Why Do We Try To Make God Small?
Good Morning Friends,
I am not sure what comes to your mind when you think about God. But for some they shrink God down to a manageable size that in unthreatening. God is in the little stuff of life. No doubt about it. But we should not limit the divine. I wonder what would happen if we served and worshipped the God revealed in the Bible. We so rarely do. Worshipping a god that is too small is a problem. It is essentially idol worship. So have you ever tried to put God in a box? Why Do We Try To Make God Small?
Scripture: To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Isaiah 40:25-26 (NRSV)
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
Romans 11:33-34 (NRSV)
I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NRSV)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2:11-14 (NRSV)
Message: Maybe it all is an excuse for not having enough faith.
But coming to a knowledge of what is Holy and internalizing it is not easy. I am keenly aware of my shortcomings and can put that in a box. A big box. But in imagining God’s character, I invariably fall short of doing justice to God’s greatness. I have thought of just giving up on knowing God. It can be exhausting. But I keep doing these devotionals… I guess over 2000 now and they are never perfect just as I will never be perfect in this lifetime. Still this does not mean I should give up the pursuit of holiness in the writing of them. I pray for something to write about each day and God always provides. And at first I was amazed that there is always something to write about. But then I realized that when it comes to the topic of God our knowledge of God will never be complete or perfect. Still it is easier to put God in a box or as words on a page than to be holy. Sometimes it makes me want to share a few choice four letter words because I fall so short of being perfect. Then the desire more so than obligation kicks in and here I am writing again. The thing is God is bigger than I can grasp and yet God has set eternity in my heart and perhaps your heart as well. There is a void in our very being that only God can fill. Friends, there is always something to write about when it comes to God and it not about our confidence in finding it but more so in the reality that all we have to do is seek God. Seeing a beautiful rainbow or sunset does not increase my self-worth in writing about it but it does inspire me the more to seek God. There is an assurance God creates in me when I realize that the God of the universe is indeed bigger than I can imagine and still loves me a sinner. Isaiah in today’s scripture points to the stars. And friends, if God made each star in the universe then we indeed must worship a very big God. And that indeed is why we were made in the first place. So don’t you dare try to make God small in your life! You we were made to glorify a very big God. You and I were meant to magnify God in our little lives. We were made for something bigger than ourselves. So friends, know this…Christ has no equals. Christ created all this and so nothing could be greater, nothing could be more valuable than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So press on. Get beyond the vanity of it all. God will not disappoint.
Pray we magnify God with thanksgiving. Pray we read scriptures to learn more about God. Pray we continue to seek God even when it all seems overwhelming. Pray we realize that God is Supreme and deserves more from us than we offer. Pray we not doubt God’s greatness. Pray we stop worshipping the false small god who never threatens our comfort zone. Pray we stop worshipping the small false god who encourages us to stay close to shore. Pray we think big and choose today to experience the God of the universe and begin to learn and relearn each day just how amazing and measureless and great our God is.
Pray we are never lazy in our efforts to learn about God. Pray we seek and find God each day in new ways that demonstrate just how great God is.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 