I know a person or two who are terrified of grasshoppers. Do you? Much as I would like to laugh at them, I don’t because I too go into flight mode—not the phone feature—when I see certain (harmless!) creepy crawlies.
Now, the other day a verse came to mind and I looked it up because I remembered only a portion of it. The verse said,
"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers."
Isaiah 40:22 NIV
My initial thought was to remember how I sometimes squish dudus (bugs) for no reason other than because I can. As you can imagine, seeing this verse made me view God through my own actions towards dudus, and I was left feeling extremely discouraged! The Lord in His mercy turned my attention to Job—chapters 38 and 39—where I read that the animals we consider strong and dangerously powerful beg God for mercy. And not just that, but also that these mighty animals ask God to allow them to be His slave! Isn’t it amazing to know that these huge and powerful animals acknowledge God’s might!
Somehow, reading about God’s power through these chapters in Job encouraged me. I understood that God is Almighty, all powerful and sovereign over all creation. He uses His power for good (e.g. setting the earth’s dimensions so it can sustain life, or giving food to the ravens). I also understood that unlike me, God does not squish His creation pointlessly—like I do with dudus. He instead gently cares for all His creation, and directs everything in the way it should go.
I now realise that it is beyond my ability to comprehend the extent of His power! And, that unlike God, I am in not in in control of anything.
Everything is possible for Him. So, I shouldn’t limit Him by saying “safe” or “small” prayers. Also, because He is so much more powerful than I can imagine, everything about me is small in comparison to Him. Therefore, to Him there is no big or small prayer . . . they’re all small! Which is all the more reason why I should pray about everything.
And . . . if I know He has the power to do anything and everything, then I should have faith that He is able to do what I have asked. Especially when what I have asked seems impossible.
At the moment I must confess that this is head-knowledge for me, and my current prayer is for Him to turn it into experiential knowledge.
Lord, I believe all things are possible for You. Help me overcome unbelief!