We often hear people talk about magnifying the Lord. The Psalms implore us to magnify the Lord quite often. What does it mean to magnify the Lord? When we hear the word magnify, we automatically think ‘to make something seem bigger than it really is’…like when using a magnifying glass to make small print appear bigger and more easily read.
When we say we are going to magnify the Lord, we are saying we are going to extol and proclaim His goodness and greatness to those around us…to our own soul…to the lies of the enemy. There is nothing bigger than God, so the way we magnify Him is to simply live our love for Him out loud! He is bigger than any circumstance. Bigger than any wound. Bigger than any failure. Bigger than any problem. Magnifying God is really us expressing our thanks for His bigness!
There are times in our lives (more often than we like to admit) when we feel overwhelmed and wonder why God would allow us to go through so much adversity. Often, we fall prey to the unspoken belief in Christendom that tells us that life should be easier for believers. Of course, quite the opposite is true. When we follow Christ, His enemy is enraged. Satan hates Who we stand for and Who we follow. He hates who we are as new creations! He is bound and determined to make our lives miserable. What he does not understand is grace. God uses the circumstances of life and the darts of the enemy to bring glory to His name and refreshing rain to our deserts.
Sometimes is feels as if the onslaught is endless and this can cause me to be tempted to stop being thankful and grateful to God for His presence and blessings in my life. That is why I have chosen to magnify the name of the Lord during such times of distress rather than to allow those distressing things dampen my praise to God. My determination? God is in control and I will praise Him!
I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30 NKJV
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
Exalt the LORD with me,
And let's exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:1-4 NASB
My physical struggle with Parkinson’s makes the words of this Psalm very real to me. No matter what, I will continue to magnify the Lord. Much like Job when his life was being torn apart and the enemy continuously bombarding his mind with fiery darts trying to cause Job to doubt and reject God, Job said this:
"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.” Job 13:15 NASB
Job’s faith was such that he believed God was good even when bad things happened to Him. Job’s belief was that God would use even the tremendous loss and suffering for his good. Job continued to magnify the name of the Lord. God has not changed regardless of my circumstances. The only thing that has changed are my circumstances. Jesus remains the same…and I will continue to magnify the name of Jesus Christ until the day I die.
If you’re feeling bombarded by the lies of the enemy today, magnify the Lord. If you are feeling less than the new creation God says you are, magnify the Lord today. Whatever your circumstances, do this…magnify the name of Jesus.
Dennis Jernigan
To hear The Dennis Jernigan Podcast version of this teaching and to hear the song I Will Magnify, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/i-will-magnify/
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