Skip to main content

How powerful is God?

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. (Nahum 1:3-5)
A group of kids where asked, 'how powerful is God?'. One said, 'God is so powerful he could break this school in two'. Not an answer that impressed her headmaster! Another said, 'God is so powerful he can be the best pilot'. Clearly with a future career in mind perhaps! Another said, 'God is so powerful he can do anything he wants to'. All eye opening and sober responses! I easily forget the power of God amid many life’s challenges.

The people of God during Nahum’s time faced just such a challenge from powerful Nineveh. God gave Nahum of a vision reminding them just how powerful He was in contrast to their enemies. Two important attributes of God's power can be seen from that verse.

First, Nahum teaches us that God is powerful in nature. He has power over the uncontrolled forces of nature. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm. These unpredictable and catastrophic forces of nature are not beyond him. Forces feared by ordinary man – powerful tornados and hurricanes are his servants! All of nature worships God. God's power over nature includes power over its life and beauty. The rich pastures of Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon were known for their vitality and life. Before God the life and beauty embedded in nature is sucked out and brought to a complete end by Him

This is a challenge to worldly thinking with its “mother nature” worship. There's no "mother nature". God controls it all. Therefore we can trust God to look after the unpredictable storms of life at home, work, church and nation He has never promised to take the storms away, but he promises to be in it.

God ultimately controls our lives. Not rich and powerful nations of history. All of life belongs to God not man despite our empty boasts. This changes the way we discuss questions of life (abortion, euthanasia). We must begin with God! It also encourages us as believers to entrust all of our lives to God especially suffering. It's also a reminder that the beauty of life is an expression of God’s glory. It will all fade one day. Therefore we must not live for today but for things that never fades!

Secondly, Nahum teaches us that God is powerful in judgement. He has power to judge all the earth, including the humanly impossible. The mountains must quake before Him. The hills must melt. The earth heaves at His presence. Yes, the world and all who dwell in it! Mountains and hills are symbols of immovable, permanent and impregnable structures. And yet these toughest nuts to crack melt when God speaks. Entire planet quakes. All the earth is judged.

God's judgement is wrathful. It is poured out like fire. All his enemies will ultimately be brought to an end. This is a warning to all world rulers, our modern mountains of power, that he has them in his hands. It is also a warning to unbelievers generally who have rejected God that one day they'll face God’s wrath!

Christians know this God as Jesus Christ our soon Coming King. The death and resurrection of Christ comes between us and severe judgement of a Powerful God. This should fill our hearts with appreciation of his mercy, grace and love for us. It should spur us with an eagerness to live holy lives.

Equally important is it gives us hope to rest in Christ totally. Our God is a God great in power! But he is also our Brother! So why panic when enemies strike? Why panic when circumstances of life throws us off course! Jesus Christ is in that storm of your life! Trust him! He is a Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Our Prince of Peace.

Related Posts (Nahum Series):

Is God Angry? (Nahum 1:1-2)
Is God Jealous? (Nahum 1:2-3)

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2013
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Am Mother

I think it is true to say that the Netflix film I Am Mother is one the most disturbing movies I have watched for a long time. The film is set in a near future. Human life has been wiped out. An artificial intelligence (AI) called Mother is living inside a bunker where thousands of embroyos are stored. It selects an embryo and initiates a program to grow a baby within 24 hours. The AI then goes on to raise the child as its mother over the next few years.  After 16 years, the girl, who now goes by the name of Daughter (Clara Rugaard) is a teenager. She has never been outside because Mother has told her that the air is toxic. Her time is spend being home schooled in science and ethics so that she can become a perfect human being. The bond between Daughter and Mother is unusually strong. To our surprise there does not appear to be any mental or pyschological trauma of having a machine as her mother.  The strength of the bond between man and machine is tested when a nameless Woman (Hilary
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

What is the best preparation for preaching?

The best preparation is not to be too anxious about it. Anxious care hinders liveliness and efficacy. It leads to too little dependence on the Spirit. Be not didactic. Aim at the conscience as soldiers aim at the faces. Consider I may be preaching my last sermon. This leads to setting forth Christ as The Way, the Truth and the Life . .. Make Christ the prominent figure…Pay less attention to dear self. JOHN NEWTON
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

White Fragility, A Review

Robin DiAngelo has a sermon to preach. It is in form of a short popular book called White Fragilit y. Straight off the bat she tells us not to expect balanced analysis but a forceful argument “unapologetically rooted in identity politics”.  She understands identity politics as “the [political] focus on the barriers specific groups face in their struggle for equality”. The group she wants to save is black people, whom she blankets under “people of colour”.  So what is White Fragility about?  DiAngelo is sick and tired of white racism in the western world, and specifically the USA. She believes every white person, including babies, are guilty of racism by virtue of being white. So she wants to use her “insider status” as a white American woman to challenge this white racism by getting her fellow “white progressives” to force forward her thesis. In her words, “I am white...and I am mainly writing to a white audience”. I was immediately tempted to put down the book because being black Afri
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →