The Groomsman’s Journal
“He who has the bride is the Bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to Him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the Bridegroom’s Voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:29-30 Amplified Bible
Week Two: The Bridegroom Speaks About Questions
The Bridegroom’s Word, Written on your Heart
The Bride asks: “Jesus, My heart is cluttered with unanswered questions. They cast a shadow of doubt, blanketing my mind with anxiety and layering my soul with fears. I wait, anticipating Your answers and when You don’t respond to me right away, my mind goes crazy with doubts. I don’t understand Your ways. I wonder why? Why, my Lord?” What has the Bridegroom spoken to you concerning His response to your inquisitive heart? What has He said to you about the questions you have when it comes to His plans for your life season?
WEEK TWO: DAY THREE AND FOUR
My Questions
Me, a finite being created by God, question God Whose ways are sovereign, mysterious, infinite. Oh, this is foolishness. I overwhelm my soul running questions around my mind because I don’t trust God. Yes God is challenging me without overpowering me with things I think I am not ready to handle, but He knows I am. My questions raise a question too, am I trusting God? Is He my enough? If my hope is in Jesus, my questions will be focused on Kingdom purposes and not myself. The truth is not disposable! God’s truth sticks and does not leave me with empty-headed questions. God’s truth is simply-significantly enough. Questions! Are they doubts? My personal insecurity grows stronger and is voiced louder through my questions and actions when it is propped up by unbelief. Lord help me believe. What You say, You do! You said You loved me, You showed it in a dramatic way, in a way that is hard for me to comprehend, a love that is huge. Jesus! Your love is always being and always showing strong for me. Mine has been very conditional. Make me like You, Lord God.
God’s Plans
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God knows me best, therefore He plans to give me enough understanding in order not to overwhelm me.
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God grows me step by step and piece by piece, fitting together the life-puzzle He sees in full.
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God’s ways are sovereign, mysterious and motivated by Kingdom good. How can I truly understand them?
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God is protecting me by withholding the understanding I want now. He I waiting until I can handle it and bring Him glory.
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Gods’ plans are full of His good intentions toward us and His Kingdom.
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God’s Providence has a twofold purpose, He is for me and He is for the glory of His Kingdom.
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God is my enough, He has purposefully planned my every day.
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Our inheritance contains all the answers. God will answer everything we have asked.
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God has good intentions toward us, His motives for His decisions are pure.
“Truth In” Application To My Life
YES~Hold On And Be Held
Jesus says: I AM your Promised One, always and forever! Let Me Be Enough! I’ve Got This! God lets me experience exactly what He has purposefully planned in this day He created for me. He knows me best, therefore He will give me only the understanding that will challenge me without overwhelming me. God sees my life puzzle in full and He will grow me step by step, adding piece by piece as I am ready to place it. If you are overwhelmed today as you start this day, it is not God. Let go and let God. Hold on and be held by God
NO~To Lack Of Trust
My trust relationship with God is too shallow. It is a lack of developed trust that causes me to mistrust God’s decisions. I don’t look deeper at His motives. My trust of God has to embrace the truth that God’s intentions, God’s motives are pure and good towards me. This lack of trust of God proves without a doubt that I am anchored here and shows me that I need to start cutting the ties to this world and become deeply anchored in the Kingdom of God. Is my questioning heart one of unbelief in my God? When I don’t trust Your motives, Lord, it is the measure of my insecurity and I am sure this is propped up by doubt and unbelief.
Yes~Heavenly Hindsight
Heavenly Hindsight is awesome and it also makes me think: I wish I had known that before now. We get upset at God because of the things that suddenly pop up in our lives, yet in all reality, if He had told us beforehand, it would have been a distraction that would be more than we could handle.
Yes~Silently Submissive
The Bridegroom said: “I have filled this God-waiting room with My infinite love, therefore My questioning one, sit here silently-submissively with Me.” The submissive part, I am learning as I develop a willessness in my life, the silent part I have a long way to go. I realize I don’t value the preciousness of silence before God. I need to practice this more in His Presence. I talk too much! I need to turn off the heart valve to all my questions and shut down the doubt that motivates the query flow and silently sit with God!
No~ To Doubt And Unbelief
Jesus says: I AM your Promised One, always and forever. Let Me Be Enough. I’ve Got This. If my hope is in Jesus, my questions will be focused on Kingdom purposes and not myself, I would do better. The truth is not disposable. God’s truth sticks and does not leave me with empty-headed questions. God’s truth is simply-significantly enough. Questions! Are they doubts? Is my questioning heart one of unbelief in my God? When I don’t trust Your motives, Lord it is the measure of my insecurity and I am sure this is propped up by doubt and unbelief. My personal insecurity grows stronger and is voiced louder through my questions and actions when it is propped up by unbelief. Lord help me believe.
