Magnify — to Make Larger

Magnify — to Make Larger

Is it just me, or have you also been noticing that the fine print on bottles and cosmetics has gotten smaller? It’s common for me to pull out my trusty magnifying glass to make those words larger.

My word of the day, and my personal word for this year is MAGNIFY. We make choices every day. We can MAGNIFY the problems and circumstances or we can MAGNIFY our gratitude and the bigness of our God with whom nothing is impossible. What we MAGNIFY, is what we will get more of. We can choose to magnify that one hurtful comment someone made to us or we can magnify the thousands of encouraging and loving comments.

This photo of the frozen waterfall entrance to my community was taken by one of our residents during our frigid temperatures over the last several days. The resident who took the photo posted it on our Next Door app and he received many positive comments. But, then there was one guy who said, “Pretty. Can’t wait till the pipes break and they raise the HOA dues again!” Oh me! Do you know which comment our photo-taking resident will dwell on? Hopefully, he MAGNIFIED all those positive comments and not the ONE — who had such a negative attitude.

We can be MAGNIFYING agents. We can MAGNIFY someone’s self-confidence by complimenting them. We can MAGNIFY our spouse by letting them know how much we appreciate them for what they did or we can MAGNIFY what they didn’t do. We can make them stronger or weaker. We can MAGNIFY our children’s good qualities or MAGNIFY what they’re lacking in. Remember — what we MAGNIFY gets larger. Do we magnify what they’re not or magnify what they’ve got!.

When I think of the word MAGNIFY, I think about the wonderful Christmas Story we just heard many times. When the angel informed young Mary of her destiny as the mother of Christ, she asked a few humble questions and then moved straight into acceptance. Later, her unbridled praise is what strikes me with awe: “My soul MAGNIFIES the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior”. (Luke 1:47) Just think about that young girl whose life was was turned upside-down by God Himself. The Christmas carols make it seem all tender and mild, but who could believe such a cockeyed story that she had NOT been with a man. Her reputation could have been completely ruined. At the very least, her fiancé could have her put away. Mary could have MAGNIFIED her circumstances and her troubles, but instead, she MAGNIFIED Him who should be magnified during our best AND toughest times. .

My life (and yours too, I suspect) is a beautiful hodge-podge of triumph and trial, dreams and disappointments, laughter and tears. I believe MAGNIFYING God’s character will help us keep a healthy, holy perspective no matter what we’re going through.

Maybe we are needing the larger print Bible these days to make reading easier, AND we could sure MAGNIFY the words God speaks to us more. If we start MAGNIFYING all that is good, all the blessings, and all that He is, situations and circumstances might just shrink in size and eventually be the NOTHING that is impossible with God! Remember — what is magnified just gets larger. Let’s start here: “Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. ” Psalm 34:3

Lord, be MAGNIFIED in my life. I don’t want to miss a thing!!!