Blessings,
MONDAY ENCOURAGEMENT
“I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
— Psalm 69:30 (ESV)
Have you ever really thought about what “magnify” means?
To magnify means to enlarge something in appearance, often with a lens or magnifying glass, so we can see it more clearly.
Psalm 34:3 says,
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!”
— Psalm 34:3 (ESV)
One of our favorite things to do is take our dogs to an open field and throw the ball. We love to watch them run as fast as they can. They aren’t confined to our small yard. We let them off their leashes, and they seem to run wide open with all that space around them.
Sometimes We Need to Look Up
This past weekend, while we were in the field, a storm was coming. As we watched the sky, we saw this amazing scene above us.
This is an untouched photograph of that beautiful sight.
As I looked at that sky, I couldn’t help but think about how often we look down at something that seems so big to us instead of looking up and remembering the greatness and wonder of our God.
Look at that sky. Look at those clouds. Look at that light.
You just can’t help but recognize the Creator.
He is huge. He is vast. He is great.
Whatever is going on in your life today—whether it seems like a little thing or a very big thing—God is bigger. He is magnificent. He is greater than our hearts and minds could ever imagine.
First Peter 2:9 says that we are:
“…a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…”
And then it tells us why:
“…that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
— 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)
His marvelous light.
The Eyes of Our Hearts Enlightened
My husband and I were recently challenged to pray Ephesians 1:17–23. I keep coming back to one phrase in Paul’s prayer:
“…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…”
— Ephesians 1:18 (ESV)
The word enlightened really stood out to me.
The Greek word is ph?tiz?. Strong’s describes it as “to shed rays” and gives the meaning *“enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light.”*¹
It immediately makes me think of the light in this picture.
The sun is behind those huge clouds, and yet we can see its light illuminating the sky. We can’t even see the whole sun—but we can certainly see its light.
And it reminds me again:
Look up.
Whatever Your World Looks Like Today, Look Up
Whatever your world looks like today, look up.
When I stop and ponder how huge God is, somehow what I am dealing with doesn’t seem quite as big anymore. It hasn’t necessarily changed, but my focus has.
Maybe that is part of what it means to magnify Him. Not that we could ever make God bigger, but that we allow Him to become bigger in our view.
So today, my prayer for you—and for me—is that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to see more clearly the magnificent God of the whole universe.
Look up.
Give thanks.
Proclaim His excellencies.
And—
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!”
— Psalm 34:3 (ESV)
Prayer
Father, we worship You. You are magnificent. Open our eyes to Your gloriousness. Let us look to You and know that You are God, our Creator, and have called us into Your marvelous light! Amen
Scripture References
Psalm 69:30; Psalm 34:3; 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 1:17–23 (ESV)
Word Study
¹ Ph?tiz? (G5461), Strong’s Definitions, Blue Letter Bible: “to shed rays…to shine or…brighten up…enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light.”
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