poor and needy; but the Lord takes thought of me…” This morning, as I felt weighed down by some things, I was reminded that God was thinking about me. I pictured myself picking up the phone and calling God, and God saying, “Hey! I was just thinking about you!”
I have a plaque in my office that was given to me by a member of a church I served several years ago. Her very talented dad carved this plaque. It quotes Psalm 139: 17: “How precious are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them.”
I have been known to “overthink” things. It is just the way I’m wired, I guess. It makes me smile to think about God thinking…asking inner questions…pondering a conversation with God’s friend.
“Will I keep from Abraham what I’m about to do?” In this case, the answer was “No.” In other situations, we humans are just not ready for the whole picture. Jesus tells his disciples in John 16: 12, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” Our all-loving, all-wise God knows what we can bear to hear, and what needs to stay hidden for now.
Reflection: What do you thinks God thinks of you, when God thinks of you? Does what you think of yourself match up to what God thinks?
Action: Set aside time each day to think about God…just pondering God. Then have a conversation with God.
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
I don’t know if you’ve ever “thought” about this before, but does God “think?” The question for today not only has God thinking, but also having an inner conversation. What is the result of God’s inner questioning? God decides to tell Abraham what is about to happen, because Abraham is going to become a mighty nation and all – but more importantly, I think, because Abraham was God’s friend (see 2 Chr. 20: 7; Isaiah 41: 8; James 2: 23).
What follows God’s inner thoughts will be a conversation with Abraham about God’s impending judgment of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Tomorrow’s question will dig into this a bit more – but for now…let’s just consider God thinking about Abraham, and having a chat with Abraham. Like friends do…
Does God think about you and me? It is so beautiful to ponder this! In my morning devotional, I came across a verse in Psalm 40 that stood out to me. Psalm 40 is a gorgeous song of thanksgiving about God’s deliverance. With poetic artistry, David describes how God heard his cry, drew him up out of the miry bog, and set his feet upon a rock…put a new song in his mouth… (vv. 1-3). At the end of the Psalm, though, David says this: “As for me, I am poor and needy; but the Lord takes thought of me…” This morning, as I felt weighed down by some things, I was reminded that God was thinking about me. I pictured myself picking up the phone and calling God, and God saying, “Hey! I was just thinking about you!”
I have a plaque in my office that was given to me by a member of a church I served several years ago. Her very talented dad carved this plaque. It quotes Psalm 139: 17: “How precious are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them.”
I have been known to “overthink” things. It is just the way I’m wired, I guess. It makes me smile to think about God thinking…asking inner questions…pondering a conversation with God’s friend.
“Will I keep from Abraham what I’m about to do?” In this case, the answer was “No.” In other situations, we humans are just not ready for the whole picture. Jesus tells his disciples in John 16: 12, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” Our all-loving, all-wise God knows what we can bear to hear, and what needs to stay hidden for now.
Reflection: What do you thinks God thinks of you, when God thinks of you? Does what you think of yourself match up to what God thinks?
Action: Set aside time each day to think about God…just pondering God. Then have a conversation with God.
Posted in Lenten Devotionals
Posted in God, ponder, think, reflect, conversation, chat, friends, question
Posted in God, ponder, think, reflect, conversation, chat, friends, question
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Lenten DevotionalsWeird is the New Normal: Day OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisDay 5: Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: Day SixWeird is the New Normal: Day SevenWeird is the New Normal: Day EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis: Day TenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day ElevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day Twelve
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