In keeping with the theme of this blog, I’d like to marvel a bit about God and his world. Sometimes I pause and tremble at the immensity of the created order. When I look at the stars, my mind gets boggled by the vastness of space. And then I remember that God “determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names,” which is to say that he is ”abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:4-5). Few things terrify me and fill me with wonder more than the depths of the ocean, which humanity has yet to explore fully. (Whenever I get the chance, I download sea exploration videos from National Geographic and watch octopuses change color to blend in with their surroundings in order to avoid predators.) And, of course, God “has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand” (Isaiah 40:12). Such language labors to do as much justice as possible to the vastness and incomprehensibility of God.
One such text recently left me stunned when its implications landed on me. After Job describes the creative power of God, by which he “hangs the earth on nothing” and gathers up water in clouds without them bursting open, he says, “Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:7-8, 14). Have you ever considered the immensity of the world’s wonders and stopped to think that you are hearing but a small whisper of God and glimpsing only the outskirts of his ways? How little must we know of his infinite power and wisdom if all this is just a whisper compared to his thunder. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33).
