My god is too small

Posted on February 1, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

My god is too small.

I do not have a theological problem. I have no trouble affirming the God of the Bible, especially as revealed in Jesus.

I do not struggle to assent to an infinite, all powerful God; this is not an intellectual problem.

My problem is a belief problem. What I truly believe is indicated by my actions and when I observe my behavior, I must confess that my god is too small.

My god is too small when:

I look to others to define who I am and how I am doing
I am overwhelmed by my circumstances
I feel that no-one understands me
I get bogged down in guilt
I let my failures define who I am

On the flip side, Scripture reveals the character of God and speaks to all of these issues. For example:

Psalm 139 tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I am not a mistake. God determines who I am and how I am doing (Psalm 139:14).
Jesus promises to be with me (Matthew 28:20) and is in control of my circumstances.
Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6) and understands me
In Jesus I am under no condemnation (Romans 8:1)
Scripture presents every giant of the faith as having experienced failure. Their failures did not define them or keep them from being used by God.

If I truly believe these things, I will act upon them. When I am caught in the first list, it is evidence that I am not believing in the God of the Bible. At that point, the god in which I believe is too small.

Thankfully, I can echo the prayer recorded in Mark 9:24, “I believe; help my unbelief!” A prayer from which I have taken much comfort over the years.

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Lions and Bears as Training Aids

When David volunteered to confront Goliath to take away the reproach of Israel, Saul questioned David’s preparation for this task. David responds by informing Saul of times when he protected his sheep by killing a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36). This story triggered two thoughts as I read it today. First, David was […]

Discussion question – How do you avoid information overload?

With the amount of information available to us the potential for overload has increased dramatically. How do you deal with the volume and avoid overload?

A check that won’t bounce

During a recent Bible study where we were discussing the resurrection of Jesus I thought of the analogy of writing a check. Jesus claimed to have power over death, he claimed that he would die and then rise again. Using the analogy of writing a check, Jesus wrote a large check to us when he promised that we could be raised to new life.

What CSI Tells Us About Our Desire for Truth

I recently read a post by Jill Carattini of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. In the post she discusses the reason for the popularity of forensic criminal science dramas on television such as CSI, NCIS and Bones. The shows center around the desire to find out what really happened to the victim and to bring the […]

Racism, Christians and the NFL – For what it’s worth . . .

Rather than fueling the divide between people, Christians should be at the forefront of those who are trying to bring peace and reconciliation. Listening before sharing opinions, would be a good start toward bringing this about.

A longing for justice

This verse in Isaiah encourages me that at some point justice will be established. We will no longer experience terrorism, disease, or government corruption. We have a hope that rises higher than any flood of bad news that comes our way.