I’ve been attending a conference the last few days, and yesterday one of the keynote speakers asked us a question. It’s not a “frilly” one. It’s not a simple one. It is something that ought to make us pause…it sure did me. Yet, it’s not a new question either. In fact, I’ve heard this question asked many times in the course of my life. Here’s the question:
How Big is God?
The speaker said that this most crucial of all questions will determine much of how our lives will be lived. Our answer to this question reveals much about who we are. Our answers though must be bigger than a “churchy” answer. Church answers have their place, but they often don’t do much good outside of our pews and rows.
You see the answer to this question is most important when I’m driving on a busy road. It’s important when I’m having a disagreement with a loved one. It’s a question that can rescue me from my own circumstanaces – particularly the messy ones that I’ve caused with my own poor choices and behaviors. How big is God when my relationships have turned sour, or when the the news only looks and sounds bad?
This morning, I was reflecting on my view of God’s bigness and my mind wandered into the recent vice-presidential debate. That sent me spiraling into other doomsday news stories—dock worker strikes, hurricane recovery (and preparedness for the next one), the war in Ukraine, and the increasingly widening conflict with Israel and Iran. There’s enough here to make me want to hide under my bed until Jesus returns.
But, my hiding and my worrying/fretting about these things also reveal my view of God’s bigness. Maybe it’s better to say that my hiding from these things reveals how small God is in my life. Do I really believe God wants life or do I believe He wants death. I’m thankful for the hope of my faith—that one day every tear will be gone, and that war, suffering, violence will be ended. Until then, I have a choice to make about my living in the midst of all the scary stuff as well as the good stuff in my church pew/row.
In my devotional reading this morning, I was prompted to explore Ephesians 3.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20–21
There’s that bigness of God again, but it was asked differently. If God is big, do I believe He can do abundantly beyond? Do I believe that God can do more than candidates can do? Do I believe He can soften hearts at war? Can he redeem me from the smallness I so quickly pick up and hold like some childhood blanket? Do I believe he can provide when the news tells me that I better scrape, scrounge, and look out for me?
I need a big God in my life. I need a God who can do immeasurably and abundantly more than I can—than my government can—than any politician can. Thankfully, He is bigger. Is he more capable? The answer is a resounding, YES. Does He care about the hurts, the fears, the terror or war, the rattling of the sabres of hatred, of the innocent and vulnerable who don’t even have a bed to hide under? I believe so. And I believe, going to this BIG God in prayer is the most important act I can engage in this day.
I am moved into additional action from this place of prayer before a BIG God. From this place, I can walk joyfully in a land of fear. In this place, I can stop the wars in my head and heart. From this place, I can live generously rather than in scarcity. In this place, I can see the miraculous bigness of God working in and through me.
Today, instead of worrying about the bad news, let’s rejoice in a Big God. He cares about all the stuff. He’s big enough to handle them – let’s ask Him to move in big ways…to intervene, and to shine in the dark.
Holy and Big God, thank you for bringing me a small view of you. Keep doing it. Keep reminding me how BIG you are and how much you can do. Today, do mighty work. Let peace reign over negotiation tables. Let justice and righteousness roll. Stop those who advance war and devastation. Raise up an army of holy rebels heaven-bent on restoring what has been taken. And help me to see your bigness in even bigger, unimaginable, abundant ways. Amen.