Verse of the Day Jeremiah 32-17, July 11, 2004

"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." -- Jeremiah 32:17

I read this verse and it just shows the power of the Lord that I have faith in. It is comforting, reaffirming, and it invigorating for me to read. I mean, just think about it, "Nothing is too hard for you." Talk about faith. Talk about the greatness of God.

Growing up in my Faith, first as a Catholic with the rigid decorum, tradition and ritual that is a part of the Catholic Church and then growing into non-denominational faith, I can see how my view of God has changed. I had the whole God thing figured out. He was tall, caucasian. Not fat, but not thin. He had brown hair. He had brown eyes. His hair was long and he had a beard. He seemed kindly. He was a man.

But somehow my thoughts have changed. We try to put a human face on God, when He is not human...He is...well, He is God. How can one explain that? How can one ever describe that awesomeness that is there? We try to put a humanness to God and we take away from His greatness. He is something more, something better...something indescribeable.

And then I look at the things I have prayed for in my life. "Please Lord, give me this." "Please Lord, give me that." "Please Lord let me have this." And all the while, God grants me my prayers, and yet I can picture him shaking his head thinking "I have so much better planned for you, if only you'd allow me to work in your life." I can actually picture that. "Nothing is too hard for you."...He parted the waters. He walked in water. He fed thousands with a dozen loaves of bread. And yet...we pray for simple humanly things.

How we shortchange the Lord. How we shortchange God. We say that we have faith in His greatness, in His spirit and in His power, yet we never let His power and greatness work in us. To me, that seems like a lack of faith. It shows a lack of insight. It shows a lack of something essential to my faith. And so I pray for what I want, on and on and on, while all the while God desires to give us so much more than that if only I would allow Him to.

Today, I pray for the Lord to work His miracles in me. I pray for the wisdom and the quietness of soul and spirit to allow His greatness to resound in me. I pray for Him to move in me. I pray for the strength in faith to know that He works wonders in me, if only I will allow Him to.

"Lord, what you've given me and promise to me is greater than I could ever imagine. You've shown me something something bigger and more beautiful that anything I could dream of. Thank You for your greatness Lord."