What An Alarming Thought

“Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Ps 78:41 AV)

To me, this is an amazing verse.  In a negative sort of way.  When we consider exactly what this implies, it stuns the mind.  Let us remember God is omnipotent.  What He decides to do, He will do.  There is no greater.  Mankind, in His sight, are as nothing.  When the writer says the people of Israel limited the Holy One, he is reporting the people did something that kept an omnipotent God from acting.  Think about that one!  This is not a foreign concept.  This event happens quite frequently.  In fact, consider the following: “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Mt 13:58 AV) The context is the history of Israel while wandering in the wilderness.  Time and again, they rejected God’s direction.  They turned up their nose at the manna.  They failed to circumcise their children.  They murmured at the provisions of God.  Time and again they desired a return to Egypt.  Because that generation would not trust and follow God, there was little He could do.  They limited the Holy One.  But just to say those words seems a bit absurd.  To think that lowly mankind can limit an omnipotent God!  This is not to be seen as a good thing, though.  Most of the world sees it this way.  They feel a sense of self-sufficiency of self-determination in flaunting their will against God.  Yet, we want to consider what it means when the child of God does the same thing.

My dog, Toby, is a cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  A Cav, for short. Cavs are great dogs.  They do not bark all that much.  They love people.  And, they are content to do whatever their owners do.  They love to be loved on.  If I don’t have an opportunity as such, he is content to lay on the couch or on his floor pillow.  I have always wanted a dog that I can walk off-leash.  My son has a husky who is trained that way.  He rarely puts her on a leash.  She will obey his every command.  Not a Cav.  Cavs crave attention.  It doesn’t matter if it is human or beast, my Cav wants to be wanted.  When researching this breed, writers were adamant in advising the Cav always be on a leash.  Otherwise, he will chase after people or critters with reckless abandon.  This means, his world is limited to twelve feet in either direction.  His refusal to follow my instructions has shrunk his world.  He is limiting me in the ability to watch over him and keep him safe.  By exercising his will contrary to my own, he is limiting my strengths because he will not trust and obey.  By limiting me, he is really limiting himself.  He just doesn’t realize this.

In the same way, the child of God does the same.  When we will not follow the word of God, this limits the Holy One to a relationship of correcting His child.  Our actions do not make God any less God.  What our disobedience does do is to define the nature of our relationship with God so that He is limited to that nature.  If we refuse to trust Him, we limit that which He can do.  Since God requires faith for many things, He cannot do other things if we choose to abandon faith.  If He requires faith for salvation, choosing not to trust means He is limited.  He cannot save us.  If we refuse to trust Him with our needs, then He cannot fulfill those needs.  By the way, more times than not, we are living on the fruit of someone else’s faith.  The truth of the matter is, there is so much that we do not get to enjoy because we limit what God can do.  Or, we limit how God can do what God will do.  Our challenge is to yield.  Yield in obedience to the word of God.  Yield to the requirement to trust the LORD.  To do otherwise limits an omnipotent God in His options in how He interacts with His children.