Prayer
I give thanks to you, Lord of the heavens, my gracious Redeemer and my God. I thank you for a new day of life, I thank you for your steadfast love and mercies. I thank you that your purposes rule sovereign over the trials of life, and that – in your patience – you have persevered with me, in spite of my sin. As I come again to your word for food, please renew and refresh my soul. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one. This I pray in Jesus’ name, and for your glory, Amen.
Reading
Psalm 8 & Revelation 4.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”Genesis 1:1.
Meditation
As we begin to understand who God is, holy and incomprehensible, we ought to be truly humbled before him in our manner of life. We ought to live with an actual, living, constant awareness of the fact that this great God who made the heavens and earth really is present. When we start to get who God is, we get an increasing sense of who we really are. By nature, we tend to have high views of ourselves, and we tend not to be aware of how much pride we truly have. But as we start to see God, and the incomprehensible wonder of his ways, we start to see how small we really are. In the words of Psalm 8:
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens… When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him.”
Job experienced this kind of humbling very powerfully. Job suffered much in his life, but his great sin in time of trial was that he brought God into question. He called on God to vindicate himself, because Job did not think that God should have allowed him to suffer. As God responded, what we see is an incredible experience of humbling for Job. Consider the answer he received from the LORD in Job 38:2:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
The passage goes on, and God reveals to Job a small glimpse of his incomprehensibility revealed in the wonders of creation. Note Job’s response, listen to what he says in Job 42:1:
“Then Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Be ye doers of the word…
As Job was dwarfed by the incomprehensible majesty of God, he was profoundly humbled. And so let me ask you: Do you live humbly before God? Do you live with a sense of entitlement? Do you think, like Job, that God owes you an explanation? Do you question him? Do you doubt his purposes in your life? Do you ever think he has wronged you? Or do you embrace the circumstances of your life as God’s good and perfect plan for you? So much of our lives is not going to be comprehensible to us, for they are part of God’s incomprehensible plan. We must realise this and humble ourselves under the hand of God, and at the right time he will exalt us. You see, God made the heavens and the earth, not us, and it is God’s design for creation and our lives that will win out, not ours. Live humbly, trust God. Cast your anxieties on him, for he cares for you.
Finally, keep these things in mind: in the midst of the mess of our lives, God is building, working, creating to bring about a more glorious result than we can possibly imagine. The day will come when he will display you before all creation and say: “Look at the work of my hands, look at what I have done in the lives of these sinners! See how even the most wretched worms can be image bearers of my glory.” You and I are like caterpillars in the cocoon. We start out ugly, and God transforms us, and the day will come when a beautiful creature will emerge. But just remember – you’re still in the cocoon for now. SDG.
Prayer of confession & consecration.
Dear Lord, I give all thanks to you. Your understanding knows no limit, and your wisdom is unsearchable. Thank you, that in the trials of life, I can rest secure in the knowledge that you do all things well. Please expand my understanding, that I may grasp more and more of your majesty, and the wonders of your ways. Please go before me this day, and help me to love and follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Day 7: Humbled before the incomprehensible God (Gen 1:1).