My wife Kaity has always been amazing in the kitchen. She has a way of being creative and making things I probably would never think of. I tend to just stick to the basics. Apart from already having a small kitchen, I realized the other day that I had created compartments that limited our ability to spread out and create.
Side note: I’m an Enneagram 1 personality, so I’m always looking for ways to improve things, organize environments, and create compartments. I like things to have a place and a purpose. But I realized that sometimes, the very compartments we create to make things easier can limit our ability to grow and think creatively.
I think we can do the same thing in our relationship with God. We get comfortable with the way things have always been done, the way we understand Scripture, and the way we expect God to move. But the Bible reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9 that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways.
We see this throughout the story of Jesus. Who would have expected the King of Kings to enter the world as a baby, born in a manger? Who would have expected the promised Messiah to grow up in Nazareth, a place that caused people to question whether anything good could come from it (John 1:46)? And who would have expected the Savior of the world to accomplish His mission by dying on a cross? God’s plan didn’t fit neatly into the expectations people had created for Him.
This is a challenge for all the control freaks out there, myself included. Organization isn’t a bad thing, and neither is having a plan. But we have to be careful that our desire for control doesn’t keep us from experiencing what God wants to do in our lives. Sometimes we need to step outside the compartments we’ve created, loosen our grip on our expectations, and allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives.
The Bigger Picture: Make room for God to move because He’s bigger than the box you’ve created.
