His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 9:4-10 (NIV)
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider’s web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold. Job 8:13-15 (NIV)
How foolish it is to lean on the arm of man – of what good is that? Like Job stated, it is as if leaning on a spider’s web. It gives way and will not hold. King David had it right. After considering the vastness of the heavens God had made he stated the question: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” Oh, the pride of man, the boasting of what he has and does - how silly that must appear to the God of all creation. Pride turned an angel into the devil and pride can turn a man into a beast. Not a pretty sight. There is no place for any pride – “What do we have that we did not receive and if we received it, why should we boast?” the Apostle Paul queries.
God desires for His children to empty themselves of themselves and be filled to the fullness of Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is He Who equips us to do things too hard for man to do – God sized things. When a man is sincerely humble and never tries to take the credit or the praise for his actions, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. That’s exactly what occurred in Scripture through the lives of the saints of the past and that is exactly what God wants for His present day saints as well. Oh, it will probably look very differently, but you will know it is all Him. Through His power, our petitions, our pleading of the promises of his Word, and our death blow to insidious pride we are equipped to stand firm in all His will mature and fully assured – able to do God sized things for His glory and for our good. It is the great adventure and one that we do not want to miss out on.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:6-10 (NIV)