ON THE VANGUARD

IS GOD NOT BIGGER?
“…apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5b

I have a question to ask you today. Have you ever come to that point where you realize that your best efforts in a situation are still nothing? I was at a guest speaker service last night, and while the worship was going on, God began to interact with me. He began to ask me what I am holding on to. In other words, be was questioning if I thought I could handle certain situations better than Him. Of course my off the cuff answer was no. I have learned through humility that anytime I exalt myself above God and think for even a second that I am better than Him, He finds a way to crush my pride. But then He pointed out to me that although I know the answer, it is still something that I struggle with. There are times when I think that I can do it better, or make it happen faster, or even conquer the enemy on my own. He must have known what my answer was going to be, because He had His answer prepared.
God showed me two instances in the Bible following this that made His point clear. The first is found in Numbers 13. Here we read of the story of the twelve spies being sent out and their report once they returned. Panic was spreading through the camp because ten of the twelve reported that in the eyes of those living in the ‘Promised Land’, we looked like grasshoppers (Num 13:33). How about those words of encouragement, huh? But the other two, Joshua and Caleb, were telling the people, “We can take ‘em!” (Num 13:30). What made these two so sure that a rag-tag bunch of ex-slaves could defeat an army in a land where giants roamed? One thing…God. Joshua and Caleb knew that God was bigger.
Skip ahead a few books in the Old Testament and we land in I Samuel 17. You know this story, David and Goliath. The army of God was being taunted day after day by this giant of a man who spewed out profanity against God with a vengeance. Daily he defiled the God of Israel. But because of his size, no one wanted to attempt to take him on. King Saul even tried to sweeten the prize by offering his own daughter and a promise that the brave soldier would not have to pay taxes, and still there were no takers. Yet on a mission from his father, or should I say Father, David pulled up with supplies and witnessed the arrogance of this giant. Compelled by God and covered in His armor, David went out and met the giant. With one stone, guided by the hand of God Himself, the rock hit and dug deep into the giant and knocked him down. David also knew that God was bigger.
So it comes back to us now. Can I defeat the enemy without God? No! John 15:5 says I can do nothing without Him. I looked up the word ‘nothing’ in Greek and it is OUDEIS. ‘Nothing’ means NOTHING! I cannot do a single tinker’s darn thing without God. I am powerless to even breathe without God. He is my air. He is my heartbeat. He is my substance. He must become everything. He is big and able, not when I but because I am small and weak.
Is God not bigger? He sure is. Only He can make a way. Only with Him can we, also a band of ex-slaves to sin, defeat an army in whose eyes we look to be nothing more than grasshoppers. Only with Him can we stand before the enemy and trust that God will direct the stone that we have slung. We are powerless on our own, but rightly so. Remember, it is not about us, but rather who we are here to reflect and bring glory to.