Think big! That’s a phrase we hear a lot in our culture. We see it on motivational posters, we hear it from life coaches and we tell ourselves to do it when we’re trying to muster up the courage to chase a dream.
But let’s be honest. When God gives us big ideas and asks us to do impossible things, we sometimes feel like that group of weary, broken exiles in Isaiah 54:2.
The Message paraphrase reads like this: “Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep.”
Only, God isn’t telling them to try harder, dig deep and find their inner strength–he is telling them to trust Him. Because He knows if they trust in their own strength, their tents are going to stay small. If they take stock in their own resources, they’ll find they have nothing to build with. Just like us sometimes.
So how do we actually get the faith to stretch our curtains and drive our stakes deeper into difficult ground? How do we move from ‘thinking big’ as a nice idea, to preparing to actually live it out?
Paul gives us a glimpse of how he was able to continue to think big and stay strong, even in exile. In 2 Timothy 1:12 he writes from prison, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (NIV). It all comes down to who you know. Our capacity to think big is entirely dependent on our knowledge of how big God is. Our faith in God will always be directly tied to our knowledge of Him.
We don’t ‘think big’ because we are capable. We think big because we finally know the One who is. Notice Paul didn’t say, “I know WHAT I have believed.” He didn’t point to a doctrine, a system or a set of rules. He pointed to a Person. Unshakeable faith isn’t built on a formula; it is forged in intimacy.
So how do we get to know God intimately? The examples from Scripture are endless, but Hebrews 11 tells us about some of the OGs of Faith. These brothers and sisters show us (at least) three ways we can deepen our knowledge of God’s character to strengthen our faith.
First of all, these saints didn’t have blind faith; they had a remembered faith. Abraham, Sarah, Moses trusted God because they kept a ledger of God’s faithfulness. They called them stones of remembrance and they wrote them down on tablets. God even set up feasts for them so they could celebrate and remember His Faithfulness to them.
These heroes of Faith in Hebrews also knew God in the secret place. Paul was able to stand unshaken in a cold prison cell because he spent decades talking to, listening to, and walking with Jesus in the quiet moments of his life.
Thirdly, those Hebrews 11 saints obeyed God. Noah didn’t learn that God was a deliverer while standing on dry land, in a place of comfort; he learned it while the rain was pouring and he was inside the ark that it took him over 100 years to build. Noah’s century-long construction project wasn’t just about building a boat; his obedience was the proof of his trust.
And that is exactly where intimacy is forged. It’s those tiny, daily choices to say ‘yes’ to Him that build an unshakeable faith.
Some of us know about God, but we haven’t learned how to know Him intimately. We can build intimacy with Jesus through a simple journal of remembrance, a private and active prayer life, and by tiny acts of obedience.
All at once, this might seem like a daunting task, but you can start as simply as inviting Jesus into your daily lives and talking to Him. You can do that while you get ready in the morning, do your daily chores, or drive to work. Prayer doesn’t require a quiet cathedral, you can turn your ordinary moments into sacred spaces where you and Jesus just talk.
And, if you don’t think you have the words to pray, you can borrow those from scripture. Psalm is a great place to start. Like Psalm 25:4-5, “Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior.” Or, Psalm 94:19, When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”
Challenge yourself to spend at least 5 minutes this week to start with. Just talk to Jesus like a Friend, so that when He calls you to prepare in a barren place, you will look at our empty spaces, or your difficult seasons, and say with absolute certainty:
“I am not ashamed, because I know the One in whom I have trusted. I know His heart, I know His name, and I am completely persuaded that He is able to guard everything I’ve placed in His hands until that day.”
He is able!
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