Is Your God Too Small for Your Life?
- Dr. Jeffery Allen Love / Roger Barrier
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Dear Jeff,
How am I supposed to relate to a God I can't fully explain? I feel like my confusion gets in the way of my faith.
Sincerely,
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
That question lingers like a stone in your shoe—the kind you can't ignore, no matter how much you want to, because it gets right to the heart of something we all experience. It takes me back to a morning years ago on the Oregon coast with my kids. I remember the cool, damp air and the sand between my toes as I watched them play. Like most kids at the beach, they each had a plastic pail and were determined to capture the Pacific Ocean.
I watched my son run to the water, wait for a wave, and quickly scoop some up. He'd hurry back, water dripping down his legs, proud of his catch. He showed me the bucket, convinced he had captured the ocean. The water was salty and wet, so it was from the ocean. But did he really capture the ocean? Of course not. The real ocean was still there, huge and powerful. His bucket just held a small, manageable part of it.
This is how we try to understand God. We approach His endless nature with our tiny buckets of logic and reason, desperate to contain Him. We want to scoop Him up, study Him, and say, "Now I get it. Now I have God figured out." But the truth is, a God who fits in our bucket is far too small to meet the real fears and questions life throws at us. And deep down, we know it.
The Tension of a Manageable God
It's hard to connect with a God we can't fully explain. Sometimes we wonder: Is my faith just wishful thinking? Does God really care, or am I just speaking to the ceiling? The confusion can make us feel distant from Him, like we're missing something important. And when others ask us about our beliefs, we aren't sure how to answer.
The mystery can even be maddening. But here's the tension: If you think you have God all figured out, are you really thinking of the Creator who spoke galaxies into being? If God were small enough for us to explain fully, would He be big enough to save us when our world falls apart?
He exists beyond time, space, and matter. Trying to contain Him is like pouring the Pacific Ocean into a sand bucket. It doesn't work—and maybe it shouldn't. The Apostle Paul felt this same sense of awe. He wrote in Romans 11:33, "Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!" (NLT)
We want a God who makes sense to us, at least until we need a miracle. We want a God we can fit into a spreadsheet, until our finances don't add up and we need help. And yet, we trust things we don't fully understand all the time. Most of us can't explain quantum mechanics, but we use smartphones every day. We rely on gravity and electricity without thinking about how they work. So, why do we expect the Creator of everything to be simple enough for us to figure out?
Let me share a bit from my own faith journey. For years, understanding God felt like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. I knew Jesus as the caring Savior who walked with the hurting. I knew the Holy Spirit as a source of comfort and guidance. But God the Father often seemed distant, someone I respected but didn't really know as a loving Father. It was like I was only seeing part of who God is, loving some parts and missing others. This limited view didn't just affect my own faith; it also gave others a wrong idea of God's greatness. I realized I could end up passing on a dry, intellectual faith instead of a real, life-giving relationship with God.
Why Does Understanding the Trinity Change Things?
Everything changed when I accepted the deep and beautiful mystery of the Trinity. The word Trinity isn't in the Bible, but its truth is found throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. We see a clear example of this at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. "After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy'" (Matthew 3:16–17).
Notice what happens here. All three Persons of the Trinity are present and active. God the Father speaks from heaven, affirming Jesus and declaring His identity. Jesus, God the Son, obeys and identifies with us, showing what it means to follow the Father’s plan. The God, the Spirit comes down, giving Jesus the power for His mission.
This is a powerful picture of a God who is deeply relational—distinct, yet united, loving and working together for our redemption.
God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I had to surrender my urge to make sense of Him, to stop treating God like a puzzle. Faith isn’t about having every answer—it’s about trusting the One who does. And when I finally admitted my need for certainty was getting in the way, I found something deeper: a relationship that was more than logic, more than explanation, and more than I could have imagined.
From Solving to Swimming
This brings us back to the beach. The goal isn’t to keep scooping water, trying to solve the mystery of God. We’re invited to drop the bucket, to run wild into the waves, and risk everything by swimming in the vast, untamable ocean of His grace. That’s where faith lives not in answers, but in awe. We are called to live in the tension, not avoid it. When we stop trying to fit God into our limits, we can finally be honest about our questions—and stand in awe of His greatness.
Think about the universe. Even with all our science, we’ve only begun to understand it. We can’t explain black holes or dark matter, but we keep seeking, we keep asking. Why should faith be any different? If God is small enough for us to figure out, He isn’t big enough to carry our burdens or change our lives.
Living in the Freedom of Mystery
So how do we do this? How do we move from being frustrated by the mystery to celebrating it?
1. Worship with Wonder, Not Just Words
Take time to stand in awe of God's greatness. It's like the feeling you get at the edge of the Grand Canyon or when you look up at a sky full of stars. King Solomon, known for his wisdom, understood this when he prayed, "But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). This week, try spending five minutes in silence. You don't have to ask for anything. Just say, "God, You are bigger than I can imagine." Let yourself feel the wonder.
2. Trust in Relationship, Not Just Reason
The Trinity shows us that God is relational by nature. He is a perfect community of love, and He invites you in. Think about your closest relationships. I've been married to my wife, Kathy, for many years. I know her better than anyone, but I don't know everything about her. There are still things I'm learning, and that mystery is part of what makes our love a lifelong journey. I don't have her all figured out, but I'm fully committed to her.
If that's true for my marriage, it's even more true for our relationship with God. We're not meant to be investigators who have every detail about Him figured out. We're invited to be children who know our Father's heart. Paul summed this up well in his blessing: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). Think about the areas in your life where you worry or try to solve things on your own. Give those to God, trusting His character even when you don't see the answer yet.
3. Share Your Faith with Humility
When someone asks you a hard question about God, it's okay to say, "I don't know the full answer, but here is what I do know..." Point them to God's love, Jesus' sacrifice, and the peace He offers. We can't contain the fullness of God's wisdom in our minds, but we can share the simple, powerful truths He has revealed in His Word. Jesus said, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). A humble and curious posture keeps us rooted in Him.
It’s Time to Drop the Bucket
Jamie,
A faith that celebrates tension and mystery is stronger than one that demands certainty. If you demand certainty, is it really faith at all? God’s greatness is our security. It’s good news—He can’t be contained in our small buckets, and that’s what makes Him worth trusting. What if, this year, you let yourself live in awe and wonder? God isn't asking you to understand everything; He wants your full trust. It's time to drop the bucket, run into His presence, and learn to swim in the vast ocean of His grace. That's where you'll find the freedom you've been searching for.
In Christ,
Jeff