How Big is Your God?
Monday Morning Commentary
Yesterday Pastor Craig concluded the year with a message entitled, “How Big is Your God?”. In America, we often want a God that is a slightly bigger and better version of our selves. We tend to want a God that will help us achieve our dreams and bring us prosperity. God is something entirely different.
The book of Job overwhelms us not with an understanding of God but a revelation of God. In the first 37 chapters of the book Job’s friends try to figure out what’s going on with all the knowledge available to them. Guess what? They fail. After exhausting of all of ancient wisdom Job’s suffering remains.
Then God shows up on the scene. What does God do? Surely, he answers the suffering his righteous servant has endured. No, he does not. God shows up and asks Job questions. God’s questioning of Job shows Job God’s infinite wisdom and power. For the first time, Job sees how big God truly is.
These questions reveal five crucial points about the size of God:
His power is sovereign.
The one thing we do know about Job’s suffering is that its ultimate purpose was to bring God glory. Through Job’s suffering, he proved Satan wrong. Job was not serving God only for his benefits but for who he truly was. Today, Job’s story gives us the power to endure suffering we do not understand. Though we may not see the purpose of our suffering, we can be assured that God will use it for his glory.
2. His perspective is infinite.
Epicurus proposed the problem of evil as being if God is all-loving and all-powerful why is there still evil in the world. The one thing he did not account for was God’s all wisdom. If God is all-wise, would it not make sense that most things about God will surpass our understanding. God showed Job up when he asked him about the reproduction habits of goats. If Job did not understand all of natural things, how could he explain all of the supernatural?
3. His purpose is guaranteed.
Satan’s strategy to defeat Job did not work. More than that Satan’s plan backfired and set up the perfect opportunity to create one of the most powerful and unique stories in the bible what the enemy meant for evil God used for the ultimate good of salvation. Also, think about this. If you can already look back and see how suffering has done good in your life, don’t you think given infinite time and perspective we will see a reason for it all?
4. His promise is everlasting.
In the end, Job was restored. God proved himself faithful. In the midst of suffering, Job was able to see that his redeemer lived and stood on the earth.
5. His presence is pledged.
In the midst of Job’s suffering, God showed up and spoke with him. The revelation of God caused him to repent. When we see the beauty of Christ, we stop asking the why and start trusting the who. No matter how deep the darkness, God is deeper still.
As you go into the new year you can be assured that God is sovereign over your life, he understands your life far greater than you ever could, his purpose for your life cannot be stolen by the enemy, his promise to you is sealed, and he will never leave nor forsake you.