Have you ever gone on vacation and wanted to try to fit everything in one suitcase? So you start out placing things nice and neat and accepting the beautiful packing job you have created. Socks are rolled up and placed IN the shoes. Belts are circling the inside edge of the suitcase to take up less room. Things are fitting nicely.
Then you realize you still need to add the toiletry bag. So you shove that in there. Move over shoes… here comes the hair dryer… and his buddy, the curling iron. Doggone it! I forgot to pack the beach towel and sun screen. Scoot over nicely-folded shorts and make room for the beach bag!
You push and shove and zip a l-I-t-t-l-e bit. Then you decide to place your arm on the top of the suitcase and push down with all your might WHILE you zip a little bit more. Then at last you sit on the top and maneuver your hands to make the zipper pull together those little teeth that keep things secured tightly in the suitcase. You tug and pull and finally!!! All zipped up tight. Then pop…pop…pop. The zipper breaks and all your stuff that was shoved inside now peeks OUTSIDE of the zippered top.
Sometimes I believe that’s how we treat God. We pack Him nicely away in a little box thanking Him for how neat and orderly things may be going in our lives at that moment. Then we sort of forget about Him and keep placing things on top of Him – other priorities in our every day life. We shove and tug and try to keep Him in that box because we have our own way of doing things. We think we know a better plan than He does. He may not do it right – at least the way we think is right.
Then BAM – He blows our little plans wide open with a much bigger plan. He overtakes the other ideas and shows Himself fully to us and reminds us that He is not to be kept in a box. He is not limited to only a small amount of space. He thinks BIG and He gets it done – His way!
Isaiah 55: 8 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
God has bigger plans for us. God has a much cooler way to answer our requests than we can even imagine. Let’s quit trying to cram him in this little space and think He can only do so much. We have to believe His ways are better because I’m here to tell you – if we put Him in a suitcase, He’s gonna pop that zipper wide open!!
