1 Samuel 17:48-51, "That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine. Hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed face down in the dirt. That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David! Then David ran up to the Philistine, stood over him, pulled the giant's sword from its sheath, and cut off his Head. When the Philistines saw their great champion dead, they scattered, running for their lives." (MSG)
So, what's the big thing that's making you afraid and discouraged? "These bills are bigger than God." Really? "This crisis is bigger than God." Is it? Really? "This pain, this illness, this family problem; it's bigger than…." Oh, forget it! It's nowhere near bigger than God! Nothing is! I learned to trust God to handle what I can't grasp. And I've watched Him supersede even what I asked of Him in prayer. I learned to look at obstacles, trials, and struggles as only another means of increasing my faith, challenging my hope, and building my trust, dependence, and reliance on Him. I learned that my hardships and hard times were only teaching me to do more than read the Scriptures but to apply them, live them and walk in them.
Listening to a child's perspective is one of the funniest things in the world. After all, the world looks a little different through five-year-old eyes. Chase was five and the grandson of one of my dear friends. One day little Chase was out with his mom, and they drove past this construction site and saw one of those giant cranes. Chase got completely wide-eyed as he watched the humongous, mechanized monster move things around so powerfully! And then, finally, in total amazement, he tried to find a way to express how big that crane looked to him. He said, "Mommy, it's bigger than God!"
This is the thought that brings us to 1 Samuel 17:33. Here, we're watching the army of Israel being intimidated by Goliath, the Philistine giant/bully. Yet David is this little guy who wants to go out and fight him! But Saul, the king, replies in verse 33, "…You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him. For you are [only] a young man, and he has been a warrior since his youth." (AMP). And then, in Verse 37, David says, "…The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you." (AMP)
So, by the time we get to verses 45-47, David Charges the Giant! David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your Head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give all of you into our hands." (NIV).
Like Chase, the Israeli army looked at Goliath and said, "He's bigger than God!" And therefore, they retreated! David seemed the least likely person to take on the giant, but he was the only person there who believed that God was bigger than the giant! So, David, it says, "…ran quickly toward the battle lines to meet him." (NIV).
The Jews of Moses' day and Joshua's day? They made the same mistake when they measured the challenge before them. They looked at the Promised Land and saw walls, cities, and warriors that were bigger than they were. Listen to Numbers 13:31-33, "But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are." So they spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, "We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it's a land that swallows' people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. We even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them, we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers." (MSG).
The Contemporary English Version reads: "But the other men replied, "Those people are much too strong for us." Then they started spreading rumors, saying, "We won't be able to grow anything in that soil. And the people are like giants. We saw the Nephilim, who are the ancestors of the Anakim. They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers." (CEV)
They had men say, in essence, "God's Bigger Than Giants!" But unbelief won the day, so the people got to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness as a result! Listen to Numbers 32:10-13, "The Lord became very angry. And he said that no one twenty years or older when they left Egypt would enter the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. NONE OF THESE PEOPLE BELIEVED IN THE LORD'S POWER EXCEPT CALEB AND JOSHUA. They remained faithful to the Lord, but he was so angry with the others that he forced them to wander around in the desert for forty years. By that time, everyone who had sinned against him had died." (CEV)
"It's bigger than God!" That's what unbelief says. It's what worry is saying. It's what fear is saying. It's what discouragement is saying. We don't believe that theologically, but practically we seem to. We get beaten by the walls, destroyed by the giants and the obstacles, because we think, "This one's pretty big, maybe too big for God!" But do you want to miss the Promise because you doubt God's Power? Do you want to die in fear because you didn't live in faith? I think not!
So, what's the big thing that's making you afraid and discouraged? "These bills are bigger than God." Really? "This crisis is bigger than God." Is it? Really? "This pain, this illness, this family problem; it's bigger than…." Oh, forget it! It's nowhere near bigger than God! Nothing is! Compared to YOU, the challenge or the obstacle is enormous. But what will you compare to GOD, who created and controls a hundred billion galaxies and everything in them? Why don't you measure your monster next to Him? You'll find your fear turning to faith and your stress melting into peace!
Where is your child-like faith to replace your child-like fear? Why are you responding like little Chase, who doesn't know any better? To him, everything is enormous; even a machine compared to God appeared (in his little mind) as bigger than God. However, you know better, so why is this your response and reaction?
You've seen God heal, you've seen God deliver, you've seen God save, you've seen God do the impossible, and you've seen God turn it around in your favor. So why do you doubt Him now? You've seen God keep a roof over your Head, clothes on your back, food on the table, clothes in the closet. So why do you doubt Him now? You've seen God protect you and provide for you. So why do you doubt Him now? What did the doctors say before didn't stop God from being God…what stops Him now? You've seen God grant you a job, a paycheck, insurance, transportation. So why do you doubt Him now? We need to learn how to measure our giants by the size of our God, not our God by the size of our giants! After all, what can be measured against God?
Psalm 146 reads, "Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God! I'll praise God all my life, singing songs to my God as long as I live. Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes; their projects die with them when they die. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God, and know real blessing! God made sky and soil, sea, and all the fish in it. He always does what he says – defends the wronged and feeds the hungry.
God frees prisoners – he gives sight to the blind; he lifts the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, and takes the side of orphans and widows but makes short work of the wicked. God is in Charge – always. Zion's God is God for good! Hallelujah!" (MSG)
Now, that's how we need to view our God! Bigger Than All Things! Always in Charge no matter what becomes out of Control in our lives!
