God is beautiful and romantic, like the ocean and the sunrise. He is Creator of the rose and the walrus, of sex and water, of apples and the color blue. He is life and love. God is the song, the dance, and the rhythm. He is the significance of humanity and the purpose of the universe. He is Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End. He is eternal and will never wither away. God is undefeated, unchanging, and unfading. He is the Magnificent, the Holy, the Just, and the Gracious. His Name is Jehovah. His Name is Majesty. His Name is I Am. He is Ruler of the Sun and Stars. He filled the oceans and separated them from dry land. He designed the human body, male and female, perfectly from the tiniest molecule to the complexity of the nervous system. He is Perfect. He is Lord. He is God. And He is limited… huh?
Yes. I do not apologize for the strange way of ending my honoring description of who God is with my feeble understanding and language. My purpose is to remind us not only of who God is, but who we are. You see, in all of God’s stupendous, spectacular, and righteous brilliance there is a mystery that beckons His followers to participate. God is limited by His own character. Yes, God is sovereign, but His sovereignty is governed by His own character. For example: God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
God in His beautiful sovereignty has limited Himself by giving humanity free will. He did this because it is in His character to love, and love should not force itself; it gives itself and is accepted or rejected. So God does not save the whole world, though He sent His Son to die for the whole world, and die He did. God cannot heal everyone from every sickness and disease though it is His will for everyone to be healthy and never ill. God cannot send an earthquake to destroy California because He gives life not death. Will people still be saved? Yes. Will people still be healed? Yes. Will earthquakes still occur? Yes. But God is not the one in charge of these things. We have confused the world by saying both that He is a good God and that He controls the bad weather. He is not a control freak. God is limited because He chooses to be limited and never changes. Earthquakes occur because the Earth has been deteriorating ever since the fall of Adam in Eden; they are the effect of his disobedience. It wasn’t punishment, it was the natural consequence, or effect, of people not being the vessels for God to work His goodwill in the Earth. People are saved or not saved from their sins and eternal damnation by their decision to accept Jesus as their Savior or to reject Him. People are healed or sick because they choose to accept or reject the will of God (and provision of God) to make them whole.
God told us to pray because our prayers have the power to create and destroy, to give and to take, to bless and to curse. God told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Why? If God was not limited why command us to pray that His will be done? Because through us God can accomplish His perfect, loving will. But if we neglect our duties as His vessels, we restrict the flow of His provision and glory on the Earth. This thought-provoking devotion is written to provoke you, not to anger, but to freedom. Though it may go against the ‘sacred cow’ of your religion, God wants you to know that you have the power to choose life or death, to create life or death, and to submit to Him or to the devil- the father of lies. He wants you to know that He does not send tornadoes to destroy your home or hurricanes to punish the wicked. In the Old Testament God was still restricted by His own character, but at that time grace had not been given through the sacrifice of Jesus. He flooded the whole earth. He brought plagues on Egypt. He parted the Red Sea. We live in the time of grace and miracles still happen, but just as God commanded Moses to raise his staff to part the waters, so He commands us to pray and choose so He can move on our behalf. Could God have made a way through the Red Sea if Moses had not done what He was told? You could say that His power is made powerful through our obedience and through our faith. I am not belittling God. I know He is All-Powerful. But thank Him for restricting His power because otherwise we would all be at the mercy of a Dictator!
So as you live your life this week, I ask that you worship God for who He is and what He has done, and what He cannot do!I Be a willing vessel. If we don’t become vessels of His will through prayer and faith, He may give rocks the ability to sing and donkeys the ability to talk- He’s done that one before.
God is so romantic and beautiful. He’s extraordinary. He loves you and He gave you freedom. Tell the world He is good. Show them. Give Him the credit for good things and stop blaming Him for the bad. And don’t underestimate your place in His Kingdom- you may be asked to raise your staff!
“God, we love you!” “Dio, lo amiamo!”
– Richie