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?                  

Faith is Forward Focus

"Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.

You have done such wonderful things.

Who can compare with you, O God?

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,

but you will restore me to life again

and lift me up from the depths of the earth."

Psalm 71:19-20 NLT

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."  Corrie Ten Boom should know about fear.  She and her family hid fugitives from the Gestapo in the Nazi's effort to exterminate the Jews along with any sympathizers during World War Two.  This Dutch resistance that the ten Boom family joined is believed to have saved the lives of 800 Jews.

But this success came at a price.  Her entire family was arrested and her father and sister lost their lives in the brutal conditions found in captivity.  Corrie then spent the rest of her life spreading the hope-filled message of the Gospel to countless many around the world, especially demonstrating God's love by forgiving the very guard who had been responsible for her dear sister's death.

In the midst of such a difficult life, it would be easy to give up, giving in to the cruelty and becoming hard and callous as a way to survive.  But Corrie knew her God intimately, and she relied on this relationship that had been honed over years of growing up under the loving instruction of her father who loved the Lord.  With such a strong foundation, Corrie was able to weather the storm.  

Faith got her through because it focuses on what is known about the future, directing her attention to what can be expected:  Wherever she was headed, she knew her faithful God was already there.  I can take on this same mindset of forward-focused faith.

Incomparable.  There is no one like my God.  He is beyond compare.  I look for something with which I can liken Him to, but nothing in all of creation is as great as its Creator.  Since He is so great and awesome, higher in so many ways than what He has made, I can expect the unexpected from Him.  I can't guess the way He will answer a prayer, solve a problem, or provide for a need.  He has resources of which I know nothing.

There is none like Him, and this unique God with unsurpassed powers will operate in a way that is peculiar to me.  All I must do is watch for what He will do, keeping an eye out for His work in my situation as I wait for Him to do what He does best.  In short, I must let God be His unparalleled self.

Faith watches with bated breath for what is expected from such a God as this.

Troubles.  In the midst of the struggle, it seems there is no end, like the suffering will last forever.  When pain hits, time seems to stand still and everything else fades to the background, overpowered by such agony.  In the face of loss, the misery hangs on like a unwanted leech, seeming to color every part of my life.  Will this ever end?

Faith knows that the hard stuff is temporary and directs my attention to the hope that is in Christ.  In the same way that He rose from the grave, I will be revived from the darkness that is as profound as the tomb where Jesus lay for three days.  God will revive me, restoring life and giving a sense of newness to my heart.

Faith believes the troubles are temporary, that restoration is coming.

Depths.  It seems to be my lot in life, this cycle of despair and depression.  When the pit yawns open beneath me, it's easy to feel like this is my destiny, this darkness that tends to envelope my heart.  Faith, however, paints me a different picture that draws my attention away from what threatens.  

No matter how low I sink, God is there (Psalm 139:8).  There are no boundaries to His love for me (Romans 8:38-39). It doesn't matter how bad I feel, His presence is always there to comfort and minister to my hurting heart.  Even when I can't sense Him, He is there.  Despite my best efforts to lose Him, He is there.  Although it seems I can't help but to fall deep into a slump, He is there.  And because of His powerful presence in my life, I can expect that He will bring me up out of whatever depths I have sunk.

Faith knows that God will rescue me from the pit; it is not my destiny.

God does allow me to go through hard stuff, sometimes even leading me into difficulty.  Even so, the faith I have in Him reminds me that He operates in peculiar ways that is for my good and His glory, that troubles are necessary but also temporary, and that any depth to which I sink is not deeper than His love for me (Ephesians 3:18).  This is what gives me hope.  This is why my faith gives me a forward focus; because God is already there before me.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep in mind all that God is capable of doing.

When do I despair, thinking I'm stuck in my current situation with no way out?

How could remembering the hope I have in Christ give me the strength to believe God has something good for me in the midst of this mess?