Incomparable

"To whom can you compare to God?

What image can you find to resemble him?

Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,

overlaid with gold,

and decorated with silver chains?

Or if people are too poor for that,

they might at least choose wood that won't decay

and a skilled craftsman 

to carve an image that won't fall down!"

Isaiah 40:18-20 NLT

I run across many who struggle with believing in a God they can't see or whose existence they can't prove.  Others claim His three-person nature is too hard to fathom and reject His reality based on their inability to grasp such a thing.

I say, all the more reason to worship a God who is incomparable.  He is different than man in so many ways, giving me the basis for a strong faith in Him.  Who wants to place their lives in the hands of a puny God, anyway?  I'm glad the God of heaven and earth cannot be placed in a box, otherwise I'd truly have reason to doubt.  Here are some other reasons to place my trust in Him through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:20).

No Equal.  Everyone needs a trust adviser, one upon whom they can lean when decisions are tricky and the right path is not clear.  Most people like to discuss their options over with someone who shares the same values and beliefs because no one can see all the angles, possible snags or cons of each possibility; we need a second set of eyes.  In facts, as the election cycle spins into full throttle mode, I hear a lot about the wisdom of seeking advice for those in leadership positions.  It is considered foolish to only depend upon one's own wisdom.

Yet this is exactly what God does.  He has no equal to whom He must turn for reassurance or from whom He must seek advice.  He doesn't need to depend upon anyone else to help Him or to fill in the gaps where He lacks (Isaiah 40:12-14).  He is a stand-alone God who knows all, possesses all, is all.  This is the kind of God whom I can trust in any and every situation, who will never let me down nor fail to guide me rightly.  I can absolutely trust such a God as this.

The incomparable God of the universe has no equal upon whom He must depend.

Worthy.  I have always enjoyed the story of The Little Drummer Boy as told in the song first recorded in 1955.  As the fictional story goes, the little poor boy kneels before the King of kings and realizes his lack, his inability to give anything worthy of such a King as this!  As he realizes his own poverty, he decides to take what he has, his drum, and play it for him with all of his heart.  In essence, he gives himself to the God who loves us so much that He came down and became part of His creation in order to save us from the sin that condemns us and separates us from Him.  The little boy gave in the same way God gave; he gave himself.  

As I ponder this sweet Christmas story, it occurs to me that this imaginary little boy truly understood the holiness and magnificence of God found in that little babe lying in the manger that morn so long ago.  He is worthy of more than I could ever give, yet all He really wants from me is me, all of me, given in sweet surrender as I trust Him wholly.  No gift can really match His splendor, but this is the gift that makes His heart sing because it speaks to Him on the same level upon which He gave (John 3:16).  

The incomparable God of the universe is worthy of more than I could ever give Him yet delights in me as I give myself to Him (Isaiah 40:16, Zephaniah 3:17).

Divine Nature.  He is unique.  More than that, though, He is beyond my ability to fathom.  His characteristics are so wonderful that I can spend every moment of my life studying Him and only scratch the surface of His true nature.  He is "far beyond anything [I] could imagine"  (Isaiah 55:8b).  Even though He can be known, He can never be fully understood or comprehended (Romans 1:19-20).  He is just too big, too high, too magnificent.

This is the kind of God I can respect.  If He were small enough that I were able to fathom all His ways and guess how He might work in certain situations, than He wouldn't be much of a God at all.  In fact, it would be hard to place my life into the hands of such a puny god who could be fully known by those he created.  The Maker is always greater than the one who was made (Romans 9:20-21).

The incomparable God of the universe has a divine nature that is beyond man's ability to fully fathom.  

Even if it's hard for me to believe in what I cannot see, I have to admit that the God of the Bible is an awesome God.  He has no equal, is worthy of more than I could ever give, and possesses a divine nature that is too great for me to grasp.  This is the kind of God I can trust to run my life, and this is the God who wants nothing more from His own.  And when I surrender my life to Him through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, I discover that He is truly incomparable.

As I begin this day I pray that I can trust God with all that I am.

When do I doubt His existence, or wonder about His ability to guide my life?

How am I afraid to place my life in His hands?