Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. (Psalm 78:41)
God had a plan for Israel but they limited what He was able to do in their lives.
We have been discussing ways Christians limit God in their lives. I believe that the number one way He is limited is through the doctrine that states God sovereignly controls everything to ensure His will comes to pass. I cannot help but wonder what the point of serving God would be if He is controlling everything that happens in my life. This doctrine infers that everything that happens in the world is God’s will.
The first time I was exposed to this teaching was during my first year of college. A professor discussed God’s sovereignty during a theology class which included a personal illustration that included his two young sons. He told the class that God controls everything happening in our lives to the point that if we become a Christian, it is only because He makes us do so. This professor went on to share how he would often kneel by his two son’s beds in tears because it was impossible to know if God would choose to save them or not!
There are people who say God is the cause of their suffering and tragedies. If they really believe this then why do they take medicine to find relief from the sickness God put on them?
I believe that there are many reasons why people teach this doctrine. Some do so out of ignorance because it was what they are taught. Others will teach this to eliminate any responsibility for the decisions that they make.
God is sovereign but He has given us a freewill to choose to walk in His plan or not to. Our choices can limit Him from operating in our lives. We need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and seek God with our entire being in order for His plan to come to pass in our lives.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
God can take any situation and turn it around for good. This does not mean He causes these situations to bring glory to Himself!
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5:14)
Paul is not talking about physical death. He is talking about spiritual death. People who have not received Christ go through life wasting time. We have discussed previously that the word amusement means to be absent of thought.
Our society consumed with the concept of being amused. Advances in digital communications have made it very difficult to find an escape from work and people will sit in front of a television or watch movies to escape from the daily grind. Children are constantly watching movies or playing games on their ‘smart’ devices and will never have to use their imaginations.
Paul exhorts us to “arise from the dead”. If we are going to receive light from God, we are going to have to turn off the television and open the Bible!
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