Do you remember playing around with a magnifying glass as a kid? I can remember giggling at silly little things that looked enormous under that little round piece of glass. A piece of candy. The green blade of grass. A little bug on the sidewalk. Maybe my brother’s nose. It was easy to see those things magnified because they were physically here.
Sometimes we feel like others look at our issues… our flaws… our mistakes… with a magnifying glass. That’s what my heart has been feeling lately. Because of the somewhat public place my mistakes show, I’ve been feeling hurt instead of encouraged. Shunned instead of included. Sometimes (without realizing it), people can make us feel like we are not worth much. They’re magnifying our flaws.
Then what happens? We begin to magnify our flaws in our OWN eyes. We believe the lies that Satan uses other people to tell us. We believe that we are as worthless as the peoples’ words to others make us feel.
The problem is we forget that we should be looking at God through the magnifying glass… not ourselves. We see Him as small. We see our flesh as the only thing that can overcome, although in ourselves we can’t overcome. We miss the fact that He is big enough to solve all of our problems… to take away all of our insecurities and fears… if we will just let Him.
A few days ago, I had a realization. Without sharing too many details, I was sitting with a group of people feeling completely alone. These were people I thought I needed to please. People whose opinions I’ve always thought so very highly of. But the peace that came over my mind that day was of this: “I’m never going to fit in with them… and it’s okay. God has surrounded me with my people who care about me and my family, and not just about what I can do for them. I do NOT need to please people. There are some people in this world that will never be happy. Nothing will ever be good enough for them…. and it’s okay. I’m not the one who can make them happy, only God can. I’m going to make mistakes, but real friends will show grace.” Since that day, my heart and mind have been incredibly peaceful… and I’ve been smiling again.
It’s up to me to raise the magnifying glass and put God right in the center. My heart desires to see Him for who He really is… not the small God that we think can’t REALLY fix all of this. He’s capable of so much more.
I don’t know if the past two days have resonated with you. Maybe you don’t struggle with paralyzing fears the way I do. And maybe you aren’t so insecure that you struggle with critiquing, controlling, and possessing like I do. But I am pretty sure there is some area in your life where you see yourself and God as smaller than you should. We all have areas where we magnify the problems in our lives instead of magnifying our All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Loving, All-Consuming, Ever-Present Father.
Be Magnified is still one of my favorite songs. It has been for 15 years or so. Listen to it below… and really listen. Then go back and listen again… and sing the words as a prayer to your Creator. The lyrics are amazing. I have made you too small in my eyes, oh Lord. Forgive me….
Oh how He wants us to realize that He’s got it. No need to worry. No need to be afraid of the “giants” that we create in our lives. He has it all under His control. And He is BIGGER than anything that we could EVER experience in our lives… He is BIGGER than any hurt we experience. Our problems seem so significant in our finite minds, but God has a plan that is bigger than anything we can even begin to see if we are only looking through the glass of today.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:11-13
Oh my friends, will you commit with me today to begin holding up the magnifying glass? And to really see God as bigger than we see him in our day-to-day? As we see Him as the God who holds us in His hands, we will see our little fears, insecurities, perfectionism, and need to please begin to melt away.
Leave a reply