Magnify The Lord

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." (Psalms 34:3)

I remember being very curious as a boy; I guess most boys are. There was no end to my exploring, examining, and dismantling of anything and everything. One of my best memories, though, was when my parents bought me a microscope one Christmas. There was very little that escaped being placed on a slide and smashed under a cover slip so that I could peer at it. It was like opening a brand new world to me. Things that were commonplace and familiar became exotic and alien when zoomed in at high magnification. The intelligent design, and intricate construction, of even a blade of grass, or a human skin cell, turned the mundane into the divine.

Years later, when I was introduced to the verse above, it made perfect sense to me. As we go through our life, there are many things that confront us that seem very large to us. Even the simplest of difficulties can throw us for a loop and appear unconquerable. It's then that we feel very small and alone in the world.

It's a lot like Goliath when he challenged the army of Israel, and demanded that one man come out and fight him. Israel had no problem fighting the Philistines army-against-army, but they shrunk in fear at the thought of facing this giant alone. Satan uses the same tactics against the children of God. He makes the battle a personal struggle, and attacks us when we are alone. He appears to us as bigger than life and like a mighty warrior who cannot be defeated with our puny strength.

This is when we must magnify the Lord. According to Strong's translation from the Hebrew, "magnify" means "to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things." This is precisely what we must learn to do when the enemy looms large before us. We must remind ourselves how great and mighty our God is! We must stir up our faith in the Almighty, and remember that He is in control of all things.

When David came down to visit his brothers at the site of the battle, he heard the taunting of Goliath and was aghast that no one was defending the name of the Lord. He realized that it was not just Israel that was being challenged, but that the enemy was also challenging Israel's faith in their God. David would not have that! He went out armed only with his sling and some stones. He brought the giant to the ground, and he slew him before all the people. David magnified the Lord that day; and by doing so, he made the giant Goliath seem like nothing.

When we magnify the Lord in our lives, then it brings everything else into perspective. It's not that God is ever small; it's that Satan likes to get our eyes off God so that our problems and temptations will overwhelm us. We cannot allow this to happen. This is why we should begin every prayer with adoration and praise. We can say, with the Psalmist, "I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." (Psalm 34:1-8)

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving." (Psalm 69:30)

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