Box of Faith

Mimes. What does this word bring to mind? I would guess that an image came to your mind of a person dressed in white and black stripes with too much makeup on. In my mind, the most classic example of what a mime does is the "invisible box" routine, when a mime pretends to be confined to a box by placing his hands on the boundaries that only he can see. During this week at EFY my mind was opened to the surprising reality that we are just like mimes--confined to a box that we define.

The Book of Mormon frequently teaches of God's power to deliver and to work miracles (e.g., 1 Nephi 4:1; 17:50, Alma 7:8, Helaman 12:7-17, Mormon 9:16-17). One example of this that stands out to me is the Brother of Jared. After being commanded to build ships so that his people could cross the sea, the Brother of Jared approaches the Lord with a problem; they wouldn't have any light during their journey. The Lord responds by asking, "what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?" (Ether 2:25). As a possible solution, the Brother of Jared forms 16 small, clear stones and prays unto the Lord, asking that He touch them to make them shine in the darkness. "And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man...Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men" (Ether 3:4-5). The Lord then touches the stones, and they shine to provide the needed light.

Are there limits to God's power? Or as this was question was asked to Abraham, "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14). As the Brother of Jared knew, God's power is unlimited. There are no boundaries to what He can do. However, God works by power "according to the faith of the children of men" (Moroni 10:7), and we can limit His power in our lives by our lack of faith. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23) and "with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26).

Can you see how we all are like mimes? We each define the boundaries of our own "Box of Faith." By believing that something is impossible, we might miss an opportunity to let God work in our lives. Going forward, I'm going to try to believe that God can do whatever He sees fit in my life, because I see that my lack of faith may have limited His power in the past. Not because He couldn't, but because I wouldn't.