He is God, I am Not
Written by Anneke Toliver
God often reminds me that He is God and I am not. He does it in many ways; through His Word, through circumstances, through discipline. Sometimes it’s a hard-learned lesson, but He is always kind to show us Who He is, and who we are in relation to Him. I think one of the kindest ways He does this is through creation.
Over the years, I’ve come to recognize that for me, often, simply being reminded that He’s the Creator of it all is what causes me to trust Him most—especially with the things I just can’t comprehend. When I’m confronted with things about His character or in Scripture that are “too wondrous for me to know” (Job 42:3), it’s the fact of creation that brings me back to trust.
It felt difficult for me to admit that that’s what spurs my faith; it seems too simple. But as I’ve been reading through Scripture this year, something wonderful has stood out to me over and over again: In Scripture, God Himself uses creation to remind us Who He is and to show us that He is trustworthy.
It’s one of the reasons why I love Job. “Where were you, Job…” is a phrase I hear repeated through my head so often. After thirty-seven chapters of dialogue among Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and finally Elihu, God steps up. “Where were you, Job, when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). God immediately puts in perspective all the righteousness that Job has claimed, all the reasoning and speculating that he and his friends have done. For the next four chapters, God establishes His trustworthiness by walking Job through all the corners of the earth, through extravagant beauty and power; even the more “common” parts of what God has made don’t bow to mankind. If you haven't read it recently, I recommend it. It’s beautiful.
Job’s response to the evidence and argument God sets forth is this: “I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?’ Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know” (Job 42:2-3).
Psalm 33 also speaks of this truth. “For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is trustworthy. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love” (Psalm 33:4-5). How do we know that His Word is right and His work is trustworthy and the earth is full of His unfailing love? We know by observing creation: “The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap; He puts the depths into storehouses. Let the whole earth tremble before the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded, and it came into existence” (Psalm 33:6-9).
Paul reminds us that we are saved through faith, just as Abraham believed; faith in “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist” (Romans 4:17). Who else can do that? There is no one. He Who calls things into existence that did not exist is worthy of our trust.
Finding this thread woven throughout all of Scripture—the narratives, the poetry, the prophets, the epistles—has been one of my favorite themes to trace this year. God is holy and just and King over all. He has created this universe to show us His magnificence and power and glory, yes. And He uses it to us to remind us that He is God and we are not, and to prove to His people that He is worthy of our trust. What a kind, beautiful, generous way for Him to do so.
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Hello again, Dive Collective! It has been so long since we’ve seen you, studied with you, sent you any news. So much has happened since we decided to take a break, and we will be telling you a lot about that in an upcoming podcast episode!