My reading right now is in Exodus (Moses’ confrontation with Pharaoh), the middle chapters of Job (the back and forth dialog with his friends), and the gospel of Luke (up through chapter 11). A comment in Job 26 seems to connect all of these current chapters that I am reading.
“These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?” Job 26:14 NLT
God, through the plagues in Egypt, over and over shows his power over the gods of Egypt and the laws of nature itself.
Jesus, through miracles and healings in the gospels, demonstrates authority and power over demons, disease, and creation.
Job’s statement in chapter 26 speaks volumes. All of the power that we can see, all of the miracles that we can witness, all the authority that he has and demonstrates to us as finite beings, is just a mere whisper. Just the tip of the iceberg. Just a shadow of the absolute power and authority of the one true God.
In chapter 26 (verses 5-14), Job states areas of knowledge that are open to God but concealed to his creatures. Job’s point is for his friends, that we should never presume that we know what God is doing behind the scenes, and in turn, God’s purposes are hidden and unknown. He repeatedly says in different ways, utilizing various illustrations and vocabulary, that there are areas that God can see which we cannot. How then, can his friends assume that they know what is behind the disastrous circumstances that Job is in?
Verse 14 then, extends the unknown to God himself, and particularly, his power. What we see of God and his power, is just a whisper.
God is always greater than we know and understand.
God is always more powerful than we think he is.
God is always more loving than we can understand him to be.
God’s perfections are always beyond what we comprehend them to be.
God is always more holy than I can imagine. Always more faithful than I realize. Always more merciful than I will ever know.
All the evidences of God’s power over nature (of things below, above, and on the earth) are only meager indications (the outer fringe) of what He does, is capable of doing, and in fact, of what he has already done.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV
“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 New Living Translation
“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” 1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message
Lord, help me to apply this truth to today. Help me to see the circumstances before me now, with the truth that you are doing way more than I realize, are more powerful than I can even comprehend, are working in ways that I cannot even fathom. Help me to trust that even when I don’t see it, you are working your plan and purpose perfectly – to bring you the most glory and fame. Help me to wait on that day when it will be revealed, even if that day is not in this life, but the life to come.
A Pilgrim’s Journey 