God Said...

Is God powerful? We use words like “omnipotent” (all-powerful), “omniscient” (all-knowing), and “omni-present” (everywhere) to describe God. However, it can sometimes be hard for our finite, mortal minds to grasp exactly how powerful God is.

Here is a thought experiment. Go out to an empty field and try to speak things into existence. Say “Let there be a tree!”, or, “Let there be a rock!”, or “Let there be birds and insects and other animals to fill this field!”. We know very well that we would be speaking until the end of time, for finite, mortal man cannot create things just by speaking things into existence.

And yet, our God is so powerful – for He spoke, and things were created according to His word.

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:8-9)

Count along with me to see how many times in Genesis chapter 1 God said, and something was created.

Day 1

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)

Day 2

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. (Genesis 1:6)

Day 3

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. (Genesis 1:9)

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. (Genesis 1:11)

Day 4

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (Genesis 1:14)

Day 5

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. (Genesis 1:20)

Day 6

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. (Genesis 1:24)

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)

What relevance does this have for us today? We can be assured that when God says something, He is able to bring it to pass. When God says something, He is able to make sure that it will happen. We live in a world filled with suffering and death. Life can be difficult and challenging. And yet, as Christians, we do not have to feel that all is doom and gloom. Jesus, who is God (cf. John 1:1-3), said the following to Martha, at the funeral of her brother, Lazarus:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)

We can have every confidence that when Jesus said that whoever believes in Him, though he were dead, he would live again – that He would then certainly be able to bring this to pass. Our God proved that He was powerful because He could speak the world into existence, and thus we can trust that He is powerful enough to give us a new, spiritual body (cf. 1 Corinthians 15) that will live on with Him into all eternity -provided that we are faithful.

Are you tired and weary? Are you sad and discouraged? Take heart and do not lose hope, for God spoke, and we can trust that His words are true.