Awesome Wonder

Posted On February 7, 2021

“Who among the gods is like you, Lord?
Who is like you — majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Exodus 15:11 NIV

Do you ever have days when you try to comprehend God and His creation and it just blows your mind? I do. I think that’s why I have such an appetite for theology as well as popular science books, and even for fantasy and science fiction. I like to have my mind blown and my imagination stimulated. I like to learn new things and think deep thoughts . . . and then realize just how little I actually know. Reading about the big bang, black holes, time dilation, parallel universes, quantum theory, and lots of other things I don’t fully understand makes me appreciate how amazing and truly awesome God is. We will never be able to fathom all that He is or all that He can do. We can try, but our human brains just aren’t equipped to process that level of knowledge. Anthony DeStefano shares a tale about Saint Augustine which exemplifies the struggle we face when trying to understand the nature of God:

“It’s hard to imagine how we can even hope to grasp — with our tiny intellects — something as sublime and infinite as the mind of God. There’s a wonderful story about Saint Augustine that illustrates this point well. The famous bishop of Hippo lived just before the fall of the Roman Empire. Today he’s considered one of the Fathers of the Christian Church. One day he was working on a book about the nature of God and was meditating on one of the greatest mysteries in all theology, namely, that God is a ‘trinity’ of ‘persons’ — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — and yet just one God. . . . He decided to leave his dark, cramped room and clear his head by taking a walk on the beach . . . . He looked up to the clear blue sky above him and prayed: ‘God, help me to understand you!’ . . . Just then he saw a little boy in the distance, running back and forth to the water. . . . The little boy had dug a hole in the sand a few feet from where the surf was breaking. Augustine saw that the boy would run frantically to the water, scoop some up in his hands, run back to the sand, and promptly pour the water into the hole he had dug. Then he would turn around, go back to the ocean, and do the very same thing again. . . . Finally, Augustine could contain himself no longer and said: ‘Little boy, what in the world are you doing?’ The boy smiled and responded, ‘Well, sir, I’ve dug this hole here, and I’m trying to fill it up with all the water in the ocean.’ Augustine let out a hearty laugh, and said, ‘Boy, don’t you know that you can’t possibly fit the vast ocean into that tiny little hole!’ Then the boy stopped, looked directly into Augustine’s eyes, and said very slowly and clearly in his little boy’s voice: ‘And neither can you, Augustine, fit the vastness of God into your tiny little mind.’ And with that the boy suddenly disappeared.”

Anthony DeStefano, The Invisible World

DeStefano admits that this story may merely be a legend, but the point of it is that we will never be able to fully comprehend God. And that’s okay with me. I am glad He knows infinitely more than I do. It gives me confidence and reassurance to know that He’s in charge and I’m not. I can let go and relax, knowing that He’s got this. I don’t always understand how He’s working, but I can be sure that He is. And if I trust Him, He will lead me in surprising and wonderful ways to the future He has in store for me.

“Always, always, always the ocean is at work on the land. Summer and winter, spring and autumn the changing tides rise and ebb, shaping the character of the coast. Their force is utterly relentless — their power immeasurable — their titanic thrust untamed. Great mysteries surround the majestic, awesome action of the tides. With incredible precision they move billions of tons of water from surface to surface upon the sea. They are the reflection of gigantic energy within the cosmos that knows no rest, that never slumbers, that never sleeps. In the same overshadowing way, our Father watches over His children, quietly overseeing the events of their lives that they might accomplish His purposes for Him.”

W. Phillip Keller, My Time with God

“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made . . .”

Stuart K. Hine, “How Great Thou Art”

I mentioned above that I like to read popular science books and learn about the astonishing discoveries being made by scientists every day. I want to share just one example with you. Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, in his book Parallel Worlds, discusses the possibility of the existence of parallel universes:

“Theoretical evidence is mounting to support the existence of the multiverse, in which entire universes continually sprout or ‘bud’ off other universes. . . . A growing number of physicists suggest that our universe did indeed spring forth from a fiery cataclysm, the big bang, but that it also coexists in an eternal ocean of other universes. If we are right, big bangs are taking place even as you read this sentence. Physicists and astronomers around the world are now speculating about what these parallel worlds may look like, what laws they may obey, how they are born, and how they may eventually die. Perhaps these parallel worlds are barren, without the basic ingredients of life. Or perhaps they look just like our universe, separated by a single quantum event that made these universes diverge from ours. And a few physicists are speculating that perhaps one day, if life becomes untenable in our present universe as it ages and grown cold, we may be forced to leave it and escape to another universe. . . . Calculations have been made by scientists at Cal Tech, MIT, Princeton, and other centers of learning to determine whether entering a parallel universe is consistent with the laws of physics. . . . The engine driving these new theories is the massive flood of data that is pouring from our space satellites as they photograph remnants of creation itself. Remarkably, scientists are now zeroing in on what happened a mere 380,000 years after the big bang, when the “afterglow” of creation first filled the universe.”