Yes~ Intimately So.
Intimately! That is a very descriptive word for a vulnerable place. Am I willing to let my heart be that open, that exposed with my God? The Father God wants a relationship with me, an intimate relationship and He showed the value of this by sending His Only Son, Jesus to make a way for that to happen. It meant that much to Him. Besides, what am I hiding from God? He sees my heart, all of it. I think I am hiding it from Him, I am not, it has always been exposed to Him.
WEEK TWO: DAY THREE- DAY FOUR
Genesis 18:10-14
Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son. The Voice
“FleshOut” My Questions – My Attitudes
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Sarcasm is also a way we question God.
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We doubt and then we give voice to our doubts with questions.
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Unlikely? When things are totally unlikely do doubts rise up?
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Is there anything too hard for the Lord? No! Then I need to act like I believe this.
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I can’t limit God to what I know in this world, His Kingdom is a whole other dimension of huge unlimited potential and power!
“TruthIN” God’s Precepts
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There is nothing to hard for God.
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God’s truth is boldly true and leaves no room for questions.
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There is no difficulty that God is not the solution too.
“Truth In” Application To My Life
Yes To Miraculous Intervention
When I face a situation that is obviously way to far over my head is the first thing I do a turn to fully face God and look, wait and hope for His miraculous intervention, or do I focus on my inadequacies, stir up doubts, paint my soul in sarcastic attitudes and foolishly forget the ONE Who is my possibility?
Focus On The God Possibility
I need to learn to focus not on the possibility that God can, but squarely on the possible ONE, Who is the all of my everything. Cling to Him, not the possibility or the possible, but to Him, Who is the One Who can make all things believable.
Lean Into God’s Miraculous
When I face a completely unlikely situation, my first inclination should be to fully face God, the only ONE Who can make the unlikely, likely. I need to position myself in the best place where I can give ear to His Voice. I should lean into the miraculous edge of His powerful purpose in flow in the situation and ride it out, completely surrendered to God, while He works everything out according to His intentions for my good and the good of His Kingdom.
NO To Shadow Of Doubt
I am facing things that I know I can’t do, so how do I live this out? Do I walk in the shadow of doubt or in the full light of God’s creative revelation? It doesn’t matter why God does what He does and how He does it, it matters that I believe in Him and the Kingdom purpose of His Ways. Asking God “Why”, is doubting His ability to shape me the way He deems is necessary. He is the Potter, I am the clay and I need to be responsive clay in His hands.
Matthew 21:10-22
The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”Jesus Clears the Temple 12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise. Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it. New Living Translation
“FleshOut” My Questions – My Attitudes
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My questions and bad attitudes come out of heart divided between this world and God’s Kingdom.
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A good question and a bad question are determined by the motive and attitude behind them.
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Is my question motivated by my unbelief?
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Are most of my questions based on Why this is happening to me or WHO is God?
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Indignant attitudes spring up from selfish heart motives and birth really foolish questioning of God.
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Am I stirred by AWE or do I question out of doubt and fear?
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Am I as bad as a Pharisee when I question God? Am I indignant? Am I prideful? How can I question the very One Who created me?
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I am the house of God and my arrogant “Why God?” questions rob my legacy of His life. I don’t want to have a legacy of a dead faith doubter.
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Make me a house of prayer!
“TruthIN” God’s Precepts
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If we have a child like faith, we will praise God much more than we question Him.
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If we have faith and do not doubt, then the power of God’s possibility is in us and ready to make all things possible for us.
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To our indignant questioning of Him, Jesus will simply-significantly speak truth.
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God wants to see fruit in our lives more than He wants to hear our questions.
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Wherever Jesus was as He walked this earth or is now as He is with us, He creates a wondrous uproar in our lives.
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Doubt squashes our possibility to have God work miraculously in our lives.
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If we walk in faith, we walk holy aligned with God and His power.
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Faith needs to stretch past human knowledge to belief into the hope for things we can’t make happen or have never experienced before.
“TruthIN” Application To My Life:
YES To Fruit
God wants to see fruit in our lives, yet we spend so much time with our questions that we don’t have time to tend to the growing of our God characteristics. Most of our questions come from a “me motive”. It is easy to see how indignant attitudes can spring up from our selfish heart motives and birth very disrespectful questioning of God. But God is able to handle even that with a simply-significant answer with the fullness of His Truth, trumping our foolishness.
