Why Do We Continue to Put God in a Box?

So I am really bad at consistently posting in this blog, but God continues to inspire me and speak to me and I do really hope to post more often. Just putting that out.

Today was so dreary and rainy just like yesterday and days just like this I tend to get down a little bit. Because of the Christmas season the radio station I usually listen to is only playing Christmas songs, and old Christmas songs (if you can probably guess I listen to 104.9 The River). For some reason I am not as pumped up about Christmas. For some reason I guess ths songs remind of the commercialism of it all and the more realization that Christmas is full of idolization. That's a topic for another day!  Anyways, becuase I don't care to listen to Christmas music all day, I started listening to 91.5 and was I glad I did! For those of you who don't know, this is another Christian radio station that also has teachings/sermons.  Today God revealed me to me amazing revelations through the teachings that made me want to ask, "Why do we continue to put God in a box?" Why do we limit what and who God is in our lives and how we can relate to him.

The first broadcast I was able to listen to talked about Joshua and the day that God had the sun stand still I believe after a battle. Now this is a phenomenon that most people have a hard time believing and find it astonishing. What is interesting is that science, yes SCIENCE!, in the field of astronomy, has evidence of day missing in the solar calandar (meaning a day where there was no night). The person went on to say that astronomy professors could not explain this mystery. Then someone told a certain professor to read the Bible. He responded by saying that he doesn't believe in the Bible. Well the person told him to read it anyway and he did. What he found was that the day Joshua commanded to sun to stand still and God responded that it only accounted for 23 hours and 20 minutes and did not account for the last 40 minutes in the 24 hour period that was missing from solar history. The professor was not convinced, so he was told to keep reading. Later in the Bible, it is recorded in 2 Kings that Isaiah as a sign to Hezikiah to turn the sun backward 10 degrees, which accounts for the last 40 minutes missing. I found this amazing! Now, I did a search in Google and there are those that say it's urban legend, but you can listen to the broadcast yourself and hear the evidence that the speaker presents: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/

I just found it amazing and felt inspired.

The second broadcast I listened to talked about David and the struggle with lonliness and depression. What I find interesting is that in Psalm 142, David demonstrates exactly how to deal with lonliness, depression and feelings of hopelessness. I encourage you to read it here:

Psalm 142

¹ I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
² I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.

³ When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
⁴ Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.

⁵ I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶ Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
⁷ Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

I love this because what I have found in reading this passage is exactly how I felt God's leading in releasing pain to Him. If anything, this is to encourage you let your emotions be known to God. Tell him how you are feelings and He will take you from where you are to where you to need to be. Also, by releasing the pain to God, He can come in and reveal truth and give you comfort. You have to allow God in, in order for Him to move! Do not be afraid to talk to God like He's your friend or your mom for that matter. He is a friend to us and he will meet you where you are and is faithful to come to you if you allow Him to and listen for his voice. This Psalm teaches us how to approach God and experience freedom from depression and loneliness and come to the one person who can truly relieve your emotional pain and hopelessness. I know and have experienced this personally and because I have been able to do this God has brought me amazing freedom and joy in my darkest moments, where I am in gut-wrenching emotional pain. Let Him wrap his arms around you, love you, and heal the emotional pain that you have and won't let surface because it seems unbearable. To listen to this broadcast go here: http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio_player.aspx?id=

Hope it's as encouraging to you as it was to me! Just so you know the broadcasts are less than a 1/2 hour!

God Bless Yo!  Love ya'll!

Uhhhmph!

So it has been a long time since I posted something. That last post was from a long time ago that I just posted! Anyways...a lot has happened since then and I even stopped running because life became so busy and these past 9 months have included extreme emotional upheaval for me and I did not feel like myself until more recently, Praise the Lord. Now I am back to running again and as usual God uses that time to speak to me and I am currently in a place more accepting of where God has me in my walk with Him, Praise the Lord again! On several occasions in the last couple of months or so, God really pointed out to me the discipline and pain I am able to endure while I run. I actually embrace it and take joy in the discipline and pain that ensues when trying to get in shape for running because I know and trust that the outcome will be far better than the journey or process. On the other hand, I struggle immensely with the discipline that God tries to instill in me where the outcome again will be far better than the process. Often I reject it and act out like a child who is disobedient to their parent. Rather pathetic actually, if you think about it! Hahahaha! Anyways, in speaking to me about discipline, God was relating the discipline He uses and compared it to other areas of my life where I endure and accept discipline. He was showing me that His discipline is very similar and only for my benefit. I have had a hard time still accepting His discipline. I say, "But God your discipline is so much more painful. I feel like I can't take it and it's just so much easier to stay where I am at...How come I have to go through all this to enhance my relationship with you?!" I am a stubborn woman. People who know me well will tell you that and I like to do things on my timetable and at a pace that is in my control. God has been challenging this in me. I used to get everything I wanted. Lately, not a chance. This year has presented with failure, after failure, and thankfully ended with God's faithfulness in all the matters. God has also been so good in his discipline as much as I have not liked it. I know that God is jealous for me and wants a deeper relationship with me and He is moving me towards Him and sometimes He has to break the leg of His lamb so that she will follow and depend on Him. I was just hoping He wouldn't have to do that to me! But like I said...I'm stubborn, also foolish, and completely incapable without Him!