Bird’s Eye View Pt.2

As I walked in the door to my cousin’s house to visit the other week I saw them playing a game with their daughter that I remember when I was younger.  His cute 18 month old daughter sitting on the floor playing with her Mom, and Mom said to her daughter, “How big is Emily?”  Who would then squeal and spread her arms really wide and they’d both laugh and say so big!!!  This game used to keep me amused for hours as a kid, laughing about how big I was becoming and how much my Mom and Dad loved me.  It was a fun game for a small kid to be playing.

As young kid we laughed and played along with this game, believing that we were that big, and that our parents loved us that much.  As we have grown we each have been faced with a number of circumstances and situations which make us feel, a little less big, or just downright small.  We have stress at work, busy schedules, and issues with our kids, and worries about finances, just to name a few.

As we read through scripture there is an age old practice that was used to aid during challenging times in life.  This practice was reflecting on God, and His Word.  We read in Psalm 13, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (vs. 1)…But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:1, 5-6, TNIV)  You can hear the pain and anguish of the psalmist, crying out to God for help.  As they pray to God and reflect, there is a dramatic shift in their tone as you read verse 5 and 6.  They move from outright hurt and pain, to someone lifting a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.  So what happened, it’s simple.  How big is your God?  So BIG!!!  They had a shift in perspective because suddenly their issues grew smaller in the presence of a God as large and powerful as their God.

To be able to reflect like that on God and our situation, we have to know who it is that we are reflecting on.  We see God reveal himself to us in through the Bible, but also in our lives and in the lives of others.  Take time to read the Bible, to study, to learn about God.  Take time to listen and to hear stories from others about God’s work in their lives.  I have heard stories of God removing cancer and healing a man who was dead on the table for 90 minutes back to full health.  God’s work is not just in those “big” or “miraculous” ways, but we can see God at work through a million “small” or “common” ways in our lives too.  The next time you encounter a bump in the road or have a tough day, take a moment and ask yourself, “How big is your God?”

Pastor Bill

Discussion Questions

  1. What is one thing in life right now that is making you feel small, or challenged?
  2. What barriers do you have to approaching God in those moments?
  3. How would live look different with a shift in your perspective?
  4. Take a moment read any of these Psalms to see this at work more: 3, 13, 22, 39, 51, 130, 36, 125, 126