By Jason V (Ponderings of a Pilgrim Pastor)
God Almighty Rules Over All
"The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19)
Do you remember when you first discovered that your dad was not really all-powerful? When I was a small boy, I really did think my dad could do anything. My dad is pretty handy and big (over 6' 5"), so to a small 6-year-old, he seemed like Superman. Yet like all of you, I had to endure the hard, slow realization that my dad was not, in fact, omnipotent, until, as a teenager, I wondered if my dad could do anything right at all.
Some people (even those who call themselves "Christian") think that our typical childhood experiences with our earthly dads is a model for what should happen to our view of God over time, as we mature in our faith. As crises and conflicts come, they reason, we ought to see that a world full of evil is incompatible with an all-powerful and all-good God. Since we all believe that God is good, we must then abandon the idea that God is all-powerful in favor of a God who looks a lot more like our limited and fallible dads.
The Bible gives us no room whatsoever for such a pale view of God. In Scripture after Scripture, God shines through with radiance as the great and glorious King of the Universe. "Nothing is impossible with God," the Bible boldly proclaims time and again (see Luke 1:37 and Mark 10:27). When God's people doubt His power in Isaiah 59:1, "Surely, the arm of the LORD is not too short to save."
When Jesus came, He demonstrated the Almighty power of God. Jesus showed unmistakably that nothing could stand in God's way or frustrate His will. God was mighty enough to create life in the womb of a virgin. He was mighty enough to use a wicked king's edict to get His Son to the proper place to be born, Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2). He was able to use dreams and visions to deliver His Son from the hands of a murderous tyrant (read Matthew 2).
When Jesus began His own earthly ministry, He showed His power over demons, even a legion of them (Mark 5). He showed His power over storms, when He instantly brought "great calm" with two simple words (Mark 4:35-41). He multiplied food to feed 5,000 and then 4,000, showing that in God's hands, no shortage is too difficult to overcome. He healed the sick, restored the lepers, gave sight to the blind and loosened the tongues of the mute. He even raised the dead, even when the dead had been in the grave for four days, like Lazarus (John 11).
Even though we can read all of these stories in the Bible from the men who witnessed them and who testified to the truth of them, still we doubt, don't we? Will I have enough money to pay all of my bills? Will something happen to me that God cannot control? Jesus commanded us not to worry because worry is the fruit of a heart that doubts Almighty God. We doubt either His power or His goodness, or else we would not worry.
We have no reason to doubt. We have no need to worry. Our God demonstrated His unfailing, unbelievably generous love for us by giving His Son for us. He demonstrated His overcoming power unmistakably by raising Him from the dead. He now tells us that if we belong to Christ by faith, that same power is at work in us (Ephesians 1:19-21). If our God is Almighty, then let us rest in Him!
Jason is blessed to be married to a wonderful woman and to have three children (two boys, aged seven and four and a one year old baby girl). He serves as the Pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Cheraw, SC. He enjoys strong coffee, good books and nature walks with his family.