God Is Not Confined
by Brandy Webb
I am so thankful that my God is not confined to human boxes. I am thankful that He isn’t limited to our abilities. I am thankful that no matter what I am going through, my God is bigger. Now, all I have to do is remember this when trials seem to want to make me forget.
It is so easy to let trials decrease our faith. When we are facing an obstacle that we alone cannot fix, we need to not make the mistake of forgetting that a lot of times it isn’t our job to fix it. It is God’s job. He doesn’t need our help to set things right.
Abraham stirring pot over open fire, three visitors sitting on rug, Sarah standing nearby, Book of Genesis
Look at Abraham and Sarah for example. Abraham was promised descendants that outnumbered the stars in the sky, but there was one major problem; Sarah was barren (Gen 15:5). Therefore, after many years of waiting for a child, they took matters in their own hands. We all know the story. Abraham had relations with Hagar and had Ishmael (Gen 16). The only problem with this is that it wasn’t God’s plan. He doesn’t live by our human rules. It didn’t matter that Sarah was barren because He is powerful enough to open her womb. I believe that one reason He waited until Sarah was beyond childbearing age before allowing her to become pregnant was to prove to them that nothing is impossible with God (Gen 18:14).
I am reminded every time I read their story about how powerful our God is. He made the impossible possible. He isn’t confined to scientific rules. He is the Creator of everything out of nothing. There is not a box in existence that can confine our God.
Therefore, when we face things that are impossible for us to solve, we must remember that it isn’t impossible for God. We need to rejoice and be thankful that we have a loving God that cares about us. It doesn’t mean that He is always going to intervene and make things easier. It doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer pain. We have to be honest with ourselves about the fact that the greatest people in the Bible are the ones who suffered a lot, but they continued to live in faith. They did not let their trials stop them from giving thanks to God.
We live in an imperfect world, but we have a perfect Father and Savior, who promise that all things work for good. It isn’t a guarantee, though, that how it works for good will happen in our lifetime. We may have to wait until the Kingdom of God to find out how everything worked for good. Yet, in the meantime, we need to acknowledge that trials make us stronger. They teach us how God comforts us. They give us opportunities to rely on Him. They strengthen our faith and our hope. They build up endurance so that we “may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). They give us a chance to see God’s hands move in miraculous ways.
So, if you are facing something right now that is overwhelming, be thankful that you have a God that can see you through the storm. He also understands your pain, and He can make something beautiful from the storm. You never know, you may end up being the rainbow at the end of the storm.