It’s Good to Feel Small Sometimes

Today I’m in the mountains. I love the rugged high country. As I look out from my chair I see a body of water gently lapping along its banks. I see beautiful forests of vivid green. Beyond the forest are a series of mountains all around. Some of the peaks still have fingers of snow pointing downward. Birds fly by and flowers are in bloom. From where I sit with my morning coffee I have such an awesome scene. In the bigness of the panorama I feel very small. The largeness of the landscape is humbling.

When I was a teen my world was small. My life consisted of me, my family, my friends, and sports. Not a very big picture of life. Life in A-town was a simple one. When my worldview box was small I got to be big. My teenage ego, the friends I had, my family’s support, and my ability to succeed on the athletic field made me, at times, feel larger than life. But looking back, I only felt big because my world was small.

But this morning, as I sit and look around me, I feel small. The mountains, the lake, the trees, and many of the animals have been here longer than I’ve been alive and will outlive me when I’m gone.

This morning I’m reading in Isaiah 42. Verse 8 says,

“I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.

He is ‘the LORD’. Just a simple statement; no explanation, no bragging, no further discussion. He simply is the ‘The LORD’.

That is His name. His name matches who he is. He is naturally named ‘the LORD’ because that is who He is. And as ‘Lord’ He does not share what only belongs to Him; His glory and His praise. Again, no explanation or expanded details. He simply will not share what belongs to Him alone. After all, He alone is ‘the LORD’. And as such He deserves divine glory and our human praise.

When my world was small I wanted my name to be big. Teenagers tend to have a bigger view of themselves than reality dictates. At that stage of life we want our name to not match who we are. We want others to think more highly of us than we deserve. We want a big name, even if we are small. Some people do not outgrow this personal perspective.

As I read Isaiah’s words the feeling of smallness is again reinforced. I feel small before this mighty creation and I feel small before ‘the LORD’ who will not share His glory or praise.

But it’s good to feel small sometimes. My human nature and pride need to be reminded of my finiteness and my humanly weak position in the universe. I am weak compared to the magnificent mountains and forests around me. I cannot conquer the body of water before me, the forests that surround the water, nor could I even climb all the peaks within my eyesight. In fact, any of these three elements could swallow me up without so much as an afterthought.

So today I feel small. I feel small before creation and before my God. But it is a good feeling. It is good because it makes God big. If He can create such beauty and strength by simply saying the words, how strong He must be. If He is ‘the LORD’ and stands alone as the one supreme God of the universe, how powerful He must be. I am, we are, by His own comparison, a vapor of smoke. A puff that rises from the campfire and dissipates before it reaches the treetops. A flash in the history of time. Too weak to conquer a lake, or a stream, or a tree, or a mountain.

As the Lord has given me opportunity to see the world, primarily through mission trips, my world has become big and I have felt smaller, as I do this morning. The Lord has allowed me to visit incredible places around our region and around the world. As I’ve been able to meet wonderful people, interact with various groups, and do His work in remote locations, my view of the world has expanded. I have seen that God is everywhere, and His people are everywhere too. His kingdom is truly a global kingdom.

As I’ve personally walked with Him I have seen Him work on a much larger scale then I ever imagined. God is bigger than I used to see Him as.

So today I feel small. But it’s good to feel small sometimes. It helps me keep life in perspective. He is big, His creation is enormous. By comparison I am small. What a great feeling to know He loves such small people.

I better get a refill on my coffee.

I love being your Pastor. See you Sunday.

Pastor Phil