There are times we feel we are being shot by small and petty people. Think big. Sabi nga: “pinamamato ka nila, simply because may nakikita silang bunga sa ‘yo.” When you stoop down to their level, you lose that ‘glow’ in you and you are reducing yourself to their size; small and petty. Refuse to fight. If you have to, walk away and keep walking and ignore them -it’s a sign of intelligence. The fact they are putting you down is because you are unreachable on the top while they are are the bottom, down and miserable.

This is what David says in Psalms twenty-three:  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” He thinks big because the God for him is bigger than his fear.

Eliab is one of David’s brother who was angry at him and said, “What are you doing here, anyway? Who’s taking care of that little flock of sheep out in the desert? You spoiled brat! You came here just to watch the fighting, didn’t you?” Eliab was making David small and humiliating him in front of many people. But David kept asking other soldiers about the reward of killing Goliath. I want you to notice David’s attitude. He was a big thinker. He did not fight Eliab because he preserved his energy, power, and stamina against the giant Goliath. If he were consumed in fighting Eliab, he would have missed the opportunity of defeating Goliath. But he understood that principle to think big. He heard negativity and wrongful accusation, but he kept focused on his goal, ‘eyes on the prize.’

Do you have ‘Eliabs’ in your life? People who misunderstand you and try to put you down or humiliate you? They say you cannot make it in life because:

“you cannot afford it,” 

“you are just an ordinary person,”

“you are not talented,” or

“you have no financial resources or lack education.” 

Think big. Don’t undervalue yourself. Concentrate on what you have God gave you. See yourself as blessed, talented, equipped.

I like Jabez prayer in First Chronicle four. If you don’t know who Jabez is, his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I gave birth to him in pain.” Imagine this man hears people call him: “Jabez” all the time as if hearing the word, ‘pain, suffering, burden, curse.’

Isinumpa siya ng Nanay niya dahil sa hirap na naranasan noong ipanganak siya. I have never listened to a mother named a child like that. But Jabez’ did not change his name; he changed the way he thinks! Instead of complaining and consumed himself in self-pity, Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would indeed bless me and enlarge my border [property], and that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!” And God granted his request.

I love that! His perspective on life is so beautiful, and we talk about him because of that. Life is not about what people think about you. People’s opinion should not define you. It is what you think about yourself that matters. If you think yourself as an ordinary, second-class, defeated, then you are. Because you are carefully and wonderfully made by the Creator of the universe, you are destined for greatness. The Bible is clear: “we are more than a conqueror.” The same God who made David defeated Goliath is the same God today who can bring you up, promote you and take you to your destination.

There may be times when we think we are helpless, weak and unable. You are who you think you are. In Proverbs chapter four verse twenty-three, it says: “Be careful how you think; your thoughts shape your life.”Think big about yourself, not on arrogance but in your silence. I was at a restaurant in London when I saw this quote: “work in silence, let success make the noise.” When you believe in yourself and what God can do, the world will see how far you have come, how blessed you are.

After graduation, I worked in Malate as a ‘liaison officer’ also well-known as a messenger. My employer called me into his office and told he was firing me because I had a speech problem and that I won’t succeed in life because of my deformity. I walked out of the office and enrolled at Ateneo De Manila University to successfully complete my Masters in Business Administration, accepted as one of a young professor in the prestigious Colegio De San Juan De Letran and went on to become an immigration lawyer in England, United Kingdom representing clients of all nationalities and winning complex cases in the English Courts. I thought big about myself. I did not let that comment affect the way I think of myself. At the same time, I am pastoring a church in London.

Minsan isang araw walang pagkain ang mga tao. Sinabihan ng mga apostoles ni Hesus na pauwiin na lang ang mga tao para makakain sila. In the book of Matthew chapter fourteen, it is said: Jesus replied, “They don’t have to leave. Why don’t you give them something to eat?” But they said, “We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish.” Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him. The problems here were evident: (1) many people were hungry; (2) the town to buy food was far away; (3) it’s getting dark; (4) they only have limited amount of food available.

The mentality of the disciples was small. They didn’t think big. Look at what Jesus said and did: Jesus told them: “They don’t have to leave. Why don’t you give them something to eat?” That response was out of this world! Have you been in a situation where you still believe God when your natural eyes can see hopelessness, emptiness or even death, yet you still think big saying that their hope, provision and life coming?

Jesus was a big thinker. He knew what He would do. He is not confined to what His eyes can see. The disciples must have been saying to Jesus: “we don’t have enough,” – the lack mentality. Interestingly, Jesus asked them to give Him what they have. Despite these faithless people, Jesus ‘thanked’ God, fed the multitudes of 5,000 men (not including the woman and children) and had 12 baskets full of leftovers. Let us think big to give into God’s hands whatever is in our hands; then He can multiply it. We need to let go of what is in our hands and let God handles it. Imagine if that little boy who brought that lunch did not hand it over to Jesus? Of course, he could do it but would have missed seeing the great power of God that we are now discussing.

You will remember what God says: “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Today, I want to encourage you to change the way you think. Be like David and Jabez, they are big thinkers. They did not let small people affect their visions and put a wrong label on them. People can think you made poor choices in life, and you are doomed to fail, but think big. It is impossible to be successful without problems. You may have been tested but let your test becomes your testimony. You may have messed up but let your mess becomes your message of hope to others who are also suffering on the same grounds. If you have failed, learn from it, get up and apply a new strategy to approach life. Tell yourself: “I can do this.” There is magic when you think big. Don’t believe in people who say it cannot be done. Life is too short to think small.