# 48 "The Go and No Go's of God

The Book of Genesis Day 48 Ge 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. I want to spend a little time on the phrase, “it came to pass.” Did you know that this phrase shows up 452 times in the King James Bible? 452 times! It would seem to me that the Holy Spirit is striving to make a point here! The phrase is almost always used as a way of ushering in an important occurrence or event. In this case, the important event is an offering. It’s the first mention of an offering to the Lord in Scripture. The word “offering” means “apportion” and we get our first hint of a tithe in the Bible. Cain “apportioned” a part of His crop and offered it to God. Just think about the phrase for a moment. In order for something to “come to pass,” it has to arrive at a point where it is “go” or “no go.” Many things “come” to God and to the Throne Room, but not all things come to pass. 452 times in the Bible we read of situations where God in His omniscience, (all knowing) and in His omnipotence (all powerful) either sets things up or allows them to move on to where He needs them to be, to carry out His good and gracious will. It came to pass, it came to a time when God allowed it or didn't allow it. How can this knowledge of “it came to pass” be useful for you and I? Well. you've heard it said perhaps, that God answers prayer in three ways: Yes, no, or not yet. Well we are reminded of this fact 452 times in Scripture. It is just as the Bible states in Ro 8:28 “And we know that all things (I might add, that “come to pass”) work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Once armed with this knowledge and the sincerely held belief that “Father knows best,” we can than learn to live like thankful people, for to live thankfully, is the will of God. 1Th 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We are thankful for everything, because “everything” is what God has allowed to “pass.” We have a good and gracious God, and we can be certain that anything that He allows to come to pass in our lives will ultimately serve a good and gracious purpose. We may not ever see it or understand it this side of heaven, but one day when we are in glory, standing on the sea of glass, we shall see, and it will give us even more cause to fall down and worship and praise His holy name. When unpleasant events and tragedies occur in our personal lives or the lives of others we sometimes find ourselves shaking our fist at God and wondering, “Why did You allow these things to pass?” It's an honest response and let me assure you, “God's not afraid of your honesty.” But one thing we should also consider is those things that we are not aware of, that God did not allow to pass! Sometimes I shudder to think of the things that COULD have happened in the wild days of my unconverted and foolish youth. I wonder how many times I put the Lord my God to the “pass or not pass” test. I wonder how many times many of you did the same thing! I believe one of the great things about heaven, is that all these things will be revealed to us. We will see what God allowed to pass and what HE did not allow to pass, and we will become keenly aware of His love and wisdom, which will stimulate even more worship (praise and thanksgiving) in heaven. Reflect: What are some important things in your life that “came to pass?” How have you seen God’s hand of protection in your own life? Have you ever had a bad thing happen to you only to see it turn out good later on? Pray: Father, thank You for this reminder of your all knowing power and sovereignty. Help me to learn to be thankful in all circumstances. Amen.