HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?‘
The battle is the Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.’
1 Samuel 1do 7:47 NIV
How you handle the difficulties and events of your life? Who do you depend upon to help you solve or overcome those difficult times? How you cope with those times very often depends upon how big you believe God is.
If your conception of God and His interest in you is small, then your conception of Him is too small. And when your conception of Him is too small here is what happens:
1. You will live in a constant state of anxiety, worry and negativity, believing that the solution to everything depends on you and your uncertain efforts.
2. Your view of the future will be dictated by only what you can see immediately around you. If there are those who offer harmful advice, you will be swayed toward their “expert” solutions.
3. You will become enslaved to the opinions and advice of others, when you decide that your God is not big enough to handle what you are going through.
4. You will crave recognition because you don’t understand that Almighty God is constantly with you, by your side, within your heart. You will forget that “‘your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.’ (Matthew 6:4 NASB)
John Ortberg says that when we make the mistake of shrinking God, we offer prayer without faith, work without passion, service without joy, and suffering without hope—which results in fear, retreat, loss of vision, and failure to persevere.’
The account in 1 Samuel 17 when Goliath threatened the Israelites, the Scripture says that “‘they were dismayed and terrified.” (1 Samuel 17:11 NIV). They forgot how big their God is. They didn’t think He was big enough to deliver them from the Philistines. However, David did not forget. He stepped up and said, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him. (NIV) The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ 1 Samuel 17:32, 37 (NIV). How big was David’s God!
You can have that same confidence and trust in your God. When you know the strength and power and compassion of your God you can face any situation, any trial, and any seemingly impossible event, knowing He is a BIG BIG God. He is willing and ready to face anything when you know what David knew—‘the battle is the Lord’s.’
And, be assured of this: God has never lost a battle. When He intervenes in a situation in your life, He - and you - come out on the winning side.
So, what do we learn from this? We learn that we don’t have to depend on our own resources. We have, at our call, the mighty power of a God of compassion, a God who loves us enough to bring us through any trial. David may have felt small, but he knew God was big enough for the job. We can have that same assurance even in this day of uncertainty and turmoil.
Psalm 144 describes this Big God as “my fortress, my stronghold and deliverer, my shield.
John Newton, who previously had been a slave trader and became a Christ follower once said, ‘If the Lord be with us we have no cause for fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer, His grace sufficient, and His promises unchangeable.’ It all depends upon how big you see and know your God to be!
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