5 Things That May Reveal Your God Is Too Small

Last week I challenged you to think about how big God really is. But like me, you may wonder at times, “Do I treat God as if He is too small? Do I really understand how big He is?” No doubt that’s true of all of us, because it’s impossible to fully comprehend an infinite God with our finite minds. But here are five simple things that may reveal your God is too small:

Your God Is Too Small…

1.  If Prayer is your last resort, not your first response.

When challenges enter your life, who do you talk to first? Friends, family, counselors? We need to share each others’ burdens, and those are all good sources. But first, pray. “Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them” (Psalm 55:22 TLB). “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers” (Philippians 4:6 TLB).

Your God Is Too Small…

2. If Fear and worry paralyze you and rob you of peace.

I remember one year when our house payment suddenly rose $150 a month, stretching the already tight budget beyond its limits. My first thought at the time was not, “God, I know you’ll take care of this somehow.” He eventually did, but I fretted foolishly at first and forgot temporarily to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”(Proverbs 3:5 NLT). I misplaced some simple truths about God’s faithfulness: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27 NIV). “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:13 NLT). God wants us to trust Him in the big things and the small things in our lives. 

Your God Is Too Small…

3. If You cannot forgive yourself or others.

If you choose that path, you are rejecting Jesus’ grace and negating the price He paid for you with His own death–a penalty that granted forgiveness to all who would freely receive it and follow Him. God’s forgiveness derived from His great love–for all mankind.  While emotions of forgiveness may be a process, the act of forgiving is a choice of the will. To deny forgiveness of yourself or others is to say, “God I am not worthy of your love. And neither is anyone else.” Which, of course is true. None of us feel worthy of God’s attention. None of us have done anything to earn it or deserve it and never will. But that’s what grace and God’s love is all about. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). God spared no expense to show you how much He loves you. He longs for your fellowship.

I love these words by A.W. Tozer when he talks about the greatness of God’s love:

“You may not understand God’s love for us. I don’t know that I do myself. We are trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. It is like trying to take the ocean in your arms, or embrace the atmosphere, or rise to the stars. No one can do it….So when we say, ‘God is love,’ we mean that God’s love is such that it permeates His essential being and conditions all that He does. Nothing God ever does, or ever did, or ever will do, is done separate from the love of God.'”¹

Your God Is Too Small…

4. If You Need Answers Now

God works on His timetable, not ours. He knows the purpose of every delay and the wisdom of silence. He does not always give us what we want. Thank goodness for that. But He does plan to give us exactly what we need. His answers may not be what we asked for, but they will be far better. Impatience or anger on our part in this area is a good indication that we have reduced God to the size of our box and our limitations. And God is too big to be confined. He is Sovereign and free to do as He pleases. But there are no accidents in God’s eyes.

5. If You’ve Lost Your Sense of Wonder

I believe as children we are born with a sense of wonder. Everything seems huge to us from our miniature world. But then we grow up. Life can make us cynical and pragmatic about the God of our childhood. Work turns us inward, and success pulls us forward. We don’t make time to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV). And we may forget what the Psalmist David declared in Psalms 19:1 NIV: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Read again the passages from Job and Isaiah in my blog post last week, How Big Is Your God?

If wonder no longer fills your life and vocabulary, then maybe you don’t get out much. Or maybe you’ve just forgotten how big God truly is.

¹ A. W. Tozer, “Comprehending the Incomprehensible,” Tozer on the Almighty God, compiled by Ron Eggert (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: Christian Publications, Inc., 2004)

What About You?

I’ve listed only a few of the reasons why your God may be too small. What things can you add? Where will you start in seeing God bigger? (We can’t “make” Him bigger, but we can open our eyes and hearts and begin to see the majesty and greatness of God).

My Personal Prayer for You

Lord, forgive us for limiting You and confining You to small boxes of our own design. You are far too great and far too big to comprehend; but our desire is to know You better, deeper, more intimately than ever before. May trust in You replace our dependency on ourselves. May joy and love flow freely from our hearts as we seek to embrace the full impact of Your grace. Forgive us for our impatience and anger as we learn in a new way how to wait on You. And cause our eyes to focus once again on the One You sent to die for us. Restore our sense of wonder in Your overwhelming love, Your total forgiveness, Your limitless power, and Your awesome handiwork. Turn our eyes upward, not inward, so we can see You in a new and fresh way that will free us to be all You intended.

Day-votedly Yours,

Rebecca 

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