Somebody told me a title of a book called “Your God is too Small” by J. B. Phillips. You have no idea how excited I am to read it but not now since I have some books that I need to read and catch up.

For some reason though, the title of the book triggered in my mind many questions, questions such as, Is my God too small? What does that even mean? How big is my God? How would I know?

If you already read the book, forgive me for saying anything about the book I haven’t read but I think it is a book on concepts we humans make of God by our own imaginations and carnal and sinful natures and how those concepts are tooooooo far away from the truth.

The tragedy is not our wrong or false concepts/views/understandings of God but accepting and believing them as Truths.

You see, the one truth we need to accept at least while we are in this side of heaven is this: God is toooooo big to be fully known by us, to fully understand by our 2-pound brain. Period!

The word of God says,

“Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.” Job 36:26 EVS

I mean, does anyone know what eternity really means? Not me! It is unsearchable! And God is too great to be fully known by us, not now and not forever. Even in eternity, we live in amazement every moment (if there is going to be a moment) because God cannot be fully known by us even then.

St. Paul, in the middle of his letter to Romans, he wrestled to show to the Roman Christians how merciful and graceful God was, how His mercy was revealed in Jesus Christ, the secret of substitution and imputation and all that. Then while he was in the middle of writing, I think he was taken away by the awe of God and he suddenly began worshiping God:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36 ESV

Isn’t that beautiful!

I think at this point in his letter, Paul ran out of words to even express what he could understand about God. So, he stopped his letter to worship God.

But do you know that we sometimes, or even often times, worship a god of our making. Oh, yes, we do! And we usually do that when we stay far away from the word of God but we deceptively convince ourselves that we know God and His words.

Then we dare to open our mouth to say, “I fully know God! I can explain who God is to anyone who is interested.” If we don’t say this in our mouth, we say it in our hearts. And just imagine how small the god of our own making will be compare to the God of the Bible. Our “god” is always tooooo small!

What does “faith in God” say to us in this regard?

“Stop falling in love with your ideas, opinions and imagination of who God is. Rather, focus on His word! Don’t try to understand all God’s words but always be ready to accept what they say. Have this life motto tattooed in your heart: “The word of God says it, I accept it!”

You may think that this idea is a small and easy thing to understand but it is not. Because of our fallen nature, we tend to make our own “god” and worship “it” as God. Hearing or reading anything that opposes from our concept of “god,” we rebuke it saying, “in the name of Jesus!”

Why?

Because we still struggle to accept the truth that says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 ESV

If we stop eating our meals for a day, we celebrate knowing that we are going to shade those extra pounds; but if we stop eating for a week or so, we go to see our doctors, if not, go directly to the emergency room knowing that we “shall not live” long without eating. Do we need to be educated and have four or five credentials to figure this out? Nah!

In effect, Jesus is saying to us the same thing in Matthew 4:4: If you don’t read/study/meditate the word of God on a daily basis, you will continue feeling comfortable with your own “god” and start to claim, “He is always with me.”

Duh! You made “it.” It has to stay with you. It is damn, deaf and blind! It cannot choose for itself. It is idol! It cannot walk. You have to carry it with you wherever you go. That is why it is always with you.

Please listen to this:

“Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.” Psalm 115:5-8 ESV

Wow! Those who trust in them will also “become like them.”

Oh, God forbid!

So, my friend, this is what I am trying to say today:

How big is your God? Is He as big as the word of God? If He is, then you must be full of His word so you’ll always be ready to answer to those who ask you and to use it as a sword to attack and offend your sinful flesh and the devil.

Remember, no one can be full of the word of God in one day because the word of God is bigger than the Nile River. You cannot scoop and pour the entire “water” into your heart in one day, but one day at a time, one scoop at a time.

If it’s been days since you read/study/meditate the word of God, you need to go to “the Emergency Room” right now and right away because your god is too small to save you even from flies and mosquitos, let alone your sinful nature and the devil! What is the ER? Your “War-Room,” – prayer room.

But even if someone goes to his prayer room and closes the door behind him, if he doesn’t have a right direction as to how to study the word of God, he can still be prone to making his own god while he is reading the very word of God.

For me personally, studying Reformed Theology is giving me not perfect but good direction as to how to study the word of God. Only the Holy Spirit who lives in us gives us that perfect and unique direction to each one of us.

Jesus said,

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26 ESV

No one can do that for us but the Holy Spirit who resides in us!

The Spirit of God, the word of God, is the only One who can save us from our idols. No one else! May His name be praised and glorified forever! ///