How Big Is Your God?
Opening Prayer
Lord, You are so big. How could You love someone so small as me?
Read Isaiah 40:12–31
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“How great is God almighty, who has made all things well!” (Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818–1895).
Think Further
The issue with children’s songs like the one above is that we stop singing them when we grow up! “Our God is a great big God” works well when we are little, but when we get bigger he often becomes smaller in our eyes. This chapter of Isaiah, particularly this section, is one of the Bible’s greatest remedies to such false thinking. The God whom we are commanded to behold in verse 9 is put on glorious display for us here. He is the supreme creator of a world that he holds in his hands (12). He needed no consultancy firm to guide him when he made it originally, nor as he rules it today (13,14). The greatest of nations is tiny in comparison with him (15,17), its riches insufficient for a burnt offering that would satisfy his all-consuming excellence (16). He sits as sovereign above the earth’s small circle, observing us scurry around in the busyness of our lives (17). Even men who are great in their own eyes can be uprooted and wither away (23,24) by the same power that created the billions of stars in our
universe, stars that God knows by name and calls onto parade every night (26). In addition, God never tires physically or mentally (28).
Having a big view of God will save us from making big mistakes and will spur us on to Christian living. Idolatry and graven images, whether full-
scale shrines or mental images, are not just forbidden (Exod. 20:3–6), they are utter folly (18–20). To think that God doesn’t know our situation or
deals unjustly in our lives (27) is equally unreasonable. We need to wait on him, seeking the outworking of his wisdom in our lives (31). Then we will soar like eagles above the humdrum and the troubles of earthly life (31).
Apply
What is the biggest challenge I face today? How will having a great big God help me as I face it?
Closing prayer
Lord, Your majesty is unfathomable. Open my eyes so that I can process more of it as I continue to grow spiritually.
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