Boxes and What Ifs - by Pat Everett

Boxes are useful in many ways. There are boxes for gifts, moving, storing treasures and outdated clothes. Boxes for shipping items bought off the Internet. There a box, here a box, everywhere a box.

Some boxes are not made with human hands. These boxes are created in our minds by what we believe as we try to keep life manageable and safe. I had boxes for family, friends, other people, jobs, etc. However, my most devastating box was my “God box.”

Do you know God cannot be contained in a box? I tried. Wanting to understand Him and His ways, I studied, read the Bible and others books, listened to sermons all in a vain attempt to make Him understandable, controllable and safe. Mission impossible! In thinking about and writing this letter, lines from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came to my mind. “Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion. ‘Ooh’ said Susan. ‘I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion’... ‘safe?’ said Mr. Beaver ...’Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.’”

The boxes I had created in my mind served only to keep me in bondage. Judgment was one of the ways my boxes were created. My “box-thinking” led to believing lies and made me unable to experience the abundant life Christ promised. Fear was my constant companion as the struggle to make life perfect and manageable raged in my heart Can you relate? If so, there is hope, Christ came to free us from box-thinking. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; . . . Galatians 5:1.

My good friend Vicki Frydrych is an outside-the-box thinker. She enjoys shaking boxes by asking “what if” questions, the kind of questions that make you think and see from a different perspective. Following her example, let yourself ponder the following:

What if as Christ was in this world so are you? 1 John 4:17

What if you are His beloved child in whom He is well pleased? Matthew 3:17

What if God really does have your back? Psalm 139; Jeremiah 29:11

What if mistakes, wrong choices, and failures are not fatal to your relationship with God? Psalm 139; Hebrews 11 (all the ones listed who had faith, failed)

What if you are the “glory” set before Christ on the cross? Hebrews 12:2

What if your relationship with God doesn’t depend on you? Ephesians 2:12-13

What if you are 100% forgiven and 100% righteous right now and always? Hebrews 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21

What if God loves you the same as Jesus? John 17:23

What if you are one with God? John 17:21

What if you never had to live with shame again? Isaiah 53

What if you are free from condemnation? Romans 8:1

What if you are seated in the heavenly places with Christ right now? Ephesians 2:6

What if you are living from heaven, not for heaven? Ephesians 2:6

What if you are God’s delight, one He sings over with joy? Zephaniah 3:16-17

What if the cross worked and you are “fixed?” Colossians 2:10

What if you are God’s inheritance? Ephesians 1:18

What if you are sealed forever by Holy Spirit? Ephesians 1:13

What if your default setting is to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh? Galatians 5

What if you are His masterpiece? Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

What if God is truly good? Exodus 33:19

What if you are God’s dwelling place? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

What if every place you put your foot is holy ground? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

What if you are who He says you are?

What if God wants to take you on an adventure?

What if you will never be separated from Him? John 17:21

What if God wants you to enjoy Him and not run or hide from Him? Psalm 16:11

What if God doesn’t need you, but desires you always? Genesis 1:26

What if God wants you to be free from box-thinking?

What if all of the above are true, how would it change the way you think about God, yourself and others? Let me encourage you to take one or two that are impactful to you and ask the Holy Spirit to confirm the truth to you. I think you might walk more free!