Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Your God is Too Small

Jeremiah 32:27

I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

Jeremiah, a prophet, had been telling the people of Israel now for 31 chapters that Babylon was going to come in and wipe them out if they did not shape up and start living according to God's word. Now, Babylon was knocking on the door and had besieged Jerusalem. God's response to the impending doom of the Holy Land? He tells Jeremiah to go and buy a field.

Seems like an odd request. The city was going to have to surrender to the enemy, and the field that Jeremiah would buy inevitably would be taken by the Babylonians. None the less, Jeremiah was instructed by God to go and buy a field. So, after he buys the field, he does what we might do... he (reverently) questions God, and says basically, "What are you thinking?"

Then God responds with one of the most simple, yet striking verses in the whole of scripture. "I'm am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

Jeremiah had forgotten just exactly who this God he served was. This is the same God that created the earth and all of the creatures in it from NOTHING. He is the same God that formed man out of the dust of the ground, and woman from the rib of man and then breathed life into their bodies. He is the same God who flooded the entire earth and allowed Noah to collect animals from all over the world. He is the same God who parted the Red Sea, and collapsed the walls of Jericho. He is the God of the universe, and Lord of my heart. But to Jeremiah, God had become to small, incapable of even restoring Israel to it's rightful place in the promised land.

I think a lot of times we too can fall into the same trap that Jeremiah fell into, and our view of God becomes much too small. If you don't believe me, just listen the next time you are in a group that takes prayer requests. I'm convinced that the requests you make of God are directly related to what you think God can do. People ask for prayer for their sick friends and relatives, and they ask for travelling mercies. These are all good things that do need to be prayed for, but what are you asking of God that is BIG? What is your church asking of God that is BIG?

Don't get me wrong, we need to pray for all kinds of prayer requests, we must pray for the sick and needy, we should pray for protection and help, but when was the last time you prayed that God would do something MAJOR in your life and the lives of your friends and family? You see we serve a big God who is not put off by big requests; He is honored by them. My wife and I discovered this principle not too long ago, and we began praying for God to do BIG God-sized things in our lives. Our prayer has been, "God, use me and my family to impact our country for your name sake."-- That's a God sized goal that neither I nor Jodi can accomplish on our own, but God is the Lord of all mankind, and nothing is too difficult for him. What are you going to ask God to do in your life that is BIG?

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