A small thing in His eyes

Some mornings, especially if my to-do list is long, I hurry in Bible reading and devotional time. However, many mornings, God stops me short — as if I ran to the edge of a cliff and screeched to a halt. Today is one of those.

I’m reading a chronological Bible this year and today passages are from 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. In both, David is praying and says, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God.” (2 Chronicles 17:16-17)

I’m at once convicted of my pride, failures to be thankful, and having a view of God that has not been thought through. These verses stop me with thoughts of how much God has done in my life, how much He has blessed me. Who am I indeed? A speck. A short breath. A drop in a vast ocean. Yet God has blessed me and brought me into His kingdom, into His family.

In my self-centeredness, I tend to think that I am a big deal in God’s eyes, but as David says, all that He has done is a small thing. Look at the ocean, not the drop, the vast universe — even one photo from the Hubble telescope will do it. I am, and my life is, a small thing compared to the total works of God. Yes, Jesus died for me, and yes, God loves me and takes me into His care, but none of that is about my importance. It is about the wonder and power and love of an Almighty God who spoke and created all things and who takes care to know the number of hairs on each of our heads. From this prayer of David, I am deeply humbled, deeply moved.

I’m always wanting more. More righteousness, more godliness, more of God’s blessing, more time of hearing His voice and seeing His answers to prayer. Like a child on a trip, I keep yanking at the corner of His robe asking, “Are we there yet?” instead of being glad that I’m on this journey in the first place.

Yet God, the God of enormous power and the God of small things, also says this:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)

David knew it. He was called ‘a man after God’s own heart’ because He could see the heart of God over and above all his sinfulness, all his cravings, all his failures, all his successes. His eyes were not measuring himself but God. As Tozer says, David continually discovered how fully the Lord satisfies the yearnings of his heart, how He is our holiness.

Jesus reveals to me the Father. Sure, He reveals to me myself and my sin, failures and needs, but where do I focus? Is it on the weakness that I feel, or on the power of God that is mine through faith in Jesus Christ?

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, these thoughts are for me a large stop sign. Stop and think about You and the amazing God that You are, so vast and powerful. Forget about myself. I’m a speck in a much larger world, a world that You can change, affect, influence and change without breaking a sweat. I will worship You today much more deeply and with a shake of my head at my preoccupation with me.