The Size of Your God is More Important than the Size of Your Strength

Three-hole punched and organized into a shiny new notebook, my teaching notes were ready to go. The call had come, I had done the long work of study and heart preparation – and I was terrified. Tiny voices of doubt nibbled away at my confidence:

“You’re such a spiritual lightweight! Nothing you can discern from Scripture could ever be helpful to these women!  You’re wasting your time – and theirs!”

When I allow anxiety and my feelings of inadequacy to be the loudest voice in the room, I’m tempted to hand my notes over to someone else:  “Here, you do this.  I’m not experienced enough. I’m not brave enough. I’m . . . not enough.”

Smiling as I read Scripture, it’s clear to me that I’m not the first God-follower to plead inadequacy in the midst of an assignment. Moses famously “reminded” God that he had never been granted the gift of gab. Jeremiah waved his birth certificate under God’s nose, as if the One who had formed him, chosen him, and assigned him to a prophetic ministry might have confused His young servant with a much older, more experienced servant of the same name.

In the moment, saying yes to God can feel risky. The outcome of obedience is hidden from view, for the following life is like a film that we experience one frame at a time. My fiery and faith-filled yes at the outset may lead to blessing and fruitful outcomes; there may be Red Sea crossings and miraculous provisions of nourishing bread and refreshing water at just the right time.

Or – my assignment may be more like Jeremiah’s.

Jeremiah’s Assignment from God

Who in her right mind is eager to embrace a call to “pull up and tear down,” to “tear apart and demolish,” and then, after the dust has settled, to “build and to plant?”  (Jeremiah 1:10)  Certainly not Jeremiah, but it’s interesting to note that God did not respond to Jeremiah’s anxiety with a slap on the back and a “You’ve got this, m’ boy” pep talk. Instead, he gently turned Jeremiah’s anxious eyes away from his own inexperience and toward a greater reality:

“My presence will go with you,” God promised, “and when you need words, my son, they will come to you at My holy command.”

God demonstrated his intentions in a pair of visions, the first a comforting view of an almond tree – shaqed in the Hebrew and a providential pun on the word shoqed for watching  (Jeremiah 1:11,12). God wanted the young prophet to know that He was watching over the course of history. He had prepared the way and set the conditions in place for Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry. The time was right, and the eyes of God would follow Jeremiah like a floodlight at center stage.

The vision of the boiling pot revealed the conditions under which Jeremiah would serve. It was true that evil would overtake the land as Babylonian armies were poised to wash over the nation of Israel in a scalding wave of destruction, but even in this, God reassured Jeremiah’s sensitive spirit with promises of supernatural strength (Jeremiah 1:13-16). How else could he have expected to become “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall” against corrupt rulers, the religious establishment, and a wayward people (Jeremiah 1:17-19)?

Over and over, God made it clear that Jeremiah’s ammunition against anxiety was not found in backbone and bootstraps, but, instead, in the strong presence of a delivering God. Living one’s way into this view of the world requires what Francis Schaeffer called a “moment-by-moment faith,” a taking stock of the adequacy of God – and taking it often. Schaeffer said it plainly:

This morning’s faith will never do for this noon. The faith of this noon will never do for supper time. The faith of supper time will never do for the time of going to bed. The faith of midnight will never do for the next morning. Thank God for the reality for which we were created, a moment-by-moment communication with God himself. We should indeed be thankful because the moment-by-moment quality brings the whole thing to the size which we are, as God has made us. (True Spirituality, page 92)

When the weight of my own small assignment bears down and I feel the excuses begin to bubble up, I’m learning to let truth inform my feelings. Sure, it’s true that I do most of my studying on the fly, and that I scrawl rough drafts longhand into half-used homeschool notebooks. It’s also true that the percent of time I spend doing laundry and feeding people exceeds by far the moments spent in loftier, “more spiritual” pursuits. Even so, for this moment, I am called:

God has given me this class to teach; He has set the words for this blog post afire in my heart or nudged me to make this phone call to a troubled friend. If I am operating at His command, I can rest in the same assurance that carried Jeremiah:

“I made you.
I called you.
I will go with you.”

Your ammunition against anxiety is not found in backbone and bootstraps, but, instead, in the strong presence of a delivering God.

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And Now Let’s Talk Books…

That’s the question behind Debbie W. Wilson’s latest book, Little Strength, Big God. How, exactly, did these people find their “weakness turned to strength?” How did they “become powerful in battle?” (Hebrews 11:34)

In eight engaging vignettes, Wilson spotlights a range of biblical characters from the familiar (David, Daniel, and Moses) to the obscure (Jochebed, Barak, and Jephthah). Each chapter guides the reader into daily study and deep reflection and then concludes with strength-building questions to challenge and motivate.

My favorite section covered the Hebrew midwives who defied the Egyptian pharaoh’s decree of death to all Hebrew baby boys. From them, we learn that “fear of man paralyzes; fear of God mobilizes” and it gives me great pleasure to read the names of Shiprah and Puah in our sacred text while “Pharaoh’s” personal name has been long forgotten.

It turns out that it’s not the size of our strength or even the power of our faith that determines the outcome of our lives–it’s the size of our God that matters.

Holding You in the Light,

P.S. In 2016, when Debbie’s first book was released (Little Women, Big God), I interviewed her HERE. You’ll find my review of that debut book HERE, and she has since released Little Faith, Big God which I reviewed HERE.

From #LittleStrengthBigGod, we learn it’s not the size of our strength or even the power of our faith that determines the outcome of our lives–it’s the size of our God that matters. @DebbieWWilson @ACUPress

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Did You Know that I Also Publish a Monthly Newsletter?

Every month I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase any of the books or products I’ve shared, simply click on the image, and you’ll be taken directly to the seller. If you decide to buy, I’ll receive a few pennies at no extra cost to you.

The story I shared and my thoughts on Jeremiah first appeared at JerushaAgen.com.

Photo by Joice Kelly on Unsplash

Many thanks to Leafwood Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.