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The name of God is beyond our limited human understanding.
He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." - Judges 13:18
Our universe is full of irreducibly complex structure and design. This is not a scientifically provable idea, but it has been made clear to all human beings across time. Man cannot claim that there was no evidence of God's existence.
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world Godâs invisible qualitiesâhis eternal power and divine natureâhave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. - Romans 1:18-20
When correcting Job, God provides a detailed description of creation and His awesome power. It is both beautiful and terrifying.
See Job 38, Job 39, Job 40:15-24, and Job 41.
God is all powerful. He controls everything in creation, regardless of the "limitations" put in place by human beings.
âTo God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
those he imprisons cannot be released.
If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
To him belong strength and insight;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
He leads rulers away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth around their waist.
He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows officials long established.
He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light.
He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards. - Job 12:13-25
Life is full of hardship and suffering. But as challenging as life on Earth is, we take take heart in the fact that Jesus overcame the world!
âI have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.â - John 16:33
One of the very significant stories to the Jews at Jesus' time was the story of Moses and the burning bush, in which God tells Moses that "I AM" sent him to the Israelites. By calling himself "I AM", Jesus is hitting at the core of the Jewish leader's religious symbols.
âVery truly I tell you,â Jesus answered, âbefore Abraham was born, I am!â - John 8:58
God said to Moses, âI am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: âI am has sent me to you.ââ - Exodus 3:14
It is hard to fathom exactly how God would appear to a human eye. This section seems to offer a tiny glimpse into how He may look.
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. - Revelation 1:12-16
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. - Exodus 24:9-11
When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. - Exodus 24:15-18
God is so immense that our languages fail to capture His full glory.
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lordâs holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledgeâthat you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:17-19
This section offers an incredible summary of God's creation and how remarkably this is only a small portion of all that God has done.
âThe dead are in deep anguish,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
The realm of the dead is naked before God;
Destruction lies uncovered.
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?â - Job 26:5-14
This section beautifully describes God's power over the natural world, especially over the storms as Elihu descibes here.
How great is Godâbeyond our understanding!
The number of his years is past finding out.
âHe draws up the drops of water,
which distill as rain to the streams;
the clouds pour down their moisture
and abundant showers fall on mankind.
Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
how he thunders from his pavilion?
See how he scatters his lightning about him,
bathing the depths of the sea.
This is the way he governs the nations
and provides food in abundance.
He fills his hands with lightning
and commands it to strike its mark.
His thunder announces the coming storm;
even the cattle make known its approach.
âAt this my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
Godâs voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
He says to the snow, âFall on the earth,â
and to the rain shower, âBe a mighty downpour.â
So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.
The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.
The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
He brings the clouds to punish people,
or to water his earth and show his love. - Job 36:26-33 and Job 37:1-13
Even Moses, a man favoured by God, couldn't look into God's face and survive.
And the Lord said, âI will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,â he said, âyou cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.â
Then the Lord said, âThere is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.â - Exodus 33:19-23
Here is a direct statement from the Bible verifying that God has always existed.
Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity. - Psalm 93:2
God is the creator of all. As a result he certainly understands your human struggles.
Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see? - Psalm 94:9