What’s So Great About God?
In a word, everything about God is great.
His love. His mercy. His patience. His presence. His faithfulness. His forgiveness…
The list is so long, I could blog about His greatness until I depart this planet! Meanwhile, let’s dive in for the next 30 Wednesdays and see what God has for us. (Did I mention how glad I am you’re here?)
If everything about God is great, then everything about Him is worthy of our praise—both the truths that encourage us and the realities that (if we’re honest) unnerve us.
He records your first breath and your last.
He counts all the hairs on your head.
He stores your tears in a bottle.
He watches each step you take.
He knows everything about you. All of it.
A frightening prospect, unless you know and love Him. A comforting truth, once you realize He knows and loves you. Intimately. Completely.
It’s great to give thanks to the people who enrich our lives, but praise and worship—acknowledging His worth-ship—is meant for God alone.
Moses declared, “He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes” (Deuteronomy 10:21). God knows us so well. If we’ve “witnessed” (CEB) something, we’re far more likely to believe it. Especially if His great “deeds” (GW) and His wonderful “works” (HCSB) turn out to be “mighty miracles” (NLT), way beyond anything we’ve ever seen or imagined.
Finding an empty space in a crowded parking lot? Pulling out a forgotten $20 bill from the pocket of your jeans? Answers to prayer, maybe, but not what Moses was talking about. God’s people watched some really big miracles come down. A stairway to heaven, a burning bush, a swept-aside Red Sea.
Miracles like that are both “awesome” (CEB) and “fearsome” (MEV), both “astounding” (GNT) and “staggering” (MSG), equal parts “amazing” (ERV) and “terrifying” (CEV), striking a healthy fear of God in our hearts. Even if we didn’t see those miracles in person, we read about them in Scripture and are humbled.
This is where we need to begin.
He is great, and we are small. He is “powerful” (NLV), and we are powerless without Him. He is Lord of all, and we are not.
Beloved, this is good news. We don’t want a God we can control. We want a God who controls the universe. One who can never be conquered or fully understood. We want to shout with triumph, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (Psalm 145:3).
Here we are, trying to wrap our heads around His greatness, when it’s “so vast and deep” (AMP), it can’t be grasped” (CEB). It’s immeasurable, “unsearchable” (ASV), and “beyond discovery!” (TLB). Sometimes the point of studying God’s Word is to show us how much we don’t know, and can never know.
This is certain. He is worthy of our worship. He deserves our deepest praise.
Heavenly Father, Your greatness takes my breath away. When I’m tempted to toss up my hands in frustration, help me lift up my hands in adoration. Worship isn’t about knowing things. It’s about knowing You, the One who knows me. It’s about praising You, the only One who is worthy.
Instead of asking a question, I’ll simply invite you to Share Your Thoughts below, perhaps telling us how God has revealed His greatness to you this week. Such a blessing, when we learn from and encourage one another. Happy 2015!
Your grateful sister, Liz
@LizCurtisHiggs
P.S. It’s not your imagination: my website has a new design! Bigger type should make it easier to read and less clutter will make it easier to find things. Take a quick look around and see what you think!
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