The Spiritual Magnifying Glass

In my post on June 26, I sought to establish the importance of "The God Factor" in our personal lives, and that, for each and every person, there is "no more profound question demanding an answer." And as my quotation of Paul Little goes on to say, the question "Is there a God?" is the question "that must be answered by every human being, and the answer is far-reaching in its implications for every individual."

The nature of God is absolute, totally independent of my personal frame of reference. And yet I've discovered in my own personal walk with God that my experiencing of God is not absolute. It is relative -- in other words, my experience of the absoluteness of God's character depends on certain factors in my life. I've discovered that my experience of God is relative to my attitude and focus in life. The Bible has a word for this important factor of relativity: "faith".

You will remember that Hebrews 11:6 says:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Faith is a gift from God to me (note Ephesians 2:8-9), but how I use that faith is entirely up to me. If I choose to use that faith toward God, and put my trust and hope in Him, then something happens. God -- the eternal, unchanging God -- is "magnified" in my life!

In the New International Version, Psalm 34:1-4 says this:

"I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

David, who wrote this psalm, was experiencing great difficulties at that juncture of his life. And yet he chose to "extol" God, to "glorify" him and "exalt his name." I particularly like the way the New King James Version translates the original Hebrew of this psalm. In the NKJV, Psalm 34:3 reads this way:

"Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."

In the New King James Version, Psalm 69:30 also says something similar:

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving."

Through my praise and thanksgiving, I can actually "magnify" God! This doesn't mean that God actually gets any bigger. What it means is that my personal view of Him does! It is like putting a magnifying glass over an object. The object doesn't grow in size, but my view of that object is enhanced and magnified. Suddenly I see details I haven't seen before. Under the power of the magnifying glass, the object is enhanced in ways I would never have thought possible.

That's the way it is with our experience of God. When we praise Him and thank Him, our faith focuses on God and this has a "magnifying effect" -- God suddenly enlarges and can be seen in closer detail. He suddenly looms larger in our lives -- relative to everything else that is going on around us. He hasn't grown or changed in any way, because He is absolute -- unchanging in all his attributes. But my view of Him relative to my own life has changed! And so I like to call this my Special Theory of Spiritual Relativity ;-)

1 John 4:4 says:

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

The statement made by this verse is an absolute fact. The "one who is in you" -- God -- is far greater than "the one who is in the world" (usually interpreted as Satan, but this could apply to anyone who opposes God). But it is my faith in God -- my personal agreement with this absolute fact -- that makes it a reality for me on a personal basis.

The reverse, however, can also be true. My lack of faith can have an opposite effect -- reducing God, instead of magnifying Him! Once again, God Himself has not changed, but the appearance of His size, from my perspective, has. The original disciples of Jesus constantly fell into this trap, and for this reason Jesus often rebuked them, as He did in Matthew 14:31:

"You of little faith...why did you doubt?"

Have you ever looked down a telescope from the wrong end? Instead of magnifying the distant object, the reverse happens. Everything suddenly appears smaller -- even more distant than before! That's what happens when fear takes hold of a person's heart -- when faith melts away and, like Peter (see the whole story in Matthew 14:22-33), our focus becomes distracted by "the wind and the waves" around us. The gross effect then becomes one of magnification of our circumstances and demagnification of Jesus in our lives. We amplify the obstacles and reduce God.

Faith turns this around. Through praise and thanksgiving, the telescope of my focus is spun back into its proper orientation, and God is once again magnified in my life. Suddenly the circumstances -- those massive waves that threatened to drown me -- become miniscule compared to the might and wonder of my God (read Isaiah 40:6-31).

This is an important lesson for all of us, and something I'm continually putting into operation in my own life. How easy it is, like Peter, to become distracted -- to lose focus. But I declare that my God is "greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4)! I invite you to join me in responding to Psalm 34:3 (NKJV):

"Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."