Catching Whimsy: A 5-Day Devotional With Bob GoffSample

Day 1 – QUESTION WITH HOPE AND WHIMSY: GOD IS ALREADY AT WORK

Think about the miracle when Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud to heal a blind man. The first questions the onlookers asked were, “What caused this man to be blind? Who sinned?” I think my question would be, “Why did you just hock some spit and rub mud in the poor guy’s eyes?” What if we changed the questions we asked? What would happen if we replaced some of our initial questions with these: “What is Jesus doing, and what is He going to do next?” This is a small but important shift in the way we perceive what is happening around us.

Sometimes the events in our lives are opportunities for God to show up, and I have learned to trust that He always wants to show us more of who He is. When things have been awful in my life—when there’s been a big setback, when a friend has died, when we have experienced a loss—sometimes it feels like God has gone below the surface, but what I think is happening is that He is on the search for us.

Think of the things happening in your life right now and invite God into them. Ask yourself, is there something God might be doing in this right now? And what might He do next? This isn’t merely putting a happy face on difficult circumstances, and it is not a trite exercise to look for the silver lining. It’s a shift in perspective to consider, “Are the fingerprints of Jesus visible yet in this situation?”

In the opening paragraph of the book of Acts, Luke encouraged his friend Theophilus to look for “many convincing proofs” that Jesus was still alive (v. 3). Maybe you’re going through a hard time right now. What if you were to change your viewpoint to one like Luke encouraged? What if, instead of wondering why things are happening, you gave that question a quarter twist and started thinking, maybe these things are happening so the works of God could be put on display in my life. What might He be doing now, and what might He be doing next?

God is constantly searching for the most authentic version of us. He wants us to let Him know when we feel joyful, or gut punched. Even in the most challenging circumstances, God is at work. And when we see Him at work, perhaps we will get a glimpse of what God will at some point put on display for everyone to see.

Prayer:

God, give me the courage to be authentic with you, especially when I am struggling. Help me to see you at work, even in challenging circumstances.

AMEN.