Faith Outside the Box

A recent event made me think about faith outside the box. The event happened when we visited the ER at a local hospital after my father-in-law fell. After checking him in, we waited in the waiting room for any updates on his condition. After a while, I walked outside to get a breath of fresh air and stretch my legs. His injuries did not appear severe, but we still waited for all the test results before we could relax.

Faith in the Box

Off to the side of the entrance, I noticed some workers boxing up a huge object. Their work piqued my interest during the moment’s boredom, so I walked closer. I saw a statue of Jesus encased in bubble wrap inside the box. I stepped back, and I think I let out a small gasp as the men turned to look at me. One of them spoke, “The hospital doesn’t need the statue any longer, so it is going to a new place.” I nodded and headed back inside. The family all laughed as I retold the story. The imagery of the Jesus statue all boxed up provided us some laughter, which relieved the stress of my father-in-law’s fall.

As God sometimes does, He takes an event and teaches me something from it. I found the statue in the crate as one of these teaching moments. Do we keep Jesus in a box? Do we try to limit His impacts on our daily schedules? Or do we box Him up because we feel we no longer need a Savior?

Unboxing Faith

The call from the secular world is strong in our society. Some believers try to box God into a Sunday-only God and then don’t acknowledge Him the rest of the week. Some people believe they can live a life rooted in the material world without the consequences because they can unbox God anytime they need Him. This also makes me think about those old bumper stickers: “God is my co-pilot.” Some Christians still believe they can pilot their destiny without Jesus along for the ride. But is that the kind of relationship God wants with His people?

Faith Outside the Box – God does not want us to box Him up and only interact with Him on our terms. Click To Tweet

God created us for a relationship with Him. But, He also made us to serve His purpose in the world. The Great Commission Bible verse found in Matthew 28:19-20 sums up God’s purpose for us, to share our faith in Christ with others. To fulfill that purpose, we must be in the right relationship with God. So what does a Godly relationship look like when we take Him out of the box? Let’s look at some ways to strengthen our relationship with Jesus.

Ways to Open the Box of Faith

Talk Daily God

Relationships involve communication, and the way to communicate with God is through prayer. When we take God out of a box, we can have a deeper relationship with Him. Start with the Lord’s Prayer if you don’t know what to say. Over time, prayer becomes more natural as we grow comfortable with sharing our thoughts and feelings with Christ. Also, take time to be quiet and listen.

Read the Bible Daily

The words of the Bible are one way that God speaks back to us. But if we are not reading it, how will we know what He is saying to us. We can find many apps and websites to help us accomplish this goal. Some offer a new verse each day, which can be a great way to start unboxing our relationship with God.

Surround Ourselves with Faithful People

Attend church regularly. Additionally, Sunday School classes or small Bible study groups can help us grow our faith and hold us accountable for that growth in Christ. We can learn much from those already living a life with God out of the box.

Memorize Some Bible Verses

I find it helpful to memorize and recall Bible verses when stressed or feeling worried. My life verse, the one I go to in a time of trouble, is Romans 8:28. I recite it often during struggles, and I feel His comfort surround me and His peace settle over me.

God does not want us to box Him up and only interact with Him on our terms. He wants a daily relationship with us. So unpack the crate and invite Him in. Christ is waiting; He stands at the door and knocks. All we have to do is open the box to let Him out.

Prayer

“I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!” Ephesians 1:17-18 (TPT)

Do you need prayer? I would love to pray for you. Submit your prayer request on my website at https://yvonne-morgan.com/submit-your-prayer-request-here/