YES To Purposefully Possible
There is no realm of impossibility that we step into when we are found wholly-holy aligned to the Presence of God. God is always with us, therefore His possibility is alive in us at all times. We have to lean into the miraculous edge of His God purposes that are always in play in our lives. With God all things are purposefully possible for the good of us and the glory of His Kingdom.
YES To Perfect Praise
I want to be like Jesus. I want to have the Presence of Jesus shining out of my life so brilliantly that it causes a wondrous uproar wherever I am. I want the faith that does not doubt, the faith that is accompanied by the power and possibility of God. I want to walk wholly-holy aligned with God in spirit and truth. I want to decrease in doubt and increase in faith. Let it be so Jesus. I hope to have perfect praise instead of whiny self-righteous finger pointing! Which do I do? Out of the mouth of one who relies on God completely comes perfect praise. Instead of questioning God, maybe I should praise Him, knowing and believing what He is doing is in process with a perfect end in His sight.
Psalm 85
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. Lord, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel. You forgave the guilt of your people—yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude You held back your fury. You kept back your blazing anger. Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory. Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest. Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps. New Living Testament
“FleshOut” My Questions – My Attitudes
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My arrogant questions are not a right way to talk to God, therefore the light of peace in my heart dims.
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The folly of questioning God is high.
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Reverence should always be the atmosphere that questions spring out of.
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If we are questioning God, we should never question Him disrespectfully.
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Don’t presume on the lovingkindness of God, disrespect is a loss of peace and peace is truly a valuable treasure.
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It is foolish to put our need for answers first over our respect and reverence of God.
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When we arrogantly question God, we miss out on the preparation of our next steps and we lose our peace. Not a good choice.
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Our assumptions spoken out in questions, actually question God’s ability to take care of us.
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Asking God Why is a foolish display of dysfunctional self-confidence, it is a confidence turned sour by fleshy self-indulgence.
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Reverence and AWE of God is stepped on when I question: Why God, Why?
“TruthIN” God’s Precepts
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God will show us His lovingkindness when we have been arrogant, He will forgive us.
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It is better to obey God with submissive wonder than to question Him with arrogance.
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Keeping our relationship with God on the right side of humility will produce peace in our lives.
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God’s right will always go before us, His footsteps will be left for our followship. We don’t need to question Him, we need to trust Him, follow Him.
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I am sure that our arrogant questions vex God, but His lovingkindness is with us forever.
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God will restore our souls to a holy alignment with Him.
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God is near to those who are reverent of Him.
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God’s salvation and peace are near to those who respect Him.
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Righteousness goes before God, giving me the path of His footsteps to step into. Even if the way does not seem right, I know God has stepped there before me.
“TruthIN” Application To My Life:
YES To Reverence
Keeping my heart reverent towards God should be my main priority, even when I have questions, they should be spoken with respect for Who God is. Right living is not sloppy in its relationship with God. There is never a time that arrogance is good. Pride always steals our peace. We will have questions, yes, it is our human nature to want to know. God in His lovingkindness understands our human condition, so much more than we do at times.
YES To Respect
God is forgiving, but when we are arrogant in our questioning of Him, His peace in our souls evaporates quickly. Keeping our peace is the better choice than having understanding. We need to wait respectfully and trust that God has a purpose in what He reveals to us and when He reveals it. God is near to those who relate with Him reverently and we must make sure that our questions stay in the boundaries of respect. Sometimes we are way too casual in our relationship with God and we need to restore the reverence He is due and worthy of.
YES To AWE
God’s Truth springs up when the righteous look up to God in AWE for the good He gives us every day. God is always near, so before I foolishly ask God Why He has done something in His Sovereign Way that did not agree with my personal comfort zone, I need to take an Omnipresent Reality Check! Not only do I have God’s Mercy at my back, I have His kindness with me and His truth going before me. Do I need an answer now? No! I just need Jesus!
The Bridegroom’s Voice is a book penned by KimberlyMac as Jesus spoke to my heart His Kingdom perspective to “flesh out” our souls and prepare us by putting His “Truth in” our spirit, truth which will help us endure this life season and bring honor to God and His Kingdom. The above is taken from The Groomsman’s Journal of KimberlyMac from The Bridegroom’s Voice week two where the Bridegroom shares with the Bride His perspective of our questions. The above journal is my response to the truth Jesus has shared with me from day three and four in our conversation on questions.
***If you are on the Journey with The Bridegroom’s Voice, please leave a comment to share with others from your Groomsman’s Journal. Thanks for being an encourager. God bless you MUCH, KimberlyMac
***I highly suggest you purchase a copy of The Bridegroom’s Voice and start your journey with the Bridegroom, Jesus, listening to His Voice, fleshing out your soul and letting Him put His Kingdom truth in your spirit. You too can have a Groomsman’s Journal.
