God > Your Problems

We compare things. We all do it. If we want to describe what a food tastes like to someone who has never tried it, we often compare it to something they have had before. Remember the infamous, "It tastes like chicken" comparison? We compare experiences and feelings. Often we can compare individuals with one another. "She is just like her mother." "He gets that from his dad." When we compare one thing to another, we often want someone to have a similar experience that we have had. What do we do when there is nothing to compare with? It gets a little more complex.

ISAIAH 40:18

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?

Those are great questions! Obviously God has no equivalent, no match to compare features and mannerisms. In fact God says in Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. We were created in God's image, but even His very creation is not comparable to Him.

God asks again in Isaiah 46:5 To whom will ye liken Me, and compare Me, that we may be like? There is no one. God is omnipotent, omnipresent. He always was. He always is. He always will be. He was not born or created and that is hard to wrap our minds around because we are finite beings. He is infinite. We have a beginning and we have an end. He does not. We have time that stops and starts again. He is outside the realm of time. He is eternal. 

Yet God continues to ask in Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.  This question today, as I present it to you, is for you to let your mind explore the vastness of God. As I think about the God of the universe and what could compare to Him, nothing comes to mind. I imagine the world I live in and how huge it is in size and the miracle of its' orbit around the sun and how it spins on its' axis, yet we don't feel like we are spinning. He did that! I think of space and astronomy; the sun, the planets, the stars, the Milky Way, and celestial bodies. Space is so incredible and immeasurable and yet God is bigger and is in every single part of space. There is no where we can think of that God isn't. He is everywhere! That is a BIG God! We serve a great BIG God and yet He desires to be a part of every single thing we do or think.

ACTS 17:29

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

There is nothing created that we can compare with God because it is something He made to begin with. If I foolishly try to carve a piece of wood into something like God, I am using something He made (the wood) to imitate Him. There is nothing you can make that will do God justice. He is simply too complex and multi-faceted to ever duplicate. 

We are not the only ones who are curious about God. Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father. Jesus answers him with a question. John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? You see Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. To see Jesus is the only way to see God the Father. He is the only One worthy to be compared! Jesus is telling Philip that in order to experience God, he first needed to have an experience with Jesus. Philip was looking for something tangible, and Jesus said, "You're looking at it!" We may be searching to know God more, and meanwhile Jesus is knocking on our heart's door, lovingly asking for us to let Him in!

COLOSSIANS 1:12-17

12. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son:

14. In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

17.  And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

It is difficult to stretch our thinking into comprehending that God made all things by Jesus and for Jesus and by Him all things consist. Jesus was there in the very beginning! 

HEBREWS 1:1-4

1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;

3. Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

4. Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Jesus is the "express image of His person" and that is why Jesus could say to Philip, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." Psalm 89:27 Also I will make Him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. Preeminence means superiority. We see from these verses that Jesus was not some ordinary man. He was greater than a prophet. He was more than just a "good man." His authority is higher than any other. We will all know this when Jesus comes back! Revelations 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. Revelations 19:16 And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.  That should make us excited! That should remind us how powerful our soon-coming King is!

There is an order that society wants to disorganize. We have seen multiple problems with far-reaching consequences when the divine order God has set up is messed with. I don't discuss politics and I don't engage in spirited debates about women's lib agendas. I am not expressing Bridgett's opinion of how things ought to go. I am sharing God's Word today to help us see the clear picture God has for the order things ought to be. 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. God is at the very top and then Jesus. If we do not put Jesus in the position directly below God, we are not going to receive the blessings of God. They flow down from the Father to the Son to us.

Now that we have a clearer understanding of who God is; how great and powerful He is; think about the hardest trial you have had. Maybe you are going through a difficult situation right now. Do you know of someone else who is going through circumstances they just can't get through? I have great news for you! God is greater than your situation. He is greater than your problems! He is greater than your need! He is greater than your illness. He is greater than your diagnosis. He is greater than your marital problems. He is greater than your financial struggles. He is greater than your family issues. He is greater than addiction. He is greater than depression. He is greater than anxiety. He is greater than fear! He is GREATER!!!!

PSALM 56:3

What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.

PSALM 30:10

Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be Thou my helper.

PSALM 54:4

Behold, God is mine helper: the LORD is with them that uphold my soul.

PSALM 72:12

For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

HEBREWS 13:6

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Please do not let the enemy deceive you! God loves you and wants to help you. He adores you and wants to help you through these struggles. Every single situation that is difficult and messy, God is standing before you, with outstretched arms, asking you to trust Him.

PSALM 139:17

How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

And after you have placed your hand in the hand of the Master, expect great things! You will receive the answer. You will get your miracle. You will be free. You will be equipped to help others and you will be instructed to share your testimony of God's faithfulness to others just like Jesus told the man in Luke.

LUKE 8:39

Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

I have no doubt your story is going to impact many others. Keep talking about the goodness of God. Send me an email at bridgettowens78@gmail.com or send me a note in the mail letting me know what God is doing in your life. I would love to hear from you!

