Magnify

INtro

As a kid, I loved toys. And I was that kid that had huge toy boxes—full of trinkets, blocks, and everything you can imagine. I had a huge collection of Transformers. I had Spiderman toys. I had G.I. Joe toys. I had Legos. In short, I LOVED my toys. One of the toys you would find in my toy box was my magnifying glass.

And I really enjoyed my magnifying glass because (1) it helped me feel mysterious and (2) it gave me the chance to try out somethings that I saw on TV. I remember watching movies and shows that had detectives using magnifying glasses to help them discover pieces of evidence at the scene of a crime. So, I would go around my house like a detective, pretending to find clues at the crime scene. I also remember watching cartoon shows that had teenaged boys use their magnifying glasses to burn ants. So, I would take my magnifying glass to my back yard and, like a mischievous kid, reign havoc on the ant colony that lived just outside my house.

I also remember using my magnifying glass to look at the little details in the rocks and leaves. My magnifying glass could pick up details, textures, colors, and shades that my bare eye couldn’t see all by itself. You see, my magnifying glass didn’t necessarily change what I saw, but strengthened how I saw it.

As I’ve gotten older, I realize that whatever I magnify will occupy my focus and my attention—whether its for better or for worse. If i’m nervous about a confrontational conversation, I will magnify my stress. If i’m excited about a big church event coming up, I will magnify my excitement. If i’m stressed about a sermon that I have to preach for my seminar in preaching class, I will magnify that, too. Why? Because magnification strengthens how I see something.

As a leader, King David knew what it took to create a powerful Kingdom. He knew that God had anointed him to be the king. He knew that he was set apart to accomplish something great. But even under his great leadership, David knew that there was something important his people needed to learn. Turn with me to Psalms 34:3.

Psalms 34:3 says, “O magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.”

Psalms 34 finds David in a state of praise. The language he uses throughout this Psalm is very celebratory. Verses like, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” , “My soul makes its boasts in the Lord.”, and “I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” are all verses found in this chapter. David’s praise in Psalm 34 is palpable. But why? Why is David full of deep praise and gratitude as he is writing this beautiful Psalm?

It’s believed that Psalm 34 was written after David’s life-threatening situation in 1 Samuel 21. There, David is trying to runaway from big bad Saul. Because Saul is trying to kill this dude! So David flees, and tries to hide with king named Achish. But as David is trying to hide and stay low, one of King Achish’s guards recognizes him! In other words, this guard snitched! “Isn’t this the David that people sing about?” “Isn’t this the guy that people think is better than Saul?” David heard the guard and became so scared of what King Achish might do to him. But David came up with a clever plan (a seemingly silly one), and safely avoided a potentially dangerous, life-threatening situation. David got away without a scratch.

You can already feel the sense of relief that David must have felt. You could feel his heart rate SPIKE as he heard the guard blow his cover. And you could hear his sigh of relief after he got away. Something that could’ve went really bad, really quickly ended up

You see, David could have magnified his sufferings. But no. David decided to magnify his Savior—Yahweh. “O magnify the Lord with me”

The word for “magnify” in the Hebrew means to grow or to strengthen. King David has this deep seated belief that his people must magnify the Lord. They must be willing to strengthen how they see God. David is calling his people to magnify the Lord with him—to see and experience the God that he knows. But Magnification doesn’t seem to be the only desire of David.

The text continues and says, “let us exalt His name together.” Here, David is not only inspiring magnification, but also exaltation. In the Hebrew, the verb alludes to that of an act of worship fit for a king. Translations like: “To exalt”, “to rise”, and “to glorify” all imply one’s worship they would give to someone in authority. Whoever someone decides to glorify ultimately is the authority of their life. If someone exalts and glorifies a king or a queen, they are doing so because they trust that they are in control.

Magnification changes what you perceive. Exaltation changes who you praise.

David, full of immense joy, calls his people to magnify and glorify. He calls his people to magnify and glorify Savior, and not their sufferings.

Interestingly enough, the enemy realizes that we can be changed by whatever we decide to put our focus on. The enemy knows if we focus on something else other than the Father, we can be changed by it. Many of us are tempted to focus more on our sufferings than to focus on our Savior. There is something so real and palpable about replaying moments of pain and sorrow in our head. Moments that lasted a few moments tend to occupy space in our minds for years, sometimes decades. We allow shame and fear to dictate how we decide to live our lives.

For me, I have the tendency to focus on the minute mistakes of my life, forgetting the major blessings the Lord gives to me. The idol of perfection tries to take a hold of me, distracting me from the perfection of my Father. The enemy uses this idol to rid me of the faith in my heart, and fill me with the shame of my mistakes. I then have the tendency to ruminate on conversations, mistakes, and worries that seem so minuscule in retrospect. Consequently, my gaze is shifted from the throne of grace to the valleys of despair. However, King David is encouraging and inviting me to look elsewhere. I must magnify my Savior, not my sufferings.

