God’s Omnipotence

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

Isaiah 40:6-31:

“‘All humanity is grass,
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath of the Lord blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade,
but the word of our God remains forever.’

9 Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, herald of good news,
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.
His wages are with him,
and his reward accompanies him.
11 He protects his flock like a shepherd;
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?
14 Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him as empty nothingness.

18 With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?
19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver chains for?
20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.

21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not considered the foundations of the earth?
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He reduces princes to nothing
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

25 ‘To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?’ asks the Holy One.
26 Look up and see! Who created these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.
29 He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.”

Going Deeper:

God’s omnipotence is extraordinarily humbling. God’s omnipotence, or “having all power,” stands in stark contrast to our own limitations and weaknesses.

Our God created the universe out of nothing, and “measured the waters in the hollow of his hand” and “marked off the heavens with the span of his hand” (Isaiah 40:12). He has power over the wildest storm and over floods and lightning. God says to us:

“‘To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?’ asks the Holy One. 26 Look up and see! Who created these? He brings out the stars by number; he calls all of them by name. Because of his great power and strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25-26).

And what about us? Compared to such incredible power, “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field” and “the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales” (Isaiah 40:6,15).

Many of us have the privilege of feeling some sense of power and control in our lives. We are told that we can accomplish what we set our minds to and that we command our own destinies. We often forget that it is only Jesus, “sustaining all things by his powerful word,” that holds our very atoms together (Hebrews 1:3).

And yet, what does our Almighty God do with such immeasurable power? He uses his power to save us: “He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing” (Isaiah 40:11). He uses his incredible strength for those, like us, that are weak and without strength: “He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless” (Isaiah 40:29). He spent his strength living a blameless life on this earth, enduring a gruesome death, and rising again so that we might be saved from our own death and weakness.

Though God is omnipotent, he uses his power only according to his own will. This is why, though he has all power, he cannot lie, or be tempted by evil, or do anything that is not according to perfect love and wisdom. “Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases,” but what pleases God is to love us (Psalm 115:3).

Today, let’s meditate on God’s absolute greatness. Consider the most jaw-dropping part of God’s creation and think of the hands that formed it. Consider Him who tells the oceans where its boundaries lie. Then consider all of this power, directed in perfect love toward you: “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

Note: As part of your devotion this morning, I recommend listening to this song, which is based on the humbling chapter, Job 38.

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?