Hello Travel Companion!
I don't know about you, but I grew up in a church where the God of the Bible was powerful. While He was still mighty to save, the God I grew up knowing no longer worked miracles like He used to, He no longer spoke like He used to. In some ways maybe that is true, but I realize that doesn't mean God doesn't still work wonders and that He doesn't still speak.
God is Omnipotent
God is all-powerful; His strength is unlimited.
- Aubrey Coleman Emotions and the Heart
Who is God? What makes Him omnipotent?
“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword. - Job 40:15-19
In Job 40 and 41, God tells him to look at the greatest land animal at the time and the fiercest sea creature and know that He, God, created those animals and He is more powerful and fierce since He created them.
However, God didn't just use His power to create the world, He also used His power to save the world, redeeming it from sin and death.
When and/or where do I see evidence of this characteristic in my life?
Some people say we will forget everything that happened during our mortal lives here when we get to heaven and into eternity. But Randy Alcorn says in his book Heaven that when we see God, "he will be the lens through which we see everything else - people, ourselves, and the events of life."
If that is true, it is all the more important we remember, because then we will be all the more awed with God in seeing all the wondrous ways He turned everything bad into something good. We will be all the more grateful to God for everything He has saved us from.
Because the times I realize just how loved I am and thankful for Jesus saving me is when I look back at the bad circumstances God has transformed into something good. For "you meant evil against me; but god meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day" - and if He so uses us - "to save many people alive" (Genesis 50:20 NKJV).
For if there were ever reminders of God's redemptive ability - His power to save - it is when He uses a bad circumstance to bring about good. So He will continue, until the day when He returns and makes all things right - us, our situations, our families, our home, the whole universe.
How does this trait affect how God sees me?
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:10 NLT
A sticker I placed on my laptop says, "God uses broken things."
I went through depression, daydreaming about suicide. I became hopeless and fell into sin. Yet God never gave up on me. He saw me as worth holding onto. He knew how I was going to come out on the other side, how I would be able to encourage and help others.
I don't know what that all will look like nor what His plans for me are, but I'm searching and leaning into Him. I am testing different waters and trying to discover, is this the way I am to go?
Because of this perspective, what has God done?
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
...God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
...The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
- Psalm 46:1,5,7
In a manhwa, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, the main character has a special skill called the "Fourth Wall" that protects him from being overwhelmed both emotionally and physically.
This skill came to mind as I tackled an emotionally difficult homework from my counselor. In preparing to face my past, I asked God to be my "Fourth Wall" as I also came across again passages that spoke of how God is our defender, our shield, our mighty fortress.
God doesn't always stop us from going through difficult seasons, but He doesn't promise to always be with us.
How does this new understanding affect my response and how I live my life?
“Look what You've done
Look what You've done in me
You spoke Your truth into the lies I let my heart believe
Look at me now
Look how You made me new
The enemy did everything that he could do
Oh, but look what You've done
Suddenly all the shame is gone
I thought I was too broken, now I see
You were breaking new ground inside of me”
- Look What You've Done by Tasha Layton
I no longer want to look back and feel ashamed of my past, to curl up in a corner in response to the pain I've suffered. Instead I want to be able to point out that God cleansed me from that unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), how God has healed my hurts. I want to point out how He has redeemed all the bad, ugly, and pain and brought good, beauty, and life out of it. How He has been transforming and changing me.
As I visited with my counselor I realized I know a lot of these bad things, I just don't know how to move forward. But now I have some tools that I have to start using, and my mission is to find truths to replace the lies that have stolen and led my heart astray.
In Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson, he writes, “What impossibility do you need to repent of?” In other words, what do you believe is too big or too hard that you don't think God can handle? Because God is bigger than every problem and greater than every hardship and there is “healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2 NKJV).
Until next month when I hope you return to learn with me how God is omnipresent.
With love in Christ,
Rachel
I don't have a new blog post for this month, but you can always check out the previous newsletters here:
All Bible quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.
