Don’t restrict Jesus’ power in your life

As I pried, twisted, jabbed, and unnerved myself trying to twist off the tightly placed lid of a new large bottle of grape juice, I came to the ultimate conclusion that this lid was not going to budge. The juice was trapped inside the bottle. I, looking into the bottle of juice from the outside, was frustrated and asking myself, “Why isn’t this working for me?”

Then it suddenly came to me that similarly, this is where I once put Jesus after I had accepted him as my personal savior. Because I still wanted my own life — my way, and on my terms — and I had trapped him in a “bottle” much like the juice in the bottle.

“Now you stay there, Lord, and come out only when you are needed. I have a life to live my way,” I said.

That was my initial mentality, and here were some of my own ways:

Bible reading? No. My Bible sat prominently on the coffee table collecting dust — nothing more.

Pray? No.

“Too busy. Besides it is too hard to pray,” I’d say.

Church? Yes, a good church girl went faithfully. I’d put on a good face, and listen intently to the sermon.

The list could go on and on.

It was Jesus trapped in a “bottle” and then brought out in rough times. But this was not working for me, not at all.

Nevertheless, God, who has called us into his kingdom — and when you have accepted him as your savior — doesn’t give up on you. We have become his precious child.

Psalm 34:15 states “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears are open to their cry.” He kept knocking from inside the “bottle” and shouting into my deaf ears, “Unscrew the bottle lid. Open me up.” He saw my aching heart for him; heard my cries for him.

Sometime later I happened upon Luke 9:23-24, “Then he (Jesus) said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’ ”

That scripture hit me like a ton of bricks. Pretty clear. Hanging on to my own life was not working for me. There were two distinct paths before me — mine and God’s. Jesus said, “I am the way. (John 14:6) My way wasn’t working very well. Truthfully, my path was not working at all.

In complete surrender to him, I said, “Lord, you be my driver; I will sit in the passenger’s seat.”

So what is my life like now in God’s way, his path?

Wow! The Bible, my defining road map, is alive; it speaks in and through me (can’t get enough); prayer is no longer hard. I am now talking to the creator of this universe. As for church, I can’t wait to get there so I can be connected with like-minded people and be blessed by God’s word and walk in it.

And, I believe, that God has forgiven me for trapping him inside a “bottle”. I unscrewed the lid!

This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Don’t restrict Jesus’ power in your life."