Rubbish! Why does God need to be able to do everything anyway?
O! I just realized I might be stepping on a few toes out there! I bet there's at least a few who DO think this way about God! Actually there are a LOT of things God cannot do- sin, die, make a rock so big . . . but he's STILL God!
Our definition of God should not be so small as to limit God to OUR understanding or how WE think! So I'm not interested in setting limitations on God, rather I just want to look at 3 things he cannot do.
God gives us a good place to start with this in Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT):
"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says Yahweh. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
I'm not doing this to see how cute I can be. These 3 things tell us a LOT about God and give us something solid to hang our hats on. Because of these 3 things, you can COUNT on God! And if you can count on God, then you can give your life TOTALLY to him without worry.
1) God Cannot Lie.
We have this tendency to make God in our own image. In other words, we think he's just like us and we try to define him that way. But don't forget Isaiah 55 above- God is NOT like us. He doesn't think like us. God is TOTALLY good; there is NO darkness in him. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. His motivations are pure. Anything attributed to evil is NOT found in God (as opposed to us).
Hebrews 6:18 "It is impossible for God to lie." Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man that he should lie." Titus 1:2 "He (God) cannot lie."
Therefore if God says it, we can count on it. No waffling. No doubt. If we find it in God's Word to us, it's as good as fact.
You know any scriptural promises? You know, the kind you may have written out and posted on your refrigerator or put in your Bible? Some of my favorites are: Galatians 6:9; Isaiah 41:10; John 14:12; Psalm 81:10; Jeremiah 33:3; 1 John 1:9 (you'll have to look them all up!).
Take a look at some of your favorites. There should be NO doubt in your mind about what the Bible tells you. It is truth. There promises are certain facts because God cannot lie.
2) God Cannot Learn.
Ever thought of that before? If God knows everything, what is there to learn? There is nothing out there he's not completely aware of. Isaiah 40:14 asks the question:
"Whom did Yahweh consult to enlighten him and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?"
1 John 3:20 says "God knows everything." 1 Samuel 2:3 says "Yahweh is a God who knows." Psalm 147:5 says "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."
So if this is all true (and we already know God cannot lie!), guess what follows this?
- God never says "oops!"
- God is never surprised.
- God knows everything you think.
- You can't hide from God.
- God knows every outcome.
The more you think about God not being able to learn, the more you see how awesome he really is! God cannot learn, because he already knows all there is to know!
3) God cannot make us love him.
How many movies are out there about unrequited love? Hundreds? Thousands? Isn't it a sad thing; when someone loves another who doesn't love them back?
In the movies, you can get inside the person's thoughts and you can see with them that the other person SHOULD love them; they would make a good couple, etc. But the other person goes on traipsing after someone else who always seems to hurt them!
How sad the greatest love story in the universe includes millions of people who do not love God back! And God can do NOTHING about it. It's their choice.
It's YOUR choice.
God loves you and BECAUSE he loves you so much, he gives you the freedom to choose. God cannot make you love him.
It's interesting that while God cannot do these things, YOU can! Stop lying to yourself, learn to trust God and love him with all your heart.
Because you now know these 3 things God cannot do, here's 3 more sets of 3 things:
3 Things you can be certain of:
1) There IS a God and he is utterly faithful.
2) God knows EVERYthing about you.
3) God loves YOU immensely!
3 Things you cannot do:
1) You cannot distrust God.
2) You cannot hide from God.
3) You cannot continue to control your own life.
3 Things you MUST do now:
1) You MUST believe in God and trust him.
2) You MUST Stop trying to run from God.
3) You MUST give him everything- TOTAL control of your life
Can You Hear Me?
6 comments:
Doug,
I don't mean to be cheeky, I just don't understand. In your second section of "3 cannots" you say that we cannot distrust God, and then you go onto to say, that we must trust God. Can you explain?
I'm working my way up from things you can be certain of, to things you cannot do to things you MUST do.
First, you can be certian God exists and that he is completely trustworthy. From there you you should realize that you cannot distrust God (watch the double negative- cannot & distrust, meaning you can trust).
Because of these first two, we must now do something with that information. Specifically, we MUST believe in God and trust him.
Make sense now?
I don't like being told that I 'must' do anything...what can I say, it's the rebel in me!
Yeah, thank you, it makes sense now.
A- ah, but you MUST be born again! Better not rebel against that one. ;)
i don't like being told that i 'must' anything either. . but because i've been so pigheaded in my life, i've learned the 'musts' the hard way!!! ouch! i give in! i must!
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