The Problem Is That Your God Feels Small

Today, I want to share something that has been resting on my heart as we step into a new year.

I do not know what you are hoping for in the months ahead. New beginnings come with a mix of excitement and quiet worry. We carry dreams, but we also carry fears. Yet I am deeply convinced there is one thing God is inviting all of us to do this year. It may not be on your list of resolutions, but it matters more than most.

God wants us to see Him as bigger than we think.

Let me take you back to a moment from my childhood, back in Zimbabwe, Harare.

In primary four, I was the smallest boy in my class. If you look at me now, you might guess just how tiny I was back then. Most days, it did not bother me. Except for one boy. He was much bigger than me. To my young eyes, he looked like he belonged in high school, not primary four.

Because he was bigger, he used that power. He would kick me to impress his friends. He would take my lunch just to humiliate me. Slowly, something inside me began to shrink. My confidence faded. I became withdrawn, lonely, and afraid. School, once full of joy, became a place of dread.

What made it worse was that I could not escape him. Every playground. Every school day. He was always there.

He became a giant in my life. Not just because of his size, but because he controlled me through fear.

Most of us have giants like that.

They may not look like a school bully, but they have the same effect. An addiction you cannot shake. A medical report that keeps you awake at night. Depression that feels heavier than words. Strain in a marriage. Financial pressure that never loosens its grip. These things become giants when they steal your peace, your joy, and your rest.

A giant is that issue you think about first thing in the morning and last thing at night. You try to avoid it, but it follows you. It whispers fear and makes you feel small.

We are very good at pretending we do not have giants. We dress well, smile in church, and say we are fine. But looks can be deceiving. Every one of us carries something that feels bigger than we are.

This year, God is not inviting us to hide from our giants. He is inviting us to face them.

The Bible tells the story of David and Goliath. Israel was at war, and out from the Philistine camp stepped Goliath. He was experienced, powerful, and terrifying. His size, his weapons, and his reputation silenced an entire army. For forty days, he mocked God’s people, and they ran in fear.

Until David arrived.

David was young and unimpressive by human standards. But he saw something others missed. Goliath was big, yes. But God was bigger.

David did not deny the size of the giant. He simply refused to believe that the giant was greater than the God he trusted. That perspective changed everything.

Here is the truth we often forget. God is not small.

He is bigger than the diagnosis you fear. Bigger than the addiction that feels unbreakable. Bigger than the sadness that weighs down your soul. Bigger than the confusion, the grief, the unanswered questions. Bigger than the mountains you see and the ones you cannot yet name.

When we begin to see God as bigger, our problems do not magically disappear. But they shrink to their proper size.

I learned this as a child. The bullying only ended when I finally told my brother. He was bigger than the boy who scared me. One quiet conversation behind a bush at the playground, and the giant disappeared. I do not know what my brother said or did. I only know the fear lost its power that day.

In the same way, our giants lose their power when we place them next to a God who is greater than we imagine.

As you move into this new year, pause for a moment. What feels bigger than you right now? And what might change if you truly believed that God is bigger still?

Carry that question with you. Let it gently widen your view. And see what happens when fear meets a bigger God.