[If you are receiving an email update for the first time, and are slightly confused as to why, I took the liberty of signing many of you up to get updates while I am gone this year. If you would rather not receive these updates, I’ll try not to hold it against you. 🙂 You can unsubscribe with a link at the bottom of the email you received, or so I’m told. Now, for the real post.]
As a business student in the 21st century, I am constantly asked to think “outside of the box”. Issues such as financing a new expansion, marketing to an emerging market, and generating profit in a declining market all require creativity and new perspectives in order to stay on the cutting edge against the competition.
Last week at training, I realized how frequently I put God into a little tiny box, neatly wrap it with fabulously colored polka dot gift wrap (to give it that extra touch of spunk), and tie a pretty little bow around it in order to present my perception God to those around me. This gift wrapping process allows me to stay comfortable with whom I think God is- a God who is content to move and work only in ways that I am comfortable with. The gift wrapping also allows me to be a Christian that goes to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, hang out with an amazing community of believers, and do the occasional service project/mission trip; after I check all of that off of my list, I call it a day with my relationship with my Father. While all of these activities are beneficial for my walk, I have realized that I use them to keep me comfortable. In these settings, I only talk about the God that I have gift wrapped, not about the God who actually is.
I’ve recently been thinking about why I put God in this box. Is it because I am scared that I will be stretched beyond what I think I can handle if I saw God work in “crazy” ways that just don’t happen in most churches in America? Probably. Is it because I’m scared of what my Christian friends and family will think of me if I start believing in a God that isn’t limited by my perceptions? Most definitely.
Last week God let me know that He’s breaking out of my box that I have kept Him in for so long. (He doesn’t really dig the polka dots, either.)
That being said, I’m not going to censor my experiences while I’m gone based on what I think people will think of me. I fully expect to see God working in some radical ways in the nations. Last night during the discussion time with my house church, we started talking about the Holy Spirit. We began talk about the different ways that the Holy Spirit works in our lives and what that could look like. We ran the gamete from the still, soft voice we hear in our mind to speaking in tongues (one of the reasons I like to keep God in the box, I’m still working on my comfort level with this). I shared with them that
I was scared to write about some of the things that I expect to experience because I am worried that they might not believe me and/or think I’ve gone off the deep end. What I realized is that it isn’t about me and my fears (go figure!). It’s about being obedient to God and sharing with all of you about how He’s moving among His people and creation.
I want to encourage all of you to get rid of the preconceived notions of who you think God is. Ask Him to show you how you are limiting Him.
He is so much bigger than the box.
