How Big Is Your God?

Author and speaker Ava Pennington is a Bible teacher whose heart's desire is to drive women to the scriptures and help them focus on God. In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, she helps us stretch out thoughts about Him.

"My God isn’t big enough. Of course, I never actually said those words. Good Christians don’t say things like that," Ava writes.

That's true, but sometimes we don't act like good Christians, do we? I know I (Dawn) don't. But that's why I/we need to hear Ava's wise words. Maybe you do too?

Ava continues ...

My God isn’t big enough. But I shouted them in my worry, fear, and anger when life didn’t follow my agenda. Then I excused my behavior. Maybe you’ve uttered similar rationalizations. “I can’t help it. It’s how God made me. I’m only human.”

So I threw myself into more prayer, Bible study, and ministry. But relying on external activities—even spiritual ones—was another attempt at controlling life in my own strength.

What I really needed was to upgrade my perspective of God.

Everything in our Christian life flows from our understanding of who God is.

So I began the journey of exploring God’s names and attributes as He revealed them in His Word. The Bible tells us that those who know God's name are able to trust Him (Psalm 9:10), and I wanted to be able to trust Him more than I had in the past. In the process, I learned my perspective of God had been terribly limited.

If you find yourself living the Christian life in your own strength, trying harder but not experiencing change, consider the following:

1. Start with who God is.

One of my biggest mistakes was to focus on one name or attribute to the exclusion of all others. But focusing only on God’s love left me with an anything-goes god who tolerates sin. And focusing only on God’s holiness created an unloving fire-and-brimstone god.

God is love and holy. He is merciful and just. He is all these things and more. To truly know Him, I needed to learn all that He is—not just one or two characteristics that appealed to who I wanted Him to be.

Tip: As you read your Bible, ask yourself what the passage reveals about God’s nature. Then praise Him for who He is (Psalm 61:8)!

2. See yourself in relation to who God is.

The more I learned God’s nature, the more I learned who I am in relation to Him. Any doubts I harbored about how far I fall short of God’s perfection were banished by studying His holiness, righteousness, and justice.

But I also saw His love and care, and how He redeemed and sustains us in all things. God valued us enough to sacrifice His own Son to restore us to Him.

Tip: God does not change (Malachi 3:6). As you study God’s names and attributes, ask yourself, How is my life impacted because God is who He says He is?

3. Enter into relationships in light of who God is.

God is a personal, relational God. We see this in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is fellowship in the Trinity, and God created humanity for fellowship with each other and with Him.

The more we learn who God is, the more we’ll understand the priority He places on relationships and the characteristics needed to nurture those relationships.  

Tip: The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)—are attributes of God that He develops in us. Ask Him to show you which ones are missing from your relationships. Instead of trying harder to develop these characteristics yourself, submit to the Holy Spirit in those areas and watch Him increase them in you!

Studying God’s names and attributes helped me understand that not only is my God big enough, He is bigger than I could ever imagine!

Are you clinging to one "picture" of God to the exclusion of others? Do you need to stretch your understanding of who He is and rightly relate to Him? It might be time to start a deeper study and see how BIG God really is!

Ava Pennington’s newest book, Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, is endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precept Ministries. She has also written numerous magazine articles and is a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers (AWSA) and the Christian Authors Network (CAN). Ava also teaches a weekly Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class of 175+ women. She is a passionate speaker who engages audiences with relevant, enjoyable presentations. Visit her at AvaWrites.com.

Photo graphic adapted, image from photos-public-domain.com.