Bridgett Owens

PO Box 471

Mitchell, Indiana 47446

USA

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Aaron Did What???

Imagine that you have a friend or close relative who has been called into a very important ministry. This friend or relative determines they do not have what it takes to fulfill their mission. You are then selected by God to be this person's voice, their spokesperson, to share their message with the masses. How do you feel? Happy, scared, intimidated, insecure, confident, hopeful? You may feel a myriad of emotions. This actually happened in the Bible. God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and Moses tells God He picked the wrong guy. He goes on to say that he is not eloquent with speech and he does everything except completely shove the offer back in God's face. So, God is exasperated with Moses but appoints his brother Aaron to help.

Moses and Aaron finally lead the children of Israel to Egypt. They are free! The enemy was drowned in the Red Sea! Moses had gone up to talk to God, and receive the Ten Commandments. Wouldn't you think that the children of Israel would have been waiting in eager anticipation for Moses? Unfortunately, that is not the case! Let's open our Bibles to the Old Testament. We are going to Exodus 32.

Exodus 32:1

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Aaron is the mouthpiece of God. He has heard the voice of the living God speak and direct him in what to say. Now he is alone. Moses is up on the mountain with Joshua and this man of God is surrounded by a mob of ungrateful people who have dismissed Moses as their leader. He is just some random man that brought them out of Egypt. Can you hear the disdain in their voices as they demand Aaron get up and make them idols to worship instead of the very God that anointed Aaron to be their leader. What would you do? How would you feel?

Aaron does not try to change their mind. He does not remind them of the blessings! He does not put up a fight. He is called to be a leader and yet his response is one of compromise. He actually instructs them to bring him gold. He forms it into an image. When the people see it they proclaim it as their new god that brought them out of Egypt. He could have regretted what he had done but instead he builds an altar so they can offer a sacrifice to this false god.

Moses is not dead like they may think. He did not get lost in the mountains with Joshua. They are talking with God and He is giving them these laws for the children of Israel to obey. God sees what they are up to and tells Moses to quickly get back down there because of the evil they are doing. He told Moses He would consume them all and kill them for their stiff-necked ways. He would not destroy Moses, though, and promised to make him a great nation. Moses convinced God to reconsider and God obliges him. He extends mercy instead and Moses is on his way back down the mountain in an angry fury.

Exodus 32:15, 16

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

Joshua hears the noise of the children of Israel dancing and playing around. He mistakes it for a battle cry, but Moses knew it was no war breaking out... yet! He gets near the camp and sees the dancing and looks over to see what the celebration was about: there is a calf... the golden idol. Moses is so angry that he throws the Holy tablets down to the ground. The tablets broke into pieces. Moses had taken the Holy gift of God and destroyed them because he was angry about the sin of others. It was a good excuse but it was still wrong.

Moses demands to know how the people have deceived Aaron into sinning so greatly. Aaron immediately throws the children of Israel under the bus. He explains it away. He even tells Moses, "You know how they are!" He minimizes his part in all of this.

Exodus 32:24

And I said unto them, "Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf."

Aaron doesn't know how it turned into the shape of a calf. Really, Aaron? This is a really big deal! What would you say? Would you have given in to the people? Was the experiences Aaron had with God not enough to stand up against these stiff-necked people? It's easy to judge him when we are on this side of the book. But what about those times we compromise in our own lives? Don't we want forgiveness? Don't we want mercy and grace? None of us are perfect.

Our favorite preachers, singers, authors, and heroes of great faith are merely human. We are all in the Lord's Army and we all make mistakes. We are all flawed and broken. Our great example is Jesus and while none of us will ever be perfect like Him, we are to strive to live like Him. 

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I don't know about you, but I breathe a small sigh of relief when I read that. I am not the only one who messes up. I am not the only one who gives in and follows the crowd sometimes. I am not the only one who does the easier wrong instead of the harder right. I am not the only one who answers in anger or sharp tones when I know a soft answer turns away wrath. (Proverbs 15:1)

Today I want you to know that I am not throwing any stones. I am not picking on Aaron. I hope you can see how human he is and that even though he had such a powerful calling on his life, when push came to shove, he fell in a way that you and I may have also. The good news is that we can get up and try again. God's mercies are new every single morning. Great is His faithfulness to us. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

If you have fallen, you can get back up my friend. God is right there, ready to dust you off, and refresh your soul. You are not alone. You are loved. You have not made so great a mistake that God stopped loving you. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God and that is a great promise! (Romans 8:35-39)

I hope you are blessed by today's message. I hope you find encouragement and hope in this lesson. It's a beautiful reminder that God does not call perfect people to perform His perfect will, no, he calls the imperfect and then uses our mistakes, disappointments, and failures to shape us into a more perfect version of who He is calling us to be. If today's devotion has helped you, feel free to share the message with others, and together we will obey the Scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens