Yes, He is… but so often, we don’t live like we believe this is Truth. Or at least, I’m sorry to say that I don’t.
In Priscilla Shirer’s book, “One in a Million”, she sheds some light on God and our boxes, and I wanted to share it with you. Remember, I’m giving away a copy of the book. See the previous post for details. 🙂
“Each of us carries around a box that contains our views about God. These are not necessarily incorrect views. They’re simply the ones we’ve been compiling and gathering over time. Some of the things in our box have come from our traditions and upbringing, some from what our church teaches, some from what we’ve read in the Bible and experienced in life. Inside are all our beliefs and assumptions on who God is and how He operates.
The problem is not that we have a box. The problem is that we have the nerve to put a lid on it.
We dare to shut God into our man-made, predetermined, limited notions about His nature and His ability. So, in essence, we stop expecting Him to be to us, or to do to us, anything that’s “outside of the box.”
God doesn’t fit in boxes. He is predictable in His character, yes, but He is unpredictable in His activity. So every now and then, He comes along and turns our boxes upside down. He shakes up the contents. He disrupts the neat little piles we’ve made to keep Him manageable and our lives in order. He hits us with a situation that our theological box doesn’t cover.
And we’re forced to make a choice: do we retreat back into our cozy comfort zones and become disillusioned with God because He’s not working the way we like, or do we take it as an invitation to venture out into a vulnerable spot where trusting God becomes our only sure thing, expecting to meet an aspect of His character we’ve not seen before?
This shaking that occurs is not intended to empty your box of everything that was in it. But as you start asking questions and searching the Scriptures, God will give you new information and perspectives – things that used to be outside the box – and build them on top of the foundation He has already established in you. Oh, perhaps a few things will need to be tossed out as error, but this is less of a sifting process and more of a construction project.
He doesn’t need to take one thing out to make room for another. This is an opportunity for God to grow bigger in your mind, to crack through the lid, to be one yes on top of another.” (p. 49-50)
I LOVE that! This is true for my own experiences with God, and I’m sure it’s true for you too.
When did God blow the top off of your box? You tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine. 😉 The biggest time He blew the box wide open for me was when He healed me. The little Southern Baptist Box I had put God in was blown to bits! And hardly a day goes by when I don’t praise Him for it.
Now, your turn. Let’s Give God and the boxes He doesn’t fit into some praise!!!
Much love to each of you, my friends who have a God bigger than the boxes you’ve put Him in…
Jennifer