Break out of the box

“Again and again they…limited the Holy One of Israel.” Psalm 78:41 NKJV

The Bible says, “They provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power” (vv. 40-42 NKJV). The Israelites continually provoked God’s anger and grieved His heart in the wilderness. How? By limiting Him. By limiting what He could do for them and through them. And we do the same when we fail to recognize and use the gifts He gives us and the creative ideas He places within our minds. God wants you to break out of the “box” of your own history, hang-ups, and personal limitations. One of the ways in which you do that is by constantly exposing yourself to new ideas, new places, and new people. God’s Word says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left” (Isaiah 54:2-3 NKJV). Note the words enlarge and stretch out and lengthen and strengthen and expand. Creativity is just teachability. So are you teachable? Words on a tombstone read, “Died at forty, was buried at eighty.” Unless you keep learning, growing, and expanding your thinking, that can be your fate too. You say, “But I’m not naturally creative.” Creativity is not necessarily something you’re born with; it comes from developing your God-given gifts and seizing the opportunities He sends your way in life. Do you want to break out of the box? That’s how you do it!

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 16-17