Day 23 โ God is big, people are not
“๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.” ๐๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ธ 10:28 ๐๐๐
This is a lesson Iโve tried to teach my children (and myself) over and over: when people loom larger in our minds than God, we become more concerned with appearing inadequate before them than with sinning against God. Fear of people can become a snare, holding us back from fully surrendering to God. As much as I wish I could say I am never shaken by conflict or wounded by rejection, the truth is that I am. Those moments can magnify the actions of others so much that we lose sight of God and focus only on the giant before us.
In todayโs verse, Jesus speaks directly to this fear – even if the threat leads to death – and reminds His disciples that such fear should not control them. When God is given His rightful place in our lives, we are freed from the grip of peopleโs opinions and actions. We are no longer enslaved to fear but released to surrender wholly to Him.
Choosing to honor the Sabbath is one way we practice this surrender. It is a deliberate act of relinquishing control, setting aside our striving, and fixing our gaze on God. In doing so, our focus shifts from the giants we face to the greatness of the One who reigns over every situation. And in that posture, every conflict, rejection, and challenge becomes an opportunity to glorify Him because God is bigger than people.
Prayer: Father, thank You for teaching us that You are big and people are not and that by consistently keeping our focus on You, we grow closer to Your heart and treat people in a way that honors You. Help us during the time we learn how to honor the Sabbath, to understand the equation between humanity and divinity, and that fear of You is not replaceable by fear of men. Amen.
