Limiting God

One of the books I read early in my Christian walk that profoundly impacted me was YOUR GOD IS TOO SMALL. I really don’t remember what it said but I do know I was challenged to rethink my concept of God.

Early in my walk with God I saw God as distant and uninterested in me. After a few years I developed a pocket-sized God. One that was easy to handle and understand. A pocket panic button. God was a close as a prayer - readily accessible just in case things weren’t going well. Much like a lucky rabbit’s foot. (So, exactly how lucky was that rabbit whose foot I was carrying? Reminds of the good old boy who placed an ad looking for his favorite hunting dog. “Lost hound dog. A great hunter. Mainly brown with some black and white spots. Blind in one eye, missing his right ear and left hind leg. Has been shot twice. Answers to the name Lucky. No reward – he ain’t that good a dog.”) Soon God became a problem because, as I continued to read the Bible, it became clear that my lifestyle did not measure up to what God desired for me. I began the common practice among believers of forming a God to fit my lifestyle. No matter what I decided to do, God was okay with it. Instead of being made in the image of God, I made a God in my image – a homemade God that approved of everything I did.

It wasn’t long before I realized that I had pared God down to a convenient, handy, comfortable size. It was a great god. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a real God. That was the God I informed several years ago that he could call me anywhere but I was never moving out of Louisville. If I had been listening with my spiritual ears I am sure I would have heard God laughing at me. Since making that statement I have moved 13 times. So much for telling God anything.

I am amazed at how many people limit God… tell God what they will or will not do… without blinking an eye. When I told friends I was moving to Memphis to do an interim, they had difficulty comprehending the idea. You see, in Ohio, my wife and I have a very comfortable home in the country we have owned for 12 years. We are near our children and grandchildren. After living in the area for almost 25 years, we have several very significant relationships. I have several preacher friends who have told me that they are willing to serve God but the will not move out of the area. They limit God. Their God is too small.

I serve a great big God. A God who also lives in Ohio and Memphis. A God who is kinder, more gracious, more loving, holier and smarter than I am. So, if God wants me to go to Memphis, I am going to Memphis. Because what God wants me to do is always the best thing to do. BTW, the search committee at Lindenwood Christian Church in Memphis think they called me here, but they didn’t. God did. And since God called me, it is the place for me to be. New relationships will start and grow, God will do some awesome things in our lives, lives will be changed, we will have fun together and the world will never be the same again.

I want to encourage us, you and me, to be careful to not limit God. And if you can’t bring yourself to join God in where He is calling you, at least, get out of the way. Just hide in the bushes and watch. It is going to be awesome.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved