How big is YOUR God?
Yesterday during our family
devotional, I asked my two sons, aged 8 and 10 how big
they were. Immediately they started to show
themselves to be big and even started to stand on their
tip of their toes. "I am big, very big!"
I then asked how strong they
were. Again their answer was: "I am very strong.
I am stronger than my brother".
When I asked how these two
strong young men would feel if they were confronted by two
drunken men with knives in their hand. All of a
sudden they didn't feel that big and strong.
Then I asked that how they
would feel if a heavy (250 pounds) tank of a man (an
Arnold Swartzenegger type) stood behind them (let's call
him Bulky), and Bulky was at their side. They both
felt they could stop that brawl without any difficulties.
This reminds me of a scene in
the Lion King movie (my memory may not be too accurate, as
I saw this movie 10 years ago!) The little lion
prince was with his friend, Nala. They were
surrounded by hyenas. The little prince tried to be
courageous and growled a ferociously weak growl. The
hyenas, undeterred, were closing in on them. But at
his last yelp, the hyenas suddenly stopped in their
tracks, turned, and ran away. The litter prince,
filled with pride, smiled. Then he turned around and
saw his dad, the most ferocious lion in the land: the Lion
King. No wonder those hyenas ran away! Did the
little prince scare them away? No! The Lion
King standing behind the prince scared them away!
How do we react when we are
facing colossal problems? Are we shying away from
them? How do we react towards people who need to
hear the salvation message? Do we lose all of our
strength? Does it seem that our God is very little
at those times?
The way we see our God will
determine our actions on this planet. We may
proclaim that God is all powerful, but if we don't believe
He is powerful in our situation, we will lead lives of
defeat and of discouragement.
We cannot have a Bulky all
the time at our side (it would be annoying any way!
Nobody would notice you. Everyone would notice
Bulky!). However, we are guaranteed to have Jesus at
our side at all times. Here is His guarantee: Matt
28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
(He sure is big and powerful! He is the most
powerful being in the Universe!) Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age." NIV
The most powerful being in
the Universe, the One who has all authority in the
Universe (there is no one higher than that!), promises to
be with us at all times. No hyenas have a chance
against us with our Heavenly Father backing us!
Should we lead defeated
lives? No! Jesus is with us!
Should we feel embarrassed to
share the gospel with someone, fearing possible rejection?
No! Jesus is with us!
Should we feel intimidated
with the enormous problems we are facing? No!
Jesus is with us!
Victory can only be ours with
such odds.