boxes

But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God. Mat. 19:26 (AMPC)

I grew up in church. I heard all of the great testimonies of what God did, like the time He parted the Red Sea and the children of Israel walked across it on dry ground when Pharaoh’s army in Egypt was chasing them. That is just one of hundreds shared with us in the Bible.

I have no problem believing every one of them. Perhaps I have the gift of faith. Yet others try to minimize or explain them. It’s as if they try to use their own intellect to understand God. That never works! God cannot be minimized or reduced to fit within the limits of our minds! Honestly, it seems like a feeble attempt to minimize the power and importance of God. I think doing that helps them reduce the reason they should accept him and his Son, Jesus.

That kind of thinking, for those who have accepted God and his Son, Jesus, hurts them from believing God can do anything to help them in their own time of need. The times when they need a “walk across on dry ground” miracle in their own lives.

Recently, this topic came up in my men’s Bible study group. The gentleman sitting next to me turned and said, “Mark, your God box is bigger than most.” I looked at him and said, “Are you kidding me? I don’t put God in a box at all!”

Believing in God, as I do, has allowed me to see so many miracles in my own life. Sometimes, I’ll share them in some of the blogs I write. I’m not special, but when I read in the Bible that “with God, all things are possible,” I simply believe it. Doing so allows me to ask God in prayer for anything, even miracles. Does He always answer? No, or at least in the way I want Him to, or by the deadline I try to impose, but I trust God to do things His way.

I challenge you, today, to take God out of the box. Allow Him to roam free in your life. To stop imposing your own limits on Him. Then, take him at his word. Ask for dry ground. Ask him for directions and guidance. Ask, and believe for that miracle that only God can do. If you do, you will be amazed at what He does. And then, the next time you need anything, you will turn to the God who can do anything!

I have moved at least thirty-five times in my life. No, my father wasn’t in the military either. Thirty-one of those relocations took place after I was eighteen. No, I wasn’t in the military. Changing circumstances in life prompted most of the moves. So, needless to say, I know how to pack. And I am extremely good at it. Quick and organized. (I’m not soliciting for a job to help someone move!) I have lived in five different states. I think one of them was the state of “Confusion!”

Here is one of my secrets to packing: place the items you will need first in your new location into boxes with fluorescent duct tape on all four top right corners of the box. This would include towels, bathroom items, sheets, and electronics like the alarm clock. Once the truck is unloaded, set up the bed first and make it. Then when you are tired and ready to sleep, you can shower and go to bed because it is prepared for you. Those bright tape boxes are easy to find. That info is free. No need to send me any money for that professional moving advice!

I have been known to pack and unpack all my boxes in only 24 hours. One fundamental way to make that happen is to live light. No collectibles to speak of and only a few sentimental items, and the rest is pretty much only the things I need to get by in life. Things don’t weigh me down.

One can make an easy comparison between moving and living life. I have seen people so weighed down by issues, hurts, and disappointments in life that they are almost entirely paralyzed. They struggle to move through an entire day. Jesus didn’t want to see people like this, so He invites us to give the things in life that can be difficult to carry ourselves and to give them to him.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me, and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me, and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Mat. 11:28-30 (MSG)

This isn’t simply a well-known verse but an invitation to allow Jesus to take what burdens us, and when we do seriously give them to him, then forget about them. I know it can be challenging because the pain is cut deep, and letting it go seems impossible, but Jesus offers to carry it for us because He doesn’t want to see us suffer. He knows what they did or said wasn’t right, fair, or just, but He still says, “Give it to me.” So take him up on his offer. Stop packing your pain in boxes and moving them from place to place. You will feel better and live life lighter with less of a load.