There is a children’s song that relays both the “bigness” and the “smallness” of God. When I consider who God is, and in order to grow in my relationship with Him, I need to understand both. The “bigness” of God makes Him powerful, sovereign, worthy of my worship, and totally trustworthy in my dependence. God is all He says He is. His vastness and greatness boggles my mind, but I am certain He is “big enough.” Such grandeur and perfection can also hold me at a distance, until I also realize His “smallness.” The children’s song says He is “small enough to live in my heart.” In one sense, that fact alone puts an incomprehensible dimension on God, because He lives concurrently in the hearts and lives of millions. It is not “dimension” though that the song is communicating. It is intimate, personal, relationship. God’s “bigness” almost demands my respect, but God’s “smallness” conveys His love and His intricate involvement in my life, and embraces me as an infant on her mother’s breast.
Consider the contrast in just the first part of Psalm 147. Our “big” God counts all the stars and calls them by name. His greatness is acknowledged and His power is defined as absolute. He is the One who covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures. He feeds the wild animals, and the young ravens cry to him for food. But within those same verses, the brokenhearted find His healing touch, and the wounds that afflict our lives are tenderly cared for. The understanding we crave is found in a God whose understanding is greater than we can imagine. Our humility is supported and given courage. It is not manipulated or trampled. Those who honor God and hope in His unfailing love find the delight of their Father-God. Intimate, personal, relationship. And for those who dare to understand – “smallness.”
When we securely rest in God’s “bigness,” we live emboldened lives. It parallels the confident words of the child who says, “My Dad is bigger than your dad!” But then, sometimes, the little corner of the world that we live in, becomes much bigger than we ever anticipated. It is then that we need the “smallness” of our God to gently bring us back to His “bigness.”
– Bev
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 147:1-11)
