God in a box

Today: Isaiah 45-48

There are a lot of people who like to put God in a box. They put limits on His power, love, forgiveness and strength. Some people put God in a box with soap opera lighting--to them, He is eternally warm, fuzzy and happy. In contrast, others put God in a box that says He is cold, hard-hearted, empty and distant. To be honest, I don't think God belongs in either of those boxes. He is an infinite God--without limits. Though He never goes against His nature, His nature itself is complex: He is loving, but just. He is forgiving, but holy. He is personal, but all-powerful.

Take a look at His words from today's passage:

"...I am God, the only God there is.

I form light and create darkness,

I make harmonies and create discords.

I, God, do all these things.
"Open up, heavens, and rain.

Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness!

Loosen up, earth, and bloom salvation;

sprout right living.

I, God, generate all this.

But doom to you who fight your Maker—

you're a pot at odds with the potter!

Does clay talk back to the potter:

'What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!'

Would a sperm say to a father,

'Who gave you permission to use me to make a baby?'

Or a fetus to a mother,

'Why have you cooped me up in this belly?'"
Thus God, The Holy of Israel, Israel's Maker, says:

"Do you question who or what I'm making?

Are you telling me what I can or cannot do?

I made earth,

and I created man and woman to live on it.

I handcrafted the skies

and direct all the constellations in their turnings..."

When I read this, I realize how absurd it is for me to try and put limitations on a limitless God. It's silly for me to try and tell Him how my life and world should run...when He's the one who made me and set this world in motion. If he can craft the skies, He can definitely craft my destiny. If He can provide directions for the stars, surely He can provide some direction for my life.

My life may be composed of both discords and harmonies...and someday, perhaps I'll realize that the discords were designed as much as the melodies. Who am I to try and compose my life as a solo--when it's supposed to be a symphony created by a master composer?