We need a new God

Imagine a day without the internet or your cell phone? These two technological advances have literally changed everything we do on planet earth today and I often compare these small, but profound discoveries to the new perspective I have of God. New revelations and discoveries about His true nature and character have caused such a shift in my thinking and living that it feels like I met a new God!

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” A.W. Tozer, an influential American pastor and author once said. He went onto say,

“Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”

After 40 years of journeying with Jesus, I continue to discover facets of His nature and character that intrigue and inspire me. I developed most of my thoughts about God during my young, formative years. Unfortunately, I remained committed to following my idea of Him, but not to following the reality of Him—there is a big difference. Those initial ideas confined God to my box, making Him comfortable and controllable—just big enough for me to handle. Not only had I put Him in a box, but also, I had wrapped this box in neat, pretty paper, with a beautiful bow and then labelled it. If you have known God for any length of time, you too, would have discovered that He doesn’t like to be contained in any box, even if it’s wrapped with pretty paper! He also doesn’t like to be labelled according to our idea of who He is. Time came for me to think of God in a new way. In fact, I came to a point where I needed a revelation of this new God. I believe many of us need a new perspective of God; one who lives outside the limits of our finite thinking. I often use the phrase, “Think outside the box” to challenge my sons and daughters. 

Many of us are like a mental picture I had several years ago, of a sheep attempting to pass through a barbed wire fence. Halfway through, it got caught in the wire with its back legs stuck in the old pasture and its front resting in the new pasture. My opinion is that most of us want to move to the spacious, new pasture, but we keep getting stuck in our old ideas and religious thinking. A verse which has challenged me is, Proverbs 23:7a, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Meaning that, whatever we think about God will influence our actions and attitudes.

(Taken from the book "The Treasure Within" by Kathy Gooch)