But every year you grow you will find me bigger.
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
When Lucy sees Aslan after much time has passed, she exclaims, “Aslan! You’re bigger!” “That is because you are older, little one”, answered Aslan. Lucy continues, “Not because you are?” Aslan replies, “I am not. But every year you grow you will find me bigger.” Aslan packs a powerful punch of HOPE in one sentence… a message about a HOPE that is bigger.
Our lives are all about growth… physical, mental, emotional, spiritual growth… The ultimate goal in all aspects of our lives is to grow. While I HOPE I am finished growing physically so I can continue to fit into my pants, I HOPE to continue to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I aim to continue learning, continue connecting with others, and continue to deepen my relationship with God. I want to know God bigger just as Lucy discovered as she saw Aslan for the first time in a long time.
So how do we know God bigger? That is a question that will be answered differently for each one of us because we all have our own HOPE journey to follow. Our journeys to have a deeper relationship with God will follow different paths and contain different detours. We will experience different trials and triumphs that make our HOPE in God stories as unique as the hairs on each of our heads. It is in these roadblocks and detours, trials and challenges, storms and hurts where we see God in all of it… to see Him bigger… to HOPE bigger.
In fact, as I began writing this message, my eyes were drawn to the bottom of the screen where the search bar contained… wait for it… a lion. Today is World Lion Day (August 10). Yup, you can’t make this up. The day I opened a devotional that contained a quote from Aslan, a lion that C.S. Lewis used to symbolize God, arrived on the same calendar day as World Lion Day. Honestly, I had to pause and wipe a tear from my eye as I let this connection settle into my soul. As I write about finding God bigger, having bigger HOPE, God sends me a message that would have knocked me off my feet if I wasn’t seated in my favorite chair in my “devope” room.
So how do we find God bigger? We simply look for Him in all things. We see Him in the butterfly that flutters around the flowers on our porch. We find Him in the double rainbow after a storm. We feel Him in the goodness of others when someone suffers a loss. We experience connections in lion messages, knowing they are not coincidences… they are God winks of HOPE. We grow to know God works ALL things for good, sending us messages of HOPE in ALL of it.
We HOPE bigger as we allow God to work in our lives, gifting HOPE to those around us. I am convinced that as our HOPE grows, we become HOPE messengers for others. As our HOPE becomes bigger it can’t be contained, emanating beyond our spiritual core to bless others with HOPE. Our bigger HOPE becomes a beacon of HOPE that enables others to start or continue their own HOPE journey. It’s a circle of HOPE that has the power to gift our world with HOPE while reaffirming our faith and increasing our own HOPE bank.
Wherever you are in your HOPE journey, know that He is with you in all the HOPE messages. Start with the visual messages such as the butterflies and rainbows, knowing HOPE will begin to settle into your soul and you will begin to experience (feel) connections of HOPE in everything. If you look for HOPE, you will find HOPE… HOPE in all things. Your HOPE will continue to grow a little each day until one day you discover that your HOPE is bigger. Our God is a big God… our Alpha and Omega. He can’t be contained by our worldly walls. It is not about Him getting bigger because He is infinitely bigger. It is about us seeing, feeling, experiencing Him… bigger. It is when we connect the lions that we HOPE bigger… HOPE that is so big it can’t be contained. HOPE that is so big is must be gifted to others because it isn’t possible to keep our bigger HOPE all to ourselves.
Grow your HOPE bigger so the world around you can experience bigger HOPE. HOPE is a gift that keeps on gifting… in a world that needs bigger HOPE. I HOPE that every day, moment, year, decade… your HOPE will continue to grow so that you find Him bigger… bigger in all things… no matter the size or significance.
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