STRETCHING OURSELVES TO LOOK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Research in Quantum Mechanics has shown that an electron
or a photon of light existing in a wave form changes into a particle form when
observed. The remarkable double slit experiment studied the nature of subatomic
phenomena. A photon of light was to pass through two slits. When it was not
observed, it acted like a wave. But when observed, it behaved like a particle.
This is very much like how the Lord communicates with us.
Wisdom from above is all around us in wave-like quality, ethereal, and sometimes,
we don’t quite grab it. But when we observe these peripheral thoughts, they
become like the particles: clear, substantial, and real enough to affect the
way we think and act.
To bring that Godly knowledge or wisdom into our reality,
we have to look outside the 9 dots of our own finite minds. I’ve often found that
heavenly revelations are literally floating at the edges of my peripheral
vision.
I can be going along in my own thoughts, and all wound up
in work or people’s problems or any number of other things, but I just know
that there’s something else I’m supposed to see.
The Lord wants us to look outside of the box. The phrase
“thinking outside the box” originally comes from the popular “nine dots”
puzzle. I’ll show you. Here are the 9 dots:
. .
.
. .
.
. .
.
The goal of the puzzle is to connect all 9 dots using 4
or fewer straight lines, without lifting the pen and without going over the
same line more than once. The key is to go beyond the boundaries to link all
dots.
Thinking only within our limited frame of mind reminds me
of a funny story about a guy I worked with. Brian needed to get new glasses. I
asked him about his new glasses, and he told me the ones he had before were
super fancy, all the bells and whistles, all the special features, and
everything. When he went to the store, excited to get his new glasses, he put
them on, and he hated them. He found that the frames were way too small, and he
didn’t like seeing only through that little space. So, he had to send them
back.
Like Brian, we want to see the big picture, and as
Christians, we want to see it from the Lord’s point of view.
Isaiah 54:2 says: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let
them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy
cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” I think we can take that metaphorically, as
well as what it says in 1 Chronicles 4:10: “Oh that thou wouldest bless me
indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that
thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!”
I think one of the biggest Holy Spirit blockers is that
our minds are too full of other stuff, and we get preoccupied with it all. We
need to find a way to ease our minds and slow the frenzy, so that we can even
begin to look to the side for the things of the Spirit.
Everyone will find their own way to do this. Some people
speak in tongues to calm their minds. Some take a hot bath. Others do
deep-breathing exercises or other forms of exercise. I’m sure you can think of
at least one thing you can do that helps calm your frenzied mind. And if not,
pray for the Lord to show you some alternatives to try. “If ye shall
ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).
Some friends have said their best time to hear from the
Holy Spirit is in the morning, somewhere between sleeping and waking. I tend to
agree. But the Holy Spirit’s messages sometimes just hang there at the edge for
days or even weeks until I’m calm enough to realize it’s there, and then I turn
to observe. The results are always great.
God took a world that “was without form
[worthless, confused] and void [empty, ruin]” (Gen. 1:2), renewed it, and
made it beautiful. If He could renew a whole world, He can renew you and me.
It’s so worth it to look outside a small frame of mind
and outside the 9 dots of carnal thinking. Let’s look rather to the truths He
puts in our peripheral vision and “stretch forth the curtains of thine
habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords” (Isa. 54:2).
Love, Carolyn
You can find more stories about how people apply the
writings of the Bible to their everyday lives.
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