Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
Psalms 78:41
There is a doctrine that has been taught which has severely hindered Christians in their walk with God. This is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. It basically states that God controls everything and limits our choices.
The Psalmist tells us that they “limited the Holy One of Israel”. If He is controlling everything then how were they able to limit Him?
“God is sovereign!”
“God is almighty!”
I agree with both of these statements when used in the proper context. The word sovereign is defined as first in rank, power, and authority. To say God is sovereign means that He is supreme or number one in our lives. If this is what a person means when they say He is sovereign then I totally agree.
The problem is that Christians use the word sovereign to say that God is completely in control. I have heard ministers say that He controls everything and we have no choice of what happens in our lives. One of my professors in college took this to the point of saying that people do not even have the choice to accept or reject Christ. This teaching takes sovereignty to an extreme that has caused a lot of pain and suffering in the body of Christ.
The Psalmist tells us that Israel limited God. This one verse tells us that it is possible for us to limit God through our decisions. We can stop God from being able to move in our lives.
I have heard ministers tell people that God “took” their loved one. Statements like this come from an erroneous assumption that we all have a limited number of days.
I have heard people say that it is impossible for a person to die outside of God’s will. It is never God’s will for any person to die of a sickness or accident but people do.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:17
God told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. They did and died spiritually as a result. This was not God’s will and God did not make them eat from the tree.
God did not want them to eat and He did not want them to die. They were the ones who made the choice to eat.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
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Hebrews 2:14-15
Satan is the one who kills people not God.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
Jesus came to open the door for every person to experience an abundant life. God does not control us like puppets on a string. The Holy Spirit draws men and women but we have been given a freewill and can either accept or reject God’s free gift of salvation.
There are examples of the wrath of God being poured out on man in the Old Testament. These all occurred before Jesus died on the cross to redeem mankind.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:13-14
If you have invited Jesus into your heart and accepted His free gift of salvation you have been redeemed from the curse of the Law. Jesus became a curse for you to open the door to your being restored to fellowship with God.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
James 1:13
God is not the author of evil in our lives. He does not take a child before their time and He does not put sickness or disease on a person.
We serve a big God. He has a big plan for our lives. Unfortunately it seems that the majority of Christians never into that plan because of the limitations they have placed on God.
We are not chess pieces in a cosmic game of chess under the control of a heavenly chess master! God gave each of us freedom to choose to follow Him or not to. He will honor the choice we make regardless of the pain it causes Him.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
The first step into the plan of God is always to turn our focus towards God. There are so many distractions in the world today. How many Christians actually spend more than five minutes a day seeking God?
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalms 34:4
If we want to step into the plan of God, we are going to have to turn our attention to Him.
The Psalmist tells us that if we seek Him, we will find Him!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11
This verse is written to a nation that had broken God’s covenant. They had chased after other gods and committed sins that we cannot begin to imagine. The covenant they were living under was different from the one Christians live in. God still told them He had thoughts of peace towards them in the midst of pouring out judgment!
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13
I believe that it is significant that the verse tells us that God is found when we seek and search for Him all of our heart.
There are a lot of people seeking God between sporting events or their favorite television programs. If we are going to walk in the plan that God has for us we must develop the habit of chasing after His presence with our entire being!
I once heard a minister say that we will live without God’s plan as long as we are satisfied without it. There is a lot of truth in this statement.
We all must come to a point where nothing can satisfy us except the presence of God. The Christian life requires total surrender to God. The old timers used to have a saying that has largely fallen from popularity today – “dying to self”. As we continue on in this journey we will see that it is largely our uncommitted lives that are limiting God from doing more in the world today.
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