How Big is Your God?
- elmaddack
- Nov 14, 2024
- 3 min read
If we believe that God is all-knowing, ever-present, and all-powerful, capable of working the most extreme miracles that go beyond human comprehension, capable of moving mountains, healing the blind, and raising the dead, why then do we keep trying to fit him within the confines of our back pocket? His power is limitless, so why do we keep limiting him with our small views? Why do we pray prayers that really wouldn’t make a difference if they were answered or not when he is eager for us to ask him for more?
As a teacher, I really struggle with this idea. My students ask me for a LOT of things throughout the day. Like, a lot. It is so easy for me to get frustrated when I reach my limit of what I can do to help them. I am one human, and I am very limited. I have to make an effort to not let my frustration show to the precious children who don’t know any better.
It’s easy for me to think of God in much the same way. I often step into prayer timid and trepidatious.
“Hey God, it’s me again, back with the same problem. I know we talked about this already, and I know you gave me your answer, but the problem hasn’t gone away and I need help to fix my heart posture. Again. I need your help to increase my faith. Again. I need your strength to resist this temptation. Again.”
It’s hard not to imagine God sighing and rolling his eyes when I approach him with the same thing over and over and over again. But the reality could not be further from the truth. I am a deeply flawed human being, inherently selfish, and lacking in patience. God is a good and perfect father. He has an endless stream of patience and bandwidth and resource that he is eager to share with us. He can give all of himself to each of us and never run dry or get tired. The only limit to the love that you receive from God is the limit you put on it. He has laid everything out on the table, all you have to do is pick it up.
One of my students sits at our classroom door at the end of every day, kneeling on her lunchbox and peering as far down the hallway as she can, waiting for her dad to come pick her up. She recognizes the sound of his keys long before she sees him. She does this every day, without fail. When she sees him, her face lights up, and she yells, “Dada!”
This five-year-old, who can say “father” with no trouble, chooses to yell “Dada!” instead.
She knows her father is good. She is eager and excited to be in his presence.
Are we bringing that same energy to our quiet time?
When we ask for things from God, we must ask in faith, without doubting (James 1:5).
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
We can ask for big things, but if we don’t expect God to actually fulfill them, our asking is empty and void. We must ask expectantly and anticipate the answers, even if they are not what we were expecting.
There’s that parable of the two farmers who pray for rain. They both pray, but only one prepares the field and receives the bountiful crop when the rain comes.
I think about God’s timing as the autumn leaves rain down around me, decorating the air. Any time I try to catch a leaf myself, I miss. The wind current changes at the last second, and the leaf is yanked just out of reach. I’ve found the best way to catch leaves is to sit perfectly still, hands open, ready to receive. When I sit down with my hands folded uselessly in my lap, leaves suddenly land on my closed hands, bouncing off of them and falling to the ground. I have to turn my palms up to be able to catch what’s coming to me.
We must have open hands if we want to receive what God wants to give us.
I think God’s timing works much the same. His blessings are abundant as the falling leaves, and he is eager to bestow them upon you. It takes the right combination of a blessing coming down and your readiness to receive it, but God is over all things. He knows that the best possible gifts will come at a time when you’re ready for them, not a moment sooner or later.
So we wait in peace, expectant. God’s got it.
Suggested listening: https://open.spotify.com/track/29YUMVIUxuMi2QtK6sg0lI?si=efb597db510c40f2
Very true. Excellent reminder. Loved the imagery and examples. from your day-to-day life!