Is Your God Too Small?

In a recent group discussion about forgiveness one of the participants made a comment: “Sometimes we have to forgive God.” I was taken aback by the statement because it implied that God has the capacity to do something ‘wrong’ that might warrant confession, an apology and the transaction of forgiveness. This god is imperfect and makes mistakes. I was reminded of a professor I had in college. She was an ordained minister and taught her students that god is still in process, just like us. She reminded us that god has not yet arrived and we should be patient with him.

These views represent a god that is not the God I believe in and frankly, would never want to. He is too small for me to ever entrust my life to him. I don’t want to put my faith in a god that may or may not deliver. This perspective necessitates autonomy and independence. It requires that I be the master of my universe because no one else is capable.

On the other hand, the God of Scripture is revealed as all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, and without sin. Angels bow before Him. He is the Creator who walked across the universe to make himself know to his children. He sacrificed His son to save us. He is far beyond what I can conceive of but the one whom I know with confidence is able to hold my life in the palm of His hand. He is with me in both the good times and the bad.

In Psalm 31:9-14, David cries out to God in anguish, but catch the last line.

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an
object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from
me. I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me
and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”

David knew he could lean on the one true God, whether he was slaying Goliath, conquering the Philistines, or in the dark days that nearly consumed him. David’s God is and was and will be ever more and we have the privilege of being part of the same family. This is the God who is worthy of my trust—He’s big enough for that and so much more.