Camp Meeting Devotions - Day Fifty-Two

 Jeremiah 32:17 (NASB)

¹⁷  'Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,'

Everybody faces challenging circumstances from time to time. Difficulties that drain people's physical, emotional and mental resources. Sometimes these obstacles look impossible to deal with. The financial pressures mount. Health issues can take the wind out of our sails. Prodigals stray so far it appears they may never return. Rifts in relationships appear they will never be restored. There are no shortages of trials to overcome. 

This verse is a great reminder of the power of God. He made the heavens and the earth. The word made has many meanings. He developed, established and produced both the heavens and the earth. By heavens it means the celestial bodies in the sky. Planets, stars, galaxies, and solar systems. If you ever wanted to be reminded how small you are just walk outside at night and look up. Look above. 

I recently read the story where President Theodore Roosevelt took a guest outside the White House just before going to bed. He told his guest to look up. They stared upward at the vast stars. Then Roosevelt commented, "Well, I guess now that we are reminded how small we are we can turn into bed." 

God did not grab His tool bag and gather a list of materials to create outer space. He imagined it all and then spoke it into existence. He did the same thing with created earth. Waterfalls. Whales. Daffodils. Dolphins. Dogs. Aardvarks. Ants. Antelopes. Hills. Hippos. Volcanoes. Vultures. Swamps. Sloths. Oceans. Octopus. His imagination defies understanding. He masterminded all of it. Plankton as well as Pandas. Grass as well as Guerillas. Trees as well as Tarantulas. All of it imagined in the Creator's mind and spoken into existence. He did not have to exert enormous energy to make all of this. None of it taxed His intellectual capacities or His strength. Take for instance rocks. God made limestone as well as granite. He made pebbles as well as boulders. Consider different bodies of water. He made streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, and oceans. None of this wearied God in the least. He stretched out His arm and not only created it all. He holds it all together. 

Now, if God can do that, is what you're enduring too difficult for Him? The word difficult in this passage is expansive in meaning. It means heavy, extraordinary, burdensome, grievous, or hard. Consider your circumstances. Is what you are up against too heavy for God to lift? Is your burden so extraordinary God is overwhelmed? Is your trial so hard God can't offer a solution? Is it so grievous that He can't comfort and make a way through it? 

We spend so much time gazing at our problems and just glancing at God. We need to do just the opposite. Glance at our difficulties and really gaze on the massive strength of God. We would do well to remember Heb 11:6.  

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB)

⁶  And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Contemplate the truth in the middle of that verse. "...he who comes to God must believe that He is..." Believe that He is what? He is I Am. He is Creator. Provider. Healer. Sustainer. Teacher. King. Problem Solver. Mountain Mover. Burden Lifter. Heart Consoler. Wonderful Counselor. And so much more. We get battered by the waves of this life that can knock us off our feet. We struggle in the surf of sufferings to get our footing again. We get tossed in the tempest and forget the magnitude of God and His ability. He is a sure foundation no matter what we are facing. Look to Him. Find your foundation in Him. 

This would be a good day to stroll outside and look up. Day or night. Look around. Be reminded of the greatness of God. Because He created the heavens and the earth, He can handle anything that comes your way. Why not let go and let God handle it. His mind is not troubled by your troubles. His strength is not exhausted by your exhausting troubles. 

• Identify the greatest challenge you are currently facing?
• How are you handling it? With faith or fear? Anxiety or peace?
• Consider the extraordinary strength of God displayed in creation. 
• Apply the strength and wisdom of God to your challenge. What does your challenge look like to God?