How Big is Your God?

How big is your God? Do you recognize Him as the “Creator of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19)? Do you recognize Him as the One who with His “own hands stretched out the heavens” (Isaiah 45:12)? 

And do you recognize Him as the one who “marshaled their starry hosts” (Isaiah 45:12), and “established the sun and the moon” (Psalm 74:16)?

Also, do you recognize that God “laid the earth’s foundation” (Job 38:4), “set all the boundaries of the earth” (Psalm 74:17) making “both summer and winter” (Psalm 74:17), “every living creature” (Genesis 9:10) and “created mankind upon it” (Isaiah 45:12)?

How Big is Your God?

We asked this question a number of years ago and believe God is telling us to ask it again. It’s a matter of examining and re-examining our view of Him. So, we ask you, how big is your God? But we also ask you, do you believe He knows and sees you; and does He care? Is He big AND personal at the same time to notice and care about what is going on in your everyday married life? Thankfully, He is! We hope you see that.

Pastor/Evangelist Louie Giglio puts it this way:

“He’s big enough to breathe out stars. Yet He’s intricate enough to fashion together the trillions of cells that make up every facet of who you are. The God who spoke the universe into existence made you, too. And He knows everything about you.”

“From the smallest molecule to the situation, you find yourself in right now, He’s aware of your circumstances. And He is intimately acquainted with everything you do. The Lord cares about you and promises to carry you through.”

Louie goes on to say,

“He will hold onto you and hold you together, giving strength to those who hope in His unfailing love. He is the everlasting God.”

God, Our Creator

Do you believe that? Sometimes it’s difficult to believe it, isn’t it (especially when we’re going through a time of faith-building silence)? It’s a matter I (Cindy) personally struggled with for many years. I wondered whether God really did create the Heavens, the Earth and every living creature. It’s something I doubted because of the theory of evolution that many scientists propose.

I struggled to believe that Jesus is who He says He is. Additionally, I doubted that He is “the only way” to have a personal relationship with God. And was/is it even possible to have a personal relationship with Him? I also questioned the truth of the Bible because I’d heard so many arguments to the contrary.

But God was (and still is) patient with me (in questioning how big He is). Repeatedly, the Lord has revealed Himself to me in so many personal ways. I now know that I know that I know Who He is, and that my faith in Him is not misplaced. As I looked to Him for Truth, He revealed Himself to me through Jesus Christ.

Yet even though I eventually believed God to be the Creator —I still struggled with knowing Him as my loving, Heavenly Father. I wasn’t sure He truly saw and cared about my life and my marriage.

The Lord appeared to be answering the prayers of others, but I didn’t see Him answering mine to the same degree. I would find myself feeling that He is a great God who answers prayer —but not mine.

Additional Difficulties

What made it especially difficult in later life was struggling with two adult prodigal sons who walked away from their relationships with God (at different ages). We’ve spent years and years of praying, struggling to keep believing, and continually longing for their Christian fellowship. The days grew into years, and they shook us to our core.

But thankfully, our one son and his wife recently rededicated their lives to Christ. What a tremendous answer to prayer! Thank you, Jesus!

Other circumstances I’ve/we’ve prayed for have also stormed against our faith. For years we’ve received either “no” answers or silence to important prayer requests. And what appears to be the “silence of God” can be deafening!

But as we seek Truth, we’re reminded that God’s ways are not our ways. Our timing is not His timing. It ultimately comes down to the fact that He is God, and we are not. We cannot begin to know all He does. We keep forgetting or overlooking that. That’s easy to do when it “appears” that God is not working to answer our prayers.

Pastor Ray Pritchard adds the following to this point:

“I ran across something John Piper wrote that really helped me. He says that every day God is doing perhaps 10,000 different things in your life, but you will only be dimly aware of perhaps three of those things. The numbers are arbitrary, but the point is absolutely right. We barely get a glimmer of all that God is doing in us and through us and to us and for us. We’re like little kids peering through a keyhole. At best we see a sliver of what lies on the other side of the door. We often mistake that ‘sliver’ for the whole spectrum of reality. God knows what he’s doing even when we don’t. He’s never clueless even when we don’t have a clue.” (From Ray’s article, “How Big is Your God?”)

Even so, God is patient with us. And through it all we have learned (the hard way) that we must trust His heart and love for us and for everyone else we pray for and love. It’s tremendously difficult at times, but it’s extra sweet when God reveals what He is working on in our lives.

Doubt Storms

We share this with you because we want you to know that you are not alone in your “doubt storms.” We all have vulnerabilities and go through times of temptation and struggle. Ours are just different than yours. Your spiritual journey is different than ours. But none of us escape “trials” and “tribulations” as we live in this fallen world. Please don’t allow the enemy of our faith to fool you into thinking otherwise. (See: James 1:2-5; John 16:33; Matthew 5:43-45; and 1 Corinthians 7:28.)

Our journeys may be different but it’s important to willingly participate in seeking the story God wants to write in you and through you.

Always know that on this journey, we are to “live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) How can we exercise faith if we see and understand everything? And how could we relate to others who are suffering if we don’t suffer? For this reason, “we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Beyond your hurts, there may be someone the Lord will point your way so you can help and comfort them with compassionate understanding.

Through all and despite all, we are promised that we can be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (See Romans 8:37-39.) That is why we are making this point this week. As God’s children we should not underestimate who we are to God and what He can do in and through us. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, and love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

No matter what is happening in your life and marriage, God can redeem it all.

Approaching God

Once we comprehend who we are in Christ and Whose we are as children of God, we can approach the throne of God with boldness (see: Hebrews 4:14-16). He hears our prayers and is a “rewarder” of those who seek Him (see: Hebrews 11:6).

It’s important to recognize how big and great our God is, and yet embrace that He knows us in personal ways. He knit us together and knows everything about us. Our problems do not escape His sight. Once we grasp this, we can gain hope in what God will do in and through us —rather than feeling defeated.

Many of you can purchase the DVD Louie Giglio: How Great is Our God through Amazon. We highly recommend that you find a way to obtain this DVD, so you can view and then share Louie’s presentation with others. You will be all the more amazed at God’s greatness! (And if you purchase it or anything, for that matter, through the above link or the Amazon link on the Home Page of this web site Marriage Missions will receive a percentage of their profits that helps this ministry.)

Here is a preview of this awesome presentation concerning how great and how big is our God. It has helped our faith to grow all the more; we pray it will help yours too. It would be a great date night (or a personal devotional) presentation to watch:

If you live in a country where Amazon.com is not available to shop, then put the title of the Louie Giglio DVD into your search engine. Louie has toured the world with this series so we’re hoping there is a way you can obtain a personal copy to enjoy and share.

To Help you Further:

If you are struggling in your walk with the Lord, we also encourage you to prayerfully read the following articles on our web site. We believe you will also find them to be helpful:

• • Differences in the Conviction of the Holy Spirit and the Condemnation of the Enemy of our Faith

• • Myths We Believe About Ourselves and Marriage

• • Living in Confidence Because of Who You Are in Christ

We pray this will help you in your Christian walk and in your marriage. May it help you to confidently trust our big God for all things that concern you in your life!

Cindy and Steve Wright

— ADDITIONALLY —

To help you further, we give a lot of personal stories, humor, and more practical tips in our book, 7 ESSENTIALS to Grow Your Marriage. We hope you will pick up a copy for yourself. (It’s available both electronically and in print form.) Plus, it can make a great gift for someone else. It gives you the opportunity to help them grow their marriage. And who doesn’t need that? Just click on the linked title or the picture below:

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