Handcuffing God

Some try to fit God into a box - the coffin.

Others try to keep Him in a book - the Bible.

And yet others try to limit Him to the perimeters of their minds - their I.Q.

The first say, "God is dead!" The second, "God doesn't do anything outside of the Bible!" And the third, "God will only do things I understand!"

I believe at the heart of all three views is an unholy fear. They all attempt to keep God under control. They all try to limit Him - handcuff Him in some way. How can you handcuff a Spirit?

How can a clay pot manipulate its Potter? But we try! We try because we fear Him. We fear Him, not in a Holy, reverential fear but in an unhealthy, afraid He'll take advantage of us, sort of fear. Within such fear is both a lie and truth. The lie is - God doesn't love us. The truth is both sobering and terrifying - God is God and we are not. He is in control, and we are not. He can do as He wishes and we cannot stop Him.

One of the most arrogant and powerful men that ever lived realized this after God turned him into a beast and then after a while restored him. After his restoration, he said of God,

"...his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'” - Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:35)

Yet in the end, like Nebuchadnezzar, all will praise Him. We will declare,

"Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.

All nations will come    and worship you,for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

(Rev. 15:3-4)

When we try to control God, we are in essence saying that we know better. Such foolishness only begets more foolishness. Such foolishness denies the greatness of God and seeks to quench any expression of His glory we don't like or understand. This is one of the greatest dysfunctions of fallen mankind. We were created to express God's glory. But in our post-fall, poisoned minds, we doubt God's goodness and we hold onto the devil's evil insinuation that God is not out for our good and therefore can't really be trusted.

But thanks be to God who has set us free from the devil's lies! Thanks be to God for the sanctifying work of His holy word! In Christ, we are free to let God be God and do as He wishes. Because of Christ, and the freedom He brings, we can pray confidently, and without fear,"Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!" (Matt. 6:10)