June 26, 2026 Devo

When Wanda and I were touring Spain a couple of years ago, we visited the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. It is a huge, amazingly beautiful cathedral that takes your breath away. It also has the distinction of being the tallest church in the world. While we were there, it was still under construction. Which is kind of crazy since they broke ground on it in 1882! They finished this past February, and it was officially blessed by Pope Leo on June 10, which coincided with the centennial death of the architect.
The cathedral is too much to take in with a single visit. You could probably spend an entire day just looking at all the various sculpted Bible scenes that adorn it. They’re incredible. Then, there are the magnificent stained-glass windows that are beyond description. It was one of those places where I just wanted to take pictures of EVERYTHING. It was overwhelming.
The only problem with the cathedral is that it’s too small. God can’t live in there. It’s a wonderful sight for us, but it can’t begin to display the beauty and the glory of God. A person might feel small and insignificant standing in its massive chapel. But God couldn’t even fit His pinky toe in that space. The sculpted scenes are wonderful images of some of the moments of Jesus’ life, but like John said at the end of his book, “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”
In our passage today, God reminds us of just how big and majestic He truly is. Even as He tells His People to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, He reminds them that the temple was for THEM, not HIM. He’s too big to fit in the grandest of human creations. I love His imagery. The earth is like a “footstool” to Him. Our temples and cathedrals are nice places to gather and worship Him, but they are only impressive to US. To God, they are like the Lego creations of kids. He’s much, much bigger than that.
Remember that today, when you try to squeeze God into your “box.” When you tell yourself that your problem is too big, your need too great, or your situation too complex. When you throw up your hands and declare that nothing can be done, remember who God is. He’s bigger than your imagination, greater than your worst fear, and stronger than any force you know of. When we put God in our “box,” no matter how big our box is, God doesn’t fit. God is greater. Even if your box is the Sagrada Familia. That’s God’s Word for you today.