Michio Kaku, Parallel Worlds

Mind-blowing, right? Did God really create a multiverse full of parallel worlds? I don’t know. Could God create a multiverse full of parallel worlds? Of course! He can do anything, and that’s the point. Studying all of this science in light of God’s almighty power is completely awe-inspiring. Even scientists who don’t claim to believe in God can sense the wonder and mystery that surrounds us. And I think that’s the point, too. God wants to blow our minds with His creation so that when we look at it, we see Him.

“By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.”

Romans 1:20 MSG

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:9 NIV

Scientists are continually striving to know more about how the universe, and now possibly the multiverse, work. They develop equations and theories to try to explain the laws that govern the natural processes they observe. They keep refining these theories as they are able to test them. Ultimately, they are working toward what they refer to as the Theory of Everything, a set of laws that explains everything from the smallest atomic particle to the largest galaxy. So far they haven’t succeeded, but even if they do, what they know will still be miniscule in comparison to what they don’t know. God made us in His image, which means we inherited some of His intellect and creativity, but we are still only images. We will never know as much as He knows or be able to do as much as He does. That’s why we will always need faith. That’s why we must always depend on Him. That’s why, no matter how much we think we know, we should always keep a sense of reverent awe for our Maker. Charles F. Stanley reminds us:

“Earthly wisdom is rooted in the belief that all of life can be understood, rationalized, and proved scientifically. But God moves in ways that are still a mystery to man. Science can never prove what causes a person to fall in love. It can never prove what happens to a person after death. It can never measure the breadth or depth of God’s love and mercy. . . . The wisdom of this world has no capability to carry a person from this life into the next.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Way Day by Day

As amazing as God’s knowledge and power are, the most overwhelming and awe-inspiring aspect of His nature is His capacity to love — completely and unconditionally. We are called to emulate His love, but we will never match the level of love He has for us. We will never even be able to fully understand it. Max Lucado says, “There is no way our little minds can comprehend the love of God. . . . Upon learning that God would rather die than live without you, how do you react? How can you begin to explain such passion?” We can’t explain it. We can’t fully comprehend it. So how should we react? I think, first of all, we should accept it. We should believe in our hearts that we are truly loved and let it transform us. Then we should do our best to live in the light of this amazing gift. When I think about how much God loves us, it makes me want to fall down to my knees in worship and gratitude. It makes me want to honor Him by learning how to love Him and love others.

“And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love — how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.”

Ephesians 3:18 NCV

This week’s Scripture passages encourage us to focus on the awesome wonders of God. There is a printer-friendly pdf version below the image. We will never fully comprehend all that God is, but we can look forward to an eternal lifetime of learning more about Him each day. When we consider all His hands have made and the greatness of His love, we can fall to our knees and proclaim His glory:

“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!”

Stuart K. Hine, “How Great Thou Art”

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.”

Psalm 33:6-9 ESV

References:

• DeStefano, Anthony. The Invisible World: Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities That Surround Us. Kindle ed., Doubleday, 2011.
• Lucado, Max. Grace for the Moment: Inspirational Thoughts for Each Day of the Year. J. Countryman, 2000.
• Kaku, Michio. Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos. Anchor Books, 2005.
• Sorenson, Amanda, and Stephen Sorenson, editors. My Time with God: 15 Minute Devotions for the Entire Year, New Century Version. Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1991.
• Stanley, Charles F. God’s Way Day by Day. DaySpring, Inc., 2005.

Images:

• Ocean Starry Sky featured image by jplenio from Pixabay
• Sunset Beach image by kordula vahle from Pixabay
• Multiverse image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
• Starry Sky Landscape image by enriquelopezgarre from Pixabay
• Galaxy Beach image by Florian Steinberger from Pixabay