We humans are finite beings. Our minds are boxed in. Rarely does the common person imagine the infinite. Our thoughts dwell on the tangible, the immediate, the observable. For a span of a few decades we live on this Earth, and so, past our own generation, we give little thought, but eternity lies ahead and history lies behind. Among subjects difficult to fathom and frequented little is God’s grandeur. His power is beyond us. His knowledge bewilders us. His presence surrounds us. For a few moments, let’s step away from the familiar to gawk in awe at our God.
God is omnipotent. Consider God’s creative power. The psalmist wrote, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6). By the word of His lips and the breath from His mouth, the grandeur of the Universe came into existence. God didn’t even need to make a Big Bang by clapping His hands together. By merely speaking, the fabric of reality was woven. Again, the Hebrews Writer wrote, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Neither hammer, nor nail, nor lumber from mill were necessary in the construction for this physical realm. Even now, we are witnesses of His creative power, but one day, we shall behold a far more terrifying power: His destructive power, by which He shall burn the very elements past ash (2 Peter 3:10). God possesses a prowess infinitely more powerful than the combined nuclear arsenals of the nations. God is all powerful (Isaiah 40:12-18).
God is omniscient. After describing God’s omnipotence, Isaiah turns his attention briefly to describing God’s omniscience: “Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing” (Isaiah 40:26). From the insects to the mountains, God calls His creation by name! The psalmist gives a similar staggering image: “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4). Are you good with names? To say God is good with names would be an understatement. God’s knowledge is broader and deeper than the oceans. God knows how the clouds balance the skies (Job 37:16). God knows the birds that die (Matthew 10:29). God knows the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30). God knows the thoughts in your mind (Ezekiel 11:5). God knows all! (Psalm 147:5).
God is omnipresent. There is no hiding from God. God Himself asked rhetorically, “Am I a God near at hand," says the LORD, "And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the LORD; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:23-24). The saying goes, “you can run, but you can’t hide,” but not even that is true of God. Jonah learned that the hard way when he tried running from God. God is the God of the land and the sea —His sea legs are quite intact. The Syrians made a similar mistake when fighting the Israelites. The Bible reads, “Now the advisers of the king of Syria said to him: “Their God is a god of the mountains. That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them” (1 Kings 20:23, NET). They assumed God was bound by geography, that His power was limited to battles in the hills, and that God was powerless in the plains. God gave an answer to that folly through a prophet. “The prophet visited the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Because the Syrians said, “The LORD is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” I will deliver this entire huge army into to your control. Then you will know that I am the LORD. The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day” (1 Kings 20:28-29, NET). Behold, verily, God is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12).
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