God in a box

I havent posted anything for a long time, because I manage to start a few writing but never actually finish them. I take my time to double check them, re-read them over and over, to make sure it has a good flow, etc. But then in order to meet perfection, I never end up finishing them. So I began to remind myself the whole reason I am blogging: to bring glory to God's name; to be a living testimony of his love; to be a connector between others and God. Perfection has nothing to do with it.

 

God never chose perfect disciples. Tax collectors, fishermen, unemployed, that's whom he's chosen. Not the lawyers, the doctors, the teachers or church leaders. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but my point is... when it comes to doing something for God, you simply bring what you have and he'll multiply and perfect your work for His purpose.

 

Lately I come across quite a few of Jesus' miracles. In Matthew 14:13-21 He fed the five thousand men (plus their wives and children) with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."

 

In John 2:1-11 Jesus turned around 120 gallons of water into wine at a wedding in Cana.

 

In Luke 5:4-10 Jesus commanded the fishermen to lower their net again, and after a whole day of catching nothing, suddenly their net was filled and overflowed with fish.

 

There are many more stories of Jesus' amazing miracles, and each of them is just so fascinating if you really think about it.

 

After reading them, I began to ponder... Jesus is God, the two of them are one. The God we worship is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is the God that parts the red sea and brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He is the God who healed the blinds, the crippled, and even raised the dead. God is still a God who is able to do all these miracles, today, in our lives! But I think we, as humans, have the tendency to put God in a box.  

 

Like when we need healing, we prayed and we expect healing through doctors, medications, etc.

When we need finances, we prayed and we expect God to provide through our jobs, etc.

When we need marriage restorations, we prayed and we expect God to restore through marriage counsellors.

Again, not that there's anything wrong with them, and I'm not discouraging those practices at all. This is not about that.

What I'm trying to say is that we put God in a box, and we think (with our little minds) that God will work this way or that way, through means we are familiar with.

 

I feel like I need to challenge myself to not put God in a box!

I need to remind myself that God can work in many different ways and I really want to give Him some space to do creative miracles in our lives. I want to give Him space to do extraordinary, exciting stuffs! Stuffs that people have never heard or seen before!

 

The day after I ponder about this, something happened.

 

One of my best friends is getting married interstate. I've been wanting to go, but for numerous reasons, the wedding went to the bottom of our priority list in terms of expenditures. 

 

One morning, I got a text from another good friend of mine who knew that I wasnt going, and for some unknown reason, out of the blue, he offered to contribute towards my ticket! I mean.... all my friends are so wanderful and beautiful in hearts, but I have never ever come across anyone who does this kinda thing before. Over 15 years we've been friends, and this is pretty much the first time anyone offered to pay for part of my ticket to fly interstate! 

This is just a small example, but this is exactly what I'm talking about! Just to have some random incidents in our lives that just proves God's love, generousity, and provision.

 

I dont care how small and big it is. It could just be that some random friend decides to give us a cereal dispenser (which I really need at the moment), or perhaps someone suddenly decides to fly us overseas. I dont know. All I want is to give God space for creative miracles in our lives.

 

Psalm 37: 4 says "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart". Not just your 'basic needs', but the 'desires of your heart'.