How Big Is Your God?

He [the LORD] determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God with the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beast their food, and to the young ravens that cry…the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love. Psalm 147: 4-11

When a problem comes up in your life or you get in a disagreement with a sibling or friend what is the first thing you do? Do you worry? Get depressed? Do you have your own personal pity party and only invite yourself?

            Where does God come into the picture? In Proverbs 3: 5-6 the writer said, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

            The way we handle difficult situations is a test of how big we think our God is and how much we trust Him. Our opinion of God doesn’t change who He is but our opinion of God does change the way we live day to day. God is small in our lives if we don’t immediately turn to Him when difficulty comes along. When we turn to ourselves, friends, and family, or even negative things like drug abuse or self mutilation we are saying in our hearts, “God I don’t trust You! You are not big enough to take care of my problems. You are not totally Sovereign, just a little bit Sovereign. I really need to help you out.”

            Let’s think about this kind of heart attitude for a little bit. This attitude is almost a form of idolatry. It is putting our thoughts and feelings before God’s Word. We can even take it to the extreme of unconsciously making ourselves the God of our own lives. Now that is idolatry! When our opinion of who God is, our opinion of ourselves, and the opinion of others are more important than God’s opinion of Himself and of us, then we have an idol in our hearts.

            In the book When People are Big and God is Small, author Edward Welch says this, “If our culture[ you and I] is misguided in it’s understanding of God, then it will be misguided in it’s understanding of people who are made in His image.” What this means is that if we have a wrong view of God, say thinking that He is incapable of taking care of us or that He doesn’t know all things, then our view of our fellow human beings will be warped as well. Some ways of viewing the people around us in a wrong way can include several different situations. If what our friends think about what we wear or how we talk changes the way we live, especially if it against what the Bible says, than we are respecting the opinion of our friends above God’s command to honor Him. If we are tempted to speed when we are driving because people say it’s fun or cool then we are disobeying the government authority that God has placed us under. There are many, many ways that we can devalue the opinion of God’s and these examples are just a couple to get you thinking.

            Our view of God and our trust in God go hand in hand. When we think of God as being on level ground with us (something none of us would say out loud, but we can act like is true) we think we can change Him or that other people are stronger than He is. So in other words we are not trusting in the supremacy of God or the unfathomable faithfulness of God because we can’t understand it. It should never be our aim in life to try to explain God’s motives and if we can’t understand His purposes to bring Him down to our level. Do you want to serve and worship a God who is just like you? God forbid! In order to fully trust God and live in a way that reflects that, you and I need to bow before the throne of God and submit to His will even when we cannot understand it. We must believe that all things are for His glory and for the good of every believer in Jesus Christ.

            I cannot express enough how super important it is that God be the center of our lives. That is such an easy thing to say and I know many of you already know that this is true but this knowledge can’t just be in your head, it has to be in your heart as well. Submitting to the Lordship of Christ is a day to day, moment by moment decision. It’s not a one-time prayer that we can pray, or something we do when we are at church. God is our maker and creator. Not only does He deserve to inhabit our hearts, but He knows all things; even our innermost, secret needs even better than we do! What better could we ask for than that the God of the universe, the God who took the time and creativity to make each of us, direct the path of our lives?

            So the next time you are tempted to make an idol of the opinions of others or cave in to peer pressure, remember to whom you belong. Remember that God’s will above all others is the one that matters the most. His will is the one that will last throughout eternity.

            Whenever you are confused or unsure about what to do or how to react, seek God’s will first. God says in His word, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD…” These verses were written to the Jews when they were in exile in Babylon. They were in a very difficult place. God had sent them to a foreign land as a punishment for their disobedience; but even in God’s justice, He provided a way of forgiveness and reconciliation with Himself. This is an example to show you that God will never give up on you. God will never leave you out to dry because of something you have done. Even now God has called us to be reconciled to Him, to exchange our sinfulness for His perfection, and become daughters of God! Please don’t refuse the call of God in your life to turn from sinful darkness, to Him but instead entrust your heart, thoughts, opinions, and views to His sovereign plan.

             The vastness of God is infinite, too big for us to imagine, and that should affect the way we live. If you feel like you have been treating God like a little God instead of giving Him your whole life, then take time right now to repent and ask God to forgive you. Ask Him to teach you what it means to draw closer to Him and seek His will in every area of your life. In the book of Job, Job realized that He had a small view of God. After everything that happened to Job- his cattle were stolen, his children were killed, his health was ruined, and his friends turned against him- God spoke to Job and gave a vivid description of who He is and how small and insignificant Job was in the fullness of God’s plan. Read Job chapter 38 and think about the awesomeness of God. Look here at Job’s response to God after He really understood how big God was.

Job speaking here, “ [God] Said, ‘Listen now and I will speak; I will question you and you shall answer me’. [Job]My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” What Job is saying is that, before all these disastrous things happened, he knew God was there and he was in control, yet he didn’t really have a heart level understanding of it. But after God showed him how sovereign he is, then he fully understood what a sin it is to underestimate God’s power and emphasize our importance in our own eyes and the eyes of others.

             Let us daily examine our own lives. Let us ask God to show us the flaws we have; repent and seek His forgiveness and will for our lives day by day.