Rule # 3: Avoid Boxes

As with the previous two rules I've written about, this one was also birthed from an interaction with God. It always seems like these revelations come after a long, drawn-out period of internal struggle or soul-searching; a spiritual dry season if you will. This time was no different. I was having a hard time understanding certain parts of the bible, unsure if God was happy with me, and straining to hear from Him.


Driving home from church one night I was praying, and I forget about what exactly, but suddenly it was as if I was caught up in a day-dream. My eyes were open and I was still driving but somehow, at the same time, my mind was transported elsewhere, to a new setting. Now that I put it into words it seems pretty far-fetched but I know there are people out there - you know who you are - who can drive to and from work without remembering a single thing of the trip in-between. Their motor skills (pun unintended) are so practiced that they are able to put their body in autopilot and retreat into their thoughts.

What I was experiencing was something similar but it came out of cognitive left field and the subject matter was in stark contrast to what I had been praying about moments before so I was convinced the source was something other than my imagination.

Anyways, in this... I'll call it a vision... I was visiting a prison. In my gut I knew who I was here to visit. I had just arrived and was being escorted by the guards to the visitors area. Everything I know about the inside of a prison comes from movies and TV shows so I have no clue how accurate this vision was to reality. The room I entered had a bunch of seating areas with glass separating the inmate and the visitor. I sat down in a chair facing the glass and something, whether it was a curtain or a tint in the pane, was restricting me from seeing who was on the other side. Once I had sat down I said "Alright. I'm ready to see him." and they removed the barrier...

There was Jesus, banging on the glass with his fist, screaming "I'M HERE FOR YOU! I LOVE YOU! I'M NOT THE ONE IN PRISON, YOU ARE! COME WITH ME! I CAN FREE YOU!"

That's when I snapped out of the vision, but the feeling having my world rocked carried over. He had been crying out for me the whole time, banging on that glass, waiting for me when I thought I was the one visiting. I thought I had him right where I wanted him; always right where I left him. We met on my terms and when it was convenient for me. Probably on Sundays and a here and there during the week if I wasn't too busy. Little did I know, I was the one in captivity and in need of freeing.

From that day on I vowed not to put God in a box. No more pretending to know everything about Him. No more cookie cutter prayers. No more manufactured miracles. Every scripture now held infinite wisdom. Every prayer was a fresh breath of life. Every person was to be approached as unique like an undiscovered treasured.

If you've ever noticed God trying to teach you a lesson, you probably know that He often delivers the message in installments. If you were at all doubting what you first heard from Him, just give it a bit and you'll start seeing signs of that revelatory motif surface in the most unsuspecting places. It's like when you first learn a new word and suddenly you notice everyone is saying it.

Yeah, that's Ben.

For me, I had a number of confirmations of the "God in a box" lesson. My good friend told me about a preacher who built a lifetime of sermons off of one chapter in Psalms; CRAZY! In my bible studies, I started to see how Jesus healed people differently almost every time; COOKIE CUTTER SCHMOOKIE SCHMUTTER! I listened to a pastor tell a joke in the middle of his prayer and then proceed to call out words of healing for the congregation; OUT OF THE BOX!

God was confirming what He'd started in me with the vision. He wanted to make sure His point had sunk in and knew I needed some repetition. I was getting his point loud and clear.

Although it's not stating it outright, this scripture was possibly the most pivotal in helping understanding the vastness of God and that I should never think things like "I've got it down" or "I am fully enlightened" or even "I have arrived"...

"Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." John 21:25 (NLT)

I love that because it prevents me from ever thinking I know all there is to know about how Jesus worked and what he did. It builds faith in me to believe in the impossible because maybe Jesus did it and we just don't know about it.

There you have it. Rule # 3: Avoid Boxes.