Recently, God called my wife and I to pick up our stuff and move across the country. For the past four years, we had been in the city of Fort Myers, Florida. There, I was the Associate Pastor of the Fort Myers Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was my very first church to start pastoral ministry. And I am so glad it was. We were able to learn how to love, pastor, and cry. We walked so nearly with people that we got to see the true nature of human life. With that community, we learned how to be a married couple, braced for a global pandemic, and rebuilt after a catastrophic hurricane. It seemed like life was terrible, but God had us all in His hands. 2022 was soon ending, and my Senior Pastor and I had amazing plans for 2023. We had only been working together about a year at that point, and, by God’s grace, and we had already accomplished so much together. But in December of 2022, I received a clear sign from God that it was time to go. You see, nothing bad had happened at the church. Relationships were awesome. Ministries were thriving. Life was going so amazing. But God had different plans. God has made it clear that it was time to move. We didn’t know where yet, but eventually, God made it clear that it was time to move back home to Southern California.

‌In faith, we decided to trust God and move forward with His calling. But, man, was that transition difficult. Everyone tells you that pastors move a lot, but nobody tells you how expensive it is to move. Everyone tells you that pastors move a lot, but nobody tells you the emotional toll it takes on your family. Everyone tells you that pastors move a lot, but nobody tells you how spiritually draining it is to break the news to your church. Nobody tells you how much suffering you experience in a season of transition.

‌Fast forward a bit in time. Interviews were conducted. Goodbye parties were thrown. Many, many tears were cried. Our house was packed and the SECC moving truck is already on its way. My wife and I are now on our road trip to California. We drove a total of 38 hours (about 1 and a half days) across the United States of America. It was quite a journey. A trip of this magnitude is something to be grateful for. But to be honest, there were many times I was focusing too much on my personal suffering. Thoughts were racing through my head as I was trying to figure out how to pay certain bills, reestablish myself in a new congregation, learn how to live in a new city. Thoughts of doubt were racing through my mind. There were ample moments of impostor syndrome and shame. “Why are you doing this?” “What’s the point?” “Why did you do this to your family?” were all questions that were running through my mind. I was magnifying my sufferings.

‌Our final day of driving arrives, and we finally cross the California border. With 6 hours left in our drive, we came across a dessert valley that has stunning views. To some, this is the “boring” part of the drive. To me, it was a divine experience. For the first time in months, I felt small. I felt like a drop of rain in the palm of a Mighty Hand. It was not a sense of fear, but a sense of belonging. There was stillness in my mind. No thoughts of doubt, no questions, no shame. Nothing but the breadth of the valley. Truly, I am not able to describe how I felt. But I can describe what God was telling me. In that moment, it was utterly clear that God was reminding me to keep my eyes on Him, not on myself.

‌For too long, I was focusing on my performance. For too long, I was focusing on my ability to make ends meet. For too long, I was focusing on my personal skill set. For too long, I was not focusing on the might of my Jesus. But in some desert valley along the 8 West Freeway in California, my Jesus reminded me to magnify and exalt Him, and not my sufferings.

Today, we are almost two months into this new season. I am not here, saying that I have it all figured out. But I am here, saying that I am held by my Savior. I am not here, saying that I have perfectly met all my expectations. But I am here, saying that my Jesus has taken care of everything. I am not here, saying that my suffering is one. But I am here, saying that my Savior is stronger than my sufferings.

Today, I choose to magnify and exalt my Savior, and not my sufferings.

And like King David, I say to you: “O magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.”

Ellen White in her book Steps to Christ says, “Nature and revelation testify alike of God’s love.” Nature has a way of capturing the attention of both the mind and the heart. Our world is full of beauty and wonder that our minds cannot comprehend. Natural wonders such as Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Angel Falls, and Victoria Falls all never fail to leave you speechless. At many of these natural wonders, you’ll find viewing scopes. These are normally coin operated and allow tourists to see sights from a different point of view.

Without them, these natural wonders can seem quite normal. At face value, birds are flying in the air. Mountains wrap the land. Water flows through the valleys. But when you look through the lenses of a viewing scope, your perspective changes. You see details in the birds that you never noticed before. Things that looked like blobs and spots to your normal eye now look beautiful and intricate. When you are traveling with your family, you want to encourage them to see what you are seeing. The same awe and wonder that struck you as you saw the world from a different perspective is the same experience you want others to have. Once they have seen what you have seen, you have a firsthand witness of their reaction to beauty. Automatically, they encourage others to do the same. For awe and wonder is best experienced when you are together.

And so I ask you, “What are you magnifying?" “Who or What are you exalting?” Have we allowed the problems of our life take up all of our mental real estate? Have we been so overwhelmed with the press of life that we have overseen the peace of God? I know I have. For a lot 2023 I have. And you know? Not one minute of worrying or complaining added more time to my life. So today, I choose to magnify my Savior, not my sufferings. I choose to exalt my Messiah, not my mess. I choose Jesus. Now, I am calling you to choose. Will you choose to set your gaze upon Jesus? Will you choose to magnify His goodness? Will you choose to exalt the King of Kings? Will you choose magnify and exalt the Lord with me today? If so, raise your hand with me.