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
Jennifer. it has been a while since i have visited your blog. I have not heard of this book until now. I want to go pick up a copy asap! 🙂 also. when i see your facebook page i get a little sad b/c i know you guys no longer live right down the road from LFC. 🙁 but all is well b/c as you have posted you are right where you need to be!!
Anyways. wow. I feel like God is wanting the lid of my box to be cracked wide open. For me this is not an overnight kind of thing….which i totally wish it was…sometimes it would be so easy if we could snap our fingers and whew…all is done. But until we arrive face to face with our Heavenly Father and know in full what we only know in part…we walk one step at a time on this journey.
I so want to venture out into that vulnerable spot where trusting God becomes my only sure thing but wow…i never realized how hard that is for me in certain areas of my life. I know he is faithful, true, a sure and steady foundation but wow it is like trusting him with areas of my heart for the very first time is kind of scary for some reason. It is easy to just suppress the prompting the Holy Spirit has been working as far as going into these untouched areas of my heart. Which God has seen and known about all along…he is just like "okay Brittney it is time if you are ready to go there with me. We can walk through these tender places you have been shielding for so long. There is no need for your guard to be up any longer allow me to be your shield" I feel like I have been choosing to not go there with him…when i know it will be good and worth it but i just push it off and shove it to the side…anyways…I guess i am saying this to say that I am going to get back in it with him as far as allowing him to get into the untouched areas of my heart.
Also, in this post it is a good reminder to get back to the scriptures with my questions and searching and he will give me new information and perspective. He will transform my fears and anxiety into trust. I guess trusting will become more active than in the past. I feel like if I do not consciously and forcefully take lies and combat them with truth…lies so easily rule my thoughts. (Which I really feel like I am not good at taking the lies up against truth.) But i guess it is a learning process as well! 🙂
wow. okay i just typed a book. 🙂 i love you friend. i hope all is well in MS!
brittney
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That book really sounds great! Loved your post. Love & blessings from NC!
THIS rocked me! I'm currently reading One in a Million! When I read those very words that you typed, I was saying, "YES YES a million times YES!!!".
I so know what she is talking about! I'm so thankful that this was realized in our household several years ago.
We went from a retarded hope to a full blown expectancy that God is who He says He is and that He'll do EVERYTHING that He says He will. WHO are we to limit Him?!! Why do we even want to?!
My brain is spewing out thoughts faster than I can type here.
It took me a minute to get back to comment after I read your post because I was also washing dishes. During that time God began speaking to me about some things going on in our church (southern baptist); which I think I'll have to explain more in a post of my own. But I'll share a little here. The main thing is ( and I had to write it down as fast as I could. Didn't want to miss a thing) is that too many Christians don't want to take responsibility for their own faith.
I'm with ya sister! Hallelujah God is SOOOOOOOOOO much bigger than our boxes (that we have the nerve to put a lid on!).
God's many abundant blessings!
Kela