This is a friendly reminder for today. You have a history with God. He has brought you through before and He will do it again. Listen, there is absolutely nothing that God can't do except lie and fail! So why are you allowing circumstances to crush your faith? I'll be the first to tell you this is not what I've read but what I've lived. I know what it feels like to feel as though the bills are bigger than God; the pain is bigger; the enemies attack is bigger; the lack of employment is bigger; the lack of money is bigger; the lack of food is bigger—been there! And I know first-hand the response on both sides. I know what it feels like to experience all those things and feel as if God has forgotten you or that your situation is so big that God must figure out a solution to your problem. And I can tell you personally, thoughts like that only bring about fear, worry, lack of sleep, loss of hair, loss of peace and joy, high blood pressure, and the like. In other words, it does not help; it only hurts! You will probably read this and say you have been there and done that, marriage struggles, diagnosis struggle and other struggles But I've also matured and developed into a woman of faith. I learned to trust God to handle what I can't grasp. And I've watched Him supersede even what I asked of Him in prayer. I learned to look at obstacles, trials, and struggles as only another means of increasing my faith, challenging my hope, and building my trust, dependence, and reliance on Him. I learned that my hardships and hard times were only teaching me to do more than read the Scriptures but to apply them, live them and walk in them. You can't walk by faith while standing still in comfort. Stretched faith comes from comfortability and unfamiliarity! Listen to James:
James 1:2-4, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (MSG)
Tests, Challenges, and Pressures Work FOR You, Not AGAINST You! If we weren't tested or challenged to endure hardship and pressure, our faith would remain the size of a mustard seed for the entirety of our Christian Walk! And is mustard seed faith bad? Not! Listen to Matthew 17:20, "Because you're not taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." (MSG) How awesome is that?
But should we stay at the same mustard seed size of faith? I think not! Romans 1:16-17, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and the Greek. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from FAITH AND LEADING TO FAITH [DISCLOSED IN A WAY THAT AWAKENS MORE FAITH]. As it is written and forever remains written, "THE JUST AND UPRIGHT SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (AMP)
Mustard seed faith is incredible! However, it's a SEED for a reason! The word "seed" is defined as "a flowering plant's unit of reproduction, capable of developing into another such plant; the beginning or process of something which continues to develop and grow; to stimulate growth and development; designed to produce and reproduce; to stimulate more of; offspring." Some of its related words are: "fountain; spring; well; beginning; birth; genesis; inception; launch; onset; outset; start; threshold; creation; permeate." And that last word "permeate" is defined as "to spread throughout; to pervade." Its Latin Origin "permeare" means to "pass through." In other words, your mustard seed faith should never remain stagnant like a mustard seed. It's a seed for a reason. It's supposed to reproduce, develop, grow; continue; permeate, and spread throughout! It's supposed to pass through from one capacity to another. And if the Scripture says, "… there's nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle", and that's just with mustard seed faith, imagine what else you could handle with increased confidence? In addition, what else would you believe God for if you grew in faith? Maybe then, when the bills come in, you won't lose your mind; perhaps then, when the doctor gives you a report, you'll still believe the report of the Lord; maybe then, when your marriage looks like it's going down for the last time, it will go another round; then perhaps when your children look as if they're leaving the faith you've taught them, you'll trust that what you've trained them, will not be forgotten; maybe then a layoff will cause you to take a leap of faith instead of lagging in fear.
So, are you encountering something big right now? Well, be awed, but not by what's big, but by your God who's bigger! That's what our little friend saw, something that was bigger than he was, so he thought it was bigger than God. Not So! Nothing and No One is, nor will ever be! That's where we take heart and courage! Even when something is bigger than you, it's never bigger than God (who is also IN you!) 1 John 4:4, "Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because HE WHO LIVES IN YOU IS GREATER (MIGHTIER) THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD." (AMPC)
No matter what you face today, it cannot defeat you! Like David, no matter how Goliath came at him, nor what he came at him with the issue. David knew he had the upper hand because He had the Hand of God to hand him his enemies Head! 1 Samuel 17:48-51, "That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding it deeply. The Philistine crashed face down in the dirt. That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David! Then David ran up to the Philistine, stood over him, pulled the giant's sword from its sheath, and cut off his Head. When the Philistines saw their great champion dead, they scattered, running for their lives." (MSG)
You Serve a Big God, No Matter How Big the Battle You're Facing! Like David, You Will Win! But You Have to Remember to Increase Your Faith and Believe That When God Says I Got You, He's Got You! Hebrews 13:5-6, "…God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?" (MSG)
How dare we ever fear anything when God is bigger than everything, He's Promised NEVER to let us down or walk off and leave us?! But God is ready to help you, so you need to live fearless, with God in you and with you, "Who Or What Can Get to You?!"
Don't make the mistake of missing a miracle because you let something loom larger in your heart than the awesome God of the creation, the awesome God of the cross, the awesome God of an empty tomb, the awesome God of second chances, the awesome God of the universe; the awesome God that's living in you and coming back for you! After all, if the cross, nails, thorns, spear, death, hell, and the grave couldn't stop or hinder God, what makes you think the gas and water bill you can't pay right now can?!
Be encouraged today, knowing there is nothing too big, complicated, or impossible for Your God to Handle! It Is Well, Because, With God, We Win, No Matter What!
Romans 8:31-39, "So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? AND WHO WOULD DARE TANGLE WITH GOD BY MESSING WITH ONE OF GOD'S CHOSEN? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to live for us! —is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone will be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, hard times, hatred, hunger, homelessness, bullying threats, backstabbing, or even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAN GET BETWEEN US AND GOD'S LOVE BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT JESUS OUR MASTER HAS EMBRACED US." (MSG)
BE ENCOURAGED! YOUR GIANT WILL NEVER BE BIGGER THAN YOUR GOD!
Jeremiah 32:17, "O Lord God! You have made the heavens and earth by your great power; nothing is too hard for you!" (TLB)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.com
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