Is God Big Enough?

“And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.” (2Ki 7:19 AV)

 

Jerusalem was in a bad way.  Syria had besieged it.  There was a famine that was so bad, two women petitioned the king for judgment concerning cannibalism.  They had agreed they would boil their babies for food.  The first gave up her child but the second did not.  The king was so distraught he went to the city walls and in view of the entire city, rent his clothes.  Jerusalem, which had a formidable calvary was down to five horses.  A single meal cost the equivalent of a year’s pay.  The prophet heard the king had rent his clothes so he came to encourage the king.  He said about the same time tomorrow, a single meal would practically cost nothing.  This is where we pick up the story.  One of the leaders of the nation states that even if God were to open the windows of heaven, what the prophet declared would still be impossible.  In essence, what the lord is saying is there are things too big for God to do.

I get it.  If been there, done that.  Several years ago, things came crashing down.  Several things were going on all at once that magnified one particular thing as too big for God.  I had lost my mother, my organ player, and my son and his family moved to Brazil.  The boys all moved away and my ministry was coming to an end.  I made a decision in the midst of all of this that I probably should not have made.  It was rather traumatic.  Nothing illegal, but there were threats and no-so-nice phone calls back and forth.  Because I was already weakened by great loss, the consequences of this decision looked insurmountable.  I thought I was going to suffer greatly for what I decided.  This was too big for God.  He could not possibly straighten it all out.  I caused the problem with an unwise decision and now God was judging me.  I had to plead with the LORD for grace.  It was through this event I learned that even the likes of me might experience the grace of God too.  If it wasn’t for my wife and good friend, I would not have made it through that trial.  In the middle of it, I echoed the words of the lord above.  Even if God were to do all that He could do, I had messed up so badly that there was no way out.  How wrong I was!

It is one thing to think it.  Quite another to verbalize it.  We all have those thoughts from time to time.  We may lose someone close to us and the pain we feel is so large, we don’t think even God can make up the difference.  Our babies need food and there is nothing in the cupboard.  We are out of work and there is no money in the bank.  How will God feed my babies?  We have a diagnosis that seems like it marks the end of our days, or the pain from a procedure is so overwhelming, there is nothing else we think about.  In these times, we may think that even if God were to pour blessings untold upon us, it would never make up the difference in our deficit.  But God has not changed.  He is still almighty.  He is still omnipotent.  He is still benevolent.  He still cares and He can still do the impossible.  In times like these, it is best to keep one’s thoughts to oneself and allow God to be God.  You might enquire of this lord.  The prophet’s words came true.  The Syrian army fled and left behind everything.  Animals, food, and material wealth all lay dormant on the battlefield.  When the people stormed out the gates of Jerusalem, they trod this lord under foot that he died.  He wouldn’t trust in the grace of God.  Therefore, he never experienced it.