Can God and His Word be Trusted?

"'This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth,

the LORD who formed it and established it--

the LORD is his name.'"

Jeremiah 33:2

The people of Judah needed a little reminder of Whom they were dealing with.  They needed to be retold Who it was that was sending them warnings of the coming judgement lest they ignore the messages and continue on with their own plans.  It's important to keep in mind that God was behind the words spoken to them by Jeremiah the prophet so that they had no excuse for rejecting Him.

I often need a similar reminder of Who is behind the script recorded on the pages of the Bible.  Or Who is responsible for that still, small voice that sounds as a warning to turn the other way, or as a guide at moments of indecision, or as a comfort just when I need it.  It's so easy to disregard, to write it off as my own imagination or to ignore as irrelevant or out of date.  God gave to Jeremiah a qualifier of sorts right up front:  Here is why you can trust My Word.

Authority.  "Who died and made you king?  You are not the boss of me!"  I remember using these lines on the playground whenever a particularly controlling classmate would try to give me orders.  I instinctively knew my peers did not have the authority to give me orders and it incensed me when they tried to do so. 

God, however, does have the authority to give orders, to enforce obedience to His commands and to make decisions on my behalf.  As LORD, He has the right to manage my affairs and by His name I know that He is in charge of all that I see, of everything that exists.  It is all His responsibility to rule.  Since He is the King of the world, it is my place, then, to submit to His authority.  He is worthy of my respect.  His Word is meant to be observed.

I can trust God and His Word because He possesses all authority under heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:21, Matthew 28:18).

Power.  He spoke the world into existence.  Where once there was nothing, He created something.  Once He finished making all things, He was perfectly able to guide His masterpiece much like a talented conductor directs every musician in his orchestra.  He has the ability to know the thoughts of each of His children, to perfectly understand every unique personality, to coordinate the lives of millions of subjects, to care deeply for the plight of humans (Psalm 139:1-6, Matthew 10:29-31). 

Because of God's great power, there is nothing He cannot do.  He is not bound by the constraints that restrict me as a human.  He operates outside of the boundaries of time.  Yesterday is the same as tomorrow for Him and the distant future is like today.  The laws of nature keep me from flying, or growing younger, or coming back to life once I'm dead.  God does not have these same limitations.  Nothing is off-limits for Him.  He can stop the sun, or part the waters of a sea, or cause a fortified city to crumble on its own (Joshua 10:13, Exodus 14:21-22, Joshua 5:13-6:20).  He can bring life back to a man three-days-dead, spontaneously combust a drenched altar, and restore skin ravaged by leprosy through a simple dipping into the Jordan (John 11:43-44, 1 Kings 18:30-35,  2 Kings 5:14).  There is nothing God cannot do, so great is His power.

I can trust God and His Word because He is all-powerful and mighty to save (Genesis 18:14, Zephaniah 3:17).

Supremacy.  He is above all things.  There is nothing that is greater than He.  He sits high upon His throne, reigning over all the earth (Psalm 97).  The earth is His and everything in it (Psalm 24:1).  The Lord is sovereign over every detail, every power, every authority.  Even that which seems invincible is under His thumb.  He rules over all of His creation.

Even though the world seems out of control, God is still firmly in control.  Even though my life often feels out of control, God is still firmly in control.  Even though the rampant evil looks to be sending all of mankind into a tailspin, nothing happens outside of His will.  He is supreme over every detail of my life; nothing falls outside of His domain.  While I may feel my problems are my responsibility to solve, they actually fall within His area of expertise.  He may not move world affairs in the direction I would if I were in control, or resolve my issues to my liking, but I can be assured that His way is better for His children and will give Him maximum glory.  

I can trust God and His Word because He has supremacy over all, and His plan is a good one.

It can be hard for me to trust God and His Word.  When it comes right down to it, I may wonder why I can place my faith in Him.  To ease my mind, He reassures me with the reminder of His authority, power and supremacy.  When I recall such truths, I am compelled to take Him at His Word.  Can God and His Word be trusted?  Yes, they can, no matter what.  But it takes faith to do so.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to do what He's telling me to do.

When do I doubt His plan, wondering if it could be the best He has for me?

How am I usurping His authority by trying to be in control of my own life?        

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?