Big God-ers
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“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Isaiah 40:28 ESV
According to A. W. Tozer, the most important thing about you is what comes to your mind when you think about God. “Were we to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes to your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
A.W. Tozer (The Pursuit of God)
Tozer isn’t alone in his assessment. Back in the glory days of Princeton Theological Seminary, there lived some of the greatest preachers and teachers of our nation’s history. One of the brightest lights was a brilliant linguist named Robert Dick Wilson.
Robert Dick Wilson trained hundreds of pastors and sent them out all over the country. He would then invite those graduates back to Millard Chapel to speak to the current students. Wilson would sit in an obscure corner and listen. From that he drew a conclusion about their future ministry success.
Consider his words:
“When my boys return, I come back to hear them – once, just once. I come back to see if they are ‘big God-ers’ or ‘little God-ers.’
“Some men have a little God. He doesn’t intervene on behalf of His people. He can’t do any miracles. He’s a little God. And because these men have a little God, I call them ‘little God-ers.”
“But then there are those who have great God. He speaks, and it is done. He commands, and it stands fast. He knows how to show Himself strong on behalf of them who fear Him. Now for those like this, I call them, ‘big God-ers.’ How He blesses their ministry!”
Are you a “big God-er” or a “little God-er”?
So, here’s the question for you: Are you a “big God-er” or a “little God-er”? I’m convinced that for all too many of us our God is too small.
And the implications of this are wide-ranging. For example, with a small God, you live in a constant state of fear and anxiety.
Are you a “big God-er” or a “little God-er”? With a small God, you live in a constant state of fear and anxiety.
It affects our finances.
With a small God, your finances are a continual source of concern because everything depends on you. In light of that, you’re going to be tempted to reach and grab, to hold and hoard, because if you don’t look out for yourself, who will?
It affects our relationships.
When facing the challenge to pursue relational integrity with people, if you’re a “little God-er” you’ll back away. Or when the occasion rises that someone needs to be confronted in love, you’ll back down. Why? Because if you don’t live in the security of a big God’s acceptance of you, you become a slave of what others might think.
If you don’t live in the security of a big God’s acceptance of you, you become a slave of what others might think.
It affects our character.
If you live with a shrunken God, when you face the temptation to speak deceitful words to protect yourself, you’ll probably say them. If you are given the opportunity to elevate yourself, even at the cost of your integrity, you’ll probably take it. Because you don’t believe that there is One who sees all things in secret and who will one day reward.
It affects our witness.
If your God is small, when faced with the opportunity to share your faith or the challenge to take a stand for Christ, you’ll probably back off. Because you don’t have the confidence in knowing that if a giant God loves you, what difference does it make if people scoff at you?
The fact of the matter is, most of our problems are not circumstantial. They are perceptual. Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small.
Most of our problems are not circumstantial. They are perceptual. Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” He’s a big God. So put your problems and pressures in His hand. It’s a big one.
Prayer:
Lord, I have to admit that all too often I’ve let the size of my problems overwhelm my understanding of how big You really are. Please forgive me for shrinking You. Help me to step out in bold faith in light of the fact that You are so-o-o big. Help me to life as a “big God-er.”
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