I had just finished showing someone my children’s book, Bouncing Beaver Discovers God. She told me that she knew right away we did not believe alike because I believe in creation. That was a very interesting response. It raises a very interesting question.
Do you put God in a box? Or is God big enough to do things the way He wants to do them?
We all unintentionally put God in a box at one time or another. In doing so, we limit how God can use us because we are so sure we have the answers.
Now, consider how big Elijah considered God. He told the people to choose between the Lord and Baal. He proposed a challenge. Baal’s prophets were to take a bullock and he would take a bullock. Cut it up, place it on wood and let them call on their gods, and he would call on the name of the Lord. He told them to let the God that answered by fire be God.
Of course we know that they got no response from their gods. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He repaired the alter of the Lord that was broken down. He took twelve stones and made an alter in the name of the Lord.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
1 Kings 18:33
He had them pour on water 2 more times.
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
1 Kings 18:35-39
How big is your God? We need to be sure we carry the message to others that our God is all-powerful, all knowing, and everywhere all the time. Our God is big enough to still a storm and wake the dead at the sound of His voice. Our God does not have to fit into any box.
LIFE APPLICATION
Key Focal Verse:
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Titus 1:2
Today’s challenge is to ask God to show you where you have put Him in a box. It is so easy to do without realizing it. Before you speak your opinions about God or what God expects from us, be sure you know they line up with scripture. Be sure you can find them in the Bible.