THE POWER OF GOD
Jeremiah 32:17-18b NLT
O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and the earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you! You are the great and powerful God, the Lord Almighty.
I have read these words countless times over the last half century. I freely confess, were it not for this truth I would have given up a long time ago.
Why? Because if I did not believe in God’s great power to do anything, at any time, I would give in to complete despair. Life, and its many obstacles and cruel injustices, would seem insurmountable.
God’s power astounds me! It fills me with courage to face life and all it throws at me. God’s power gives me hope and strength for my today, and my tomorrows.
Think for a moment. God simply spoke the word and the earth itself was created. As Psalms declares, “The Lord merely spoke and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and the stars were born. For when He spoke the world began! It appeared at His command.” Can you grasp for a moment that kind of overwhelming power? He did not lift a finger. It was no effort for God, whatsoever. When He simply spoke, the world, this planet, came into existence immediately. With each word God spoke, in the order he decided, he called each thing into existence. Every plant, chemical, rock, mineral, and material needed to sustain all of life! Every ecosystem, every ocean, every species, every planet, every star, every solar system, everything came into being just from the spoken word of God! God needed no research and development department. God needed no trial and error. God needed no environmental studies. God needed no cost analysis. God did not need to hire billions of workers to get the job done. God needed no experts to consult. God simply spoke, and in all possible wisdom, with the most perfect design achievable for each thing he made, they immediately appeared. God can call into being in a millisecond what does not exist, right out of thin air.
God can cause a burning bush, but the bush doesn’t burn or turn to ash. God can call down plagues with just a word, bringing the mightiest nation to its knees. God can part a great body of water, stacking the water on top of itself as if held up by a great invisible wall. God can provide for millions of people living in a desert for 40 years who have no land to farm, crops to grow, no readily available water supply, no outside source of food, and simply rain down a heavenly food called manna every single day, feeding his millions of people for decades. He brought water out of rock to quench their thirst. For 40 years in the desert their clothes didn’t wear out, their feet didn’t swell or blister, defying physical, natural laws. When they cried out for meat he brought flocks of edible birds that simply fell out of the sky onto their camps, to eat.
The poor widow, with only one meal left to eat, gave it to Elijah, and God filled a room full of pots with valuable olive oil for her to sell, providing lifelong finances for her to live off of. From one tiny flask of olive oil the prophet filled up a room full of empty pots for her.
With a word, God can calm a raging ocean. With a word, God can call down fire from heaven, destroying all his enemies. With a word, God can call down rain over the entire planet, destroying all living things. He stopped the rain at His command and brought life back to the earth once again. The Grand Canyon is a monument for all to see of God’s powerful judgement and destruction on the ancient world. With a word, God can raise the dead. With a word, God can take a few loaves of bread and feed thousands of people. With a word, God can make a life-long cripple get up and walk immediately. With a word, God can shut the mouths of ravenous lions. With a word, God can allow men to walk around in fire, free of any burn to their skin, no hair is lost, nor any smell of smoke on their clothing.
God’s power gives strength to the feeble and weak. God’s power enables endurance through the most brutal of torments and adversities. God’s power conquered sin and death for all time. God’s power raised Jesus from the dead after he had died with all the sins of every man, woman, and child ever born, infecting his entire body!
God’s power never tires, fades, diminishes, needs to be recharged or rejuvenated. God never becomes weary or exhausted, or worn down with age.
God’s power will one day bring destruction and righteous judgement to the whole earth. God’s power will make all wars cease. God’s power will instantaneously, with a word, create a new heaven and a new earth where we will live forever and ever. God’s power will give us brand new bodies that last forever, free from all pain, sorrow, and sickness.
Now quiet yourself, still your troubled heart. Focus all your attention on His infinite power and know with absolute confidence—He is God! He will be honored at some future time throughout the whole earth.
You are his child! God will use all of that power to help you in your todays and your tomorrows. In all your troubles and distresses, in all your times of great need, in all your sorrows, and all your tribulations, God has all the power needed to help you, whatever your situation may be.
Romans 1:20 NLT
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God!
Do not let the despicable, demonic lie of evolution rob you of the dynamic spiritual nutrients derived from the overwhelming evidence surrounding you, of God’s almighty power. Every time you’re out in nature observe it, look around you, take it in, and remember—GOD DID THAT BY SIMPLY SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE! That’s the absolute power of our Heavenly Father, of our Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ!
Psalm 147:5 NLT
How great is our God! His power is absolute!
For your encouragement and edification, do this exercise:
Look up the word power in the New Living Translation on biblegateway.com and read each verse where it’s mentioned in Psalms and Jeremiah! It will greatly encourage your soul, and give you a wonderful perspective.
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
