An Awesome God

When was the last time God acted in a way you totally did not expect? For generations, even to the beginning of time, man has presumed to know exactly how God should and would work in every situation. Unfortunately, our minds cannot even begin to fathom the extent of God’s power. As a result, we force God and his infinite might into a restrictive box. We, the created, limit God, the creator. How absurd is that?
In Joshua 10, the story is told of the Israelites fighting the Amorites. Joshua said to the Lord, “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the valley of Abijalon.” The next verse says, “The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14. What if Joshua had not believed that God could or would do something he had never done before?
Has God stopped being God? Does he still fight on the behalf of his redeemed? Can we still expect him to perform supernatural feats so that we, his people, can have victory? The word of God reminds us of what God is capable of and willing to do. Our faith needs to go beyond what we know God can do—what he’s done before in our sight and experience—and trust him to do something wonderful and new.
The scriptures tell us that Jesus could not do any miracles in his hometown because the people lacked faith. Throughout the Bible, we read about God’s desire to give us victory in every area of our lives. Regardless of what we might like to believe, however, man never gains the victory on his own, but “He holds victory in store for the upright. Pr 2:7; The Lord gave David victory. 1 Chron 18:6; The Lord gives us victory over our enemies. Ps 44:7; Victory rests with the Lord. Pr 21:31; and God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor 15:57.
Does victory always come in the same prescribed way? Absolutely not. Isaiah said to the Lord, “For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.” Is 64:3-5.
Remember Joshua, and allow God to move in wonderful and mighty ways. Take it one step further and, like Joshua, ask God to do awesome things in your life. And then don’t be surprised or give credit to the “god” of circumstance, coincidence, medical science, or man’s wisdom when the Lord does something amazing in your sight. He is, after all, Jehovah El Elyon, the Most High God.