As I opened the package left by my door, I was so excited.  For my birthday, my son and his family sent me new athletic shoes – new cool-looking blue ones, trimmed in bright green.   I pulled them out of the box, and was shocked how big they looked.  Was my foot really that big?

I put the shoes on and they fit perfectly and looked great.  Still, I could not believe my foot was that big. I am a fairly tall woman, but normally I wear a six-and-a-half shoe, and occasionally I need a seven.  But, as I looked at the shoes they looked huge, like something Goliath might wear.

As I sat there a few minutes, looking at the shoes, I was about ready to send them back.   I stared at the shoes; I focused on the enormity of the shoes.  As I sat down to think about the largeness of the shoes, I  took off my reading glasses for a few minutes.  When I looked at the shoes again, they looked much smaller.  It was then I realized, that the shoes looked huge because I had on thick reading glasses.  The size of the shoe depended on the lens through which I viewed it.

Thus, it is with life!

Recently I found myself overwhelmed at all the problems in our world, and in the lives of people.  I am praying for/with people who have serious things going on in life – things that look so large, they scare me.  I can easily step into the realm of looking at them through the lens of my own human eyes and understanding.  They look so big – I wish I could just send them back!

Then, I remember that I must look through the lens of the incredible God with whom I walk, and to whom I pray. One of the hardest lessons we learn is that God is FAR bigger than any problem or circumstance.

In the story of Abraham in scripture, there is a narrative of Abraham trudging up the mountain of sacrifice.  As he got the altar and the wood ready, Isaac was puzzled, and asked, “Father, where is the sacrifice?” Abraham responded, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”  Abraham walked up the side of the mountain, with faith that God would provide.  As Abraham and his son walked up one side of the mountain of life, God was already walking up the other side to provide what was needed.

The truth is that we do face trials in our lives that are bigger than we are. God is okay for us to acknowledge that WE ARE NOT bigger than some of the things we face.  He also wants us to know that HE IS bigger than all of those things.

What hard mountain are you walking up today?  Put on the lens of faith – the lens that sees that God is already walking up the other side of the mountain, and He will provide what is needed.  God is bigger than your mountain.

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” – Psalm 147:5