From the Pastor: How Great Is Your God?

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. – Psalm 89

Do you feel that whatever is going on in your life is just too great or too much for you to handle?

When the ancient Hebrews faced a big problem, it was customary for them to look up into the night sky and to contemplate the immense size of the universe and the unimaginable power of its Maker. Then they compared all that with their problem and realized that it was nothing at all in the eyes of God.

So if you’re facing a big problem today, then ask a few practical God-questions:

1) Is God too big to care?

God made the atom and its electrons as well as the planets and stars. They’re too small for our imaginations to grasp. Now remember, Jesus told us that his Father is very concerned about all the small stuff. So God is never too big to consider or get involved in our problems.

2) But then is God too small to rescue us?

The Psalmist says that he rules over the surging sea. In creating the world he brought order out of chaos and still does, every day. He creates a way out of calamity ex nihilo (out of nothing). That means that he makes an exit out of any situation where one did not exist before. If you don’t believe all the examples of this in the Bible, then just ask people you know who’ve seen it happen in real life. History (and the evening news) is full of true stories of it.

3) Is God too small to heal and restore?

If the Psalmist is right that God’s arm is endued with great power, and he can do anything he wants at any time, then why can’t he rescue your marriage? Or your career? Or your addiction? Or heal your disease? He can, and he will, if it is his best plan for us. God has our good in mind always—that means things may not turn out the way we think they should, but they will always be the result of God’s mercy and grace.

4) Is God too small to help you succeed?

Did he fail at his own works? Did he fumble the ball with our galaxy? Is he unable to give us more opportunities if we’ve bungled the ones we’ve already had? If we’re putting God and his kingdom first, then let’s not shrink back in fear if we’ve failed at something. Instead, let’s step out and take a risk again knowing that he’s in charge of everything anyway.

5) Is God too small to handle the problem of death?

It may be that we won’t get the rescue or the healing we want. But if God allows us to go all the way to the grave, then we know that his providence doesn’t end at our funeral. We’ll be with him—some sooner, some later.

If that’s his plan for us, then we know absolutely that we’re still in the center of his hands and that our rescue will be in the presence of God. That can’t be any loss. We will have gained the best there is. Let’s not forget that this earthly place we’re in at the moment isn’t our permanent home, it’s just a campsite along the way. And there really is something much, much better on the way.

So whether in life or death, holding on to our merciful and loving Father, we have everything we need for the problem or the plight we face this day. C.S. Lewis said it best:

When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough.

He who has God and many other things has no more than he who has God alone.

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