Letting God Be God

In His image God created me but then I went out and created God in the image I am most comfortable with. So as a creator I daily work to fashion Him. In my mind's eye I want a God that lines up His will with my own - check. I shape a God that will want to bless me with the blessings that I desire in life - check. I mold a God who will not allow any difficulty or suffering to come my way - after all He deeply loves me - double check. I have placed God into a box that is totally controlled by my own perceptions of who He is - a box driven by my wants. But God is not a puppet waiting for me to pull the strings with my prayers and desires. He is the Almighty God of the universe that demands my commitment and devotion to His will and His way. I am not the puppetmaster and conversely he is not just sitting in heaven pulling the strings on my life. If all things work together for good then God oversees the events of my life to shape me into the best Jeff He wants me to be. He will use the good and the bad to bring out the real me that He has created in order to glorify Himself. Being me relies on letting God be God instead of making God be the God I want Him to be. The ultimate question is: How well do I really know Him and accept Him for who He is?

God Wrestling

Like Jacob of old there are many days when I have wrestled with God. Usually it's because I want my own way or I desire for God to bless my own way. God's response is to stalemate me, wear me out, and touch me at the point of my weakness. That weakness becomes a reminder of everything in life I am not able to control. The resulting daily limp becomes my bulletin board with a message that in my weakness He is strong and present. With every touch He releases my identity that He has made me to be. I am truly being me. In my wrestling I usually ask God to make me into someone else - bless me! He comes back and says, "I am your ABBA Father, your Daddy. I know all about you, made you, and love you for who you are." Everyday in my moments of solitude and then daily as I live life, I wrestle with God over control. Everyday He touches me in my weakness and I limp away being me.