Realizing a Much Bigger God

Recently, my life has fluctuated immensely. If I’m being completely honest, I find myself getting caught up in the ups and downs of events, thoughts, and relationships with the people around me. Too often, I lose sight of who God truly is. I am desperate for a fuller understanding of the truth about God. In times like these, I am reminded by scripture that God is much, much bigger than I think He is. I want to briefly look at Psalm 50, a Psalm of Asaph, and draw three important truths about God from it. This Psalm has given me both great comfort and has filled me with awe. I pray that it does the same for you. 

1. GOD IS A JUDGE

Psalm 50:5-6: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!”

God is a just judge. His love and goodness are shown ultimately in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but they are also displayed in the Father’s displeasure for unrepentant hatred and wickedness (Psalm 7:11-12). God is far from being a distant and angry father, however, His place as the judge means that he determines what is good and evil and what the resultant, well-deserved consequences are. This is a natural display of His righteousness (Romans 3:5-6). 

2. GOD IS NOT IN NEED

Psalm 50: 10-13a: “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”

As the creator of the universe, God is both larger than his creation, and the sole proprietor of it. This truth doesn’t just apply to millions of cows and birds, rather, it is about all of creation. More specifically, though, it is about rethinking sacrifice. God is telling His people that His place as God is not dependent on how they respond to Him. How often do we elevate ourselves in our minds, forgetting that God does not need us? We need Him. 

3. GOD COMMANDS SPECIFIC THINGS FROM US

Psalm 50:23: “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” 

Psalm 50 ends with this verse, providing a beautiful practical application for Christians. We learned that God is a righteous judge, that He isn’t in need of anything, and that He is not like us. So what do we do? We offer thanksgiving, and we strive for righteousness. We do this not because we have to earn favor, but because He loves us.

There is a right and wrong way to learn about God. The correct aftermath of learning about theology is a correlating adjustment in the way we live. The encouragement found in this idea is that Christ not only empowers us (1 Corinthians 12:6), but he also constantly gives us grace (1 John 1:7-9). Every day I fail to perfectly follow after God, and every day He is still faithful to me. I love the way this Psalm not only reveals truth about God, but it presents us with the correct result of growing in the knowledge of God: our lives should look more like Christ’s and should glorify Him as a result.

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of TeenPact Leadership Schools. To learn more about our Vision & Values, please visit teenpact.com/vision-values/.