Stop Putting God In A Box

"When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer." 2 Samuel 5:17-25

I heard this passage mentioned last night, and when I wake up and I'm still thinking on it, you know it means something. It really made an impression on me. What makes an impression is that God did not work the same way twice. The first time David battled the Philistines here, he marched straight into them and battled them and won. Then the second time, David asked God what he should do. Rather than just assuming that God would take care of things again, he asked God. He asked God what they should do, and God gave them different directions- a different mode of attack, which was very successful in the end.

When I think of this, I cannot help but think of all the church services that are the same. And I'm not specifically picking on my church, because most churches are guilty of this. They do their service the same way all the time. Meaning this, you start perhaps with some singing, then do a prayer, take an offering, deliver a sermon, say a prayer and then be done for the week. The singing may be the same number of songs every week, and the prayers may even sound similar from week to week. And yet...yet we expect God to move greatly every week. Why? We don't allow God any opportunity, we don't allow Him to share in directing how the service flows. When the entire church is worshipping God and really getting into one particular song, we don't continue along that flow. Instead, we need to move on to the next song because we have a specific order that must be kept. We need to wrap up so that the message can be delivered so that everyone can be on their way back home an hour after arriving at church. God just doesn't work like that!

When we get into a rut and work the exact same way from week to week, we're limiting the potential for God to work. Look back at David's battles. He could have marched ahead straight into the Philistines the second time without consulting God, and he may have won anyways. But by inquiring of God first, he opened the door for God to work in His glory. And he did! "...because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you" God went first! God paved the way for David to obliterate the Philistines, and you know that when all was said and done, God received the glory for the victory, and not David. That's how it should be. When we listen to God and are prompted by God, we follow. When church is over and all is said and done, we shouldn't be patting each other on the back, saying what a good job so and so did. We should be thanking God for a great service that day. We should be thanking God for working through us, not congratulating each other. We need to take the focus off of man and put it onto God.

So perhaps it's time to take God out of the box. Stop limiting God and what he can do. Maybe one week, the sermon should go first, and then worship. And maybe one week, instead of taking a physical offering, the baskets should be left at the back of the church and people drop in an offering on their way out- or conversely, maybe the offerings should be presented to the altar one week. Maybe one week there should just be praise and worship- and no sermon. And maybe one week, there should be a sermon and a whole lot pf prayer and reflection, with very little or no singing. And who knows. By letting God dictate the order of the service instead of man, maybe He will show up and the service could be concluded in His Glory with healing and miracles. Just imagine what could happen if we give it up and let God have at it. Our God is a great God and a God of love. With God, all things are possible. All things. Not just some things or most things, but ALL THINGS. It's time to remember that and take God out of the box we've put Him in.