How God’s Mysteries Inspire Our Worship

God’s mysteries are inspiring my worship this week, and he’s leading me to share this with you.

My thoughts are centering on this Scripture:

Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
Job 11:7-9 NIV

Our God is a God of mystery. He is so high and mighty. Perfect in holiness, power, and strength. Have you stopped to think about God’s majesty lately? That his paths are beyond tracing out?

A New Perspective

This video message from pastor Francis Chan stopped me in my tracks. I especially love the part at 6:53 where he elevates our view to the heavenly throne, and then makes it personal and applicable to our time of isolation. A must-see – please watch it! If you’re pressed for time, start at the 6:00 mark and you’ll get the main idea.

It’s AMAZING to ponder the fact that our God of mystery yearns for us to draw close to him. In the timeline of world history, our lives are microscopic. He does not owe us explanations for anything. He is all-wise, all-knowing, all-encompassing, and all-sufficient. And yet, Jesus is standing at the door of each of our hearts, waiting for us to let him in.

Perspective in the Pandemic

A few weeks ago, I read an article in the Sunday newspaper about how viruses work. The two doctors writing the article struggled to define what a virus is. Yes, after thousands of years of research, the smartest minds still know so little about how viruses work. In fact, these writers said it’s easier to describe what a virus is not, rather than what it is. But they did write that a single virus particle can attach to a healthy cell and then make one million copies of itself.

Let’s just stop for a moment and acknowledge the mystery of this pandemic.

Like Job, we do not understand why this crisis has descended on each of us, on the micro- and macro-levels. We don’t know why God doesn’t stop it right now, because of course he could. We don’t understand why he allowed it to spread around the world, rather than keep it isolated to one town, country or continent. These facts may spur you to feel frustrated, fearful, disappointed, or angry – like many others. Like Job felt in his struggles.

Worshiping God in the Mysteries

None of us can truly fathom God’s mysteries. But perhaps a greater mystery is that when we worship God because he is mysterious – not in spite of this fact – we can find peace, and draw even closer to him.

We all want assurance that Someone is bigger than us. Someone who holds the world in balance. When I shared the newspaper fact with my 13-year-old son, he said, “And to think that some people believe the world was created when two rocks banged together.” Yes, our hearts were created to worship Someone much bigger, more complex, and far more intelligent than we are.

At the same time, we long to be known by our Creator. We want answers – we can’t help ourselves. Even though the book of Job is a heartbreaking read, I feel comforted and inspired by Job’s questions and laments. He lets it all hang out before God. Everything – his anger, loss, hurt, depression, confusion, and fear. He holds nothing back in his raw, honest prayers – a model for us.

Meeting with God in the Mysteries

In the final chapters of the book of Job, he gets his meeting with God. Yet, God doesn’t give Job any explanations. In fact, he lists mystery after mystery in creation. Some we don’t understand well even now, many thousands of years after Job’s account was written. You can read what God says in Job 38 through 42.

What was Job’s response after his encounter with God?

“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.”
Job 42:3 NIV

Job worshiped God because of the mysteries, even though his problems were not yet resolved. He worshiped God when he was still walking through his deep losses, and God chose to honor him for it – another amazing mystery.

Comfort and Peace in God’s Mysteries

What comfort and peace can we find from Job’s account? Here’s a recap for you:

1. Though God is high and mighty, he welcomes our honest prayers.
We don’t have to hold anything back from him. I can look back on times when I poured all of the unedited ugliness I was feeling out before God, and that’s when my faith grew the most.

2. When we rant and rave before God, we may not receive the answers we want.
However, pouring ourselves out before him is cathartic. We aren’t designed to hold all our feelings in. Pouring them out to God first is the very best practice for our mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Then, if necessary, we can share them with trusted friends, who are “Jesus with skin on” to us. (More on that concept in an upcoming devotion.)

3. Being honest with God enhances our worship of him and elevates our view of him.
My personal relationship with God has grown to mountain heights in the darkest times of my life. Strangely, the deeper I go, the less I feel that I understand. Yet, my willingness to worship God in the mysteries has increased, along with my peace. This can be true for you as well.

Free Printable

I’ve compiled a free printable of Christian meditation verses to inspire worship because of God’s mysteries. It’s available right here, right now – no password required! Simply click on this link or the graphic to download it.

Since it’s National Great Poetry Reading Day, I’m sharing the poem that inspired my thinking for this devotion a few weeks ago. It’s To the Unseeable Animal by Wendell Berry, one of my all-time favorite poets. May this poem inspire you today!

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I choose to worship you because of your mysteries,
not in spite of them.
I confess that too often, I fail to see you
as holy, high and mighty.
I don’t want to attempt to contain you anymore.
Remind me every day of your paths
that are beyond tracing out.
May this knowledge inspire my worship
and give me comfort and peace
as my faith in you grows, day by day.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

I pray that whatever you are facing right now, this devotion has encouraged you. Do you have a prayer request to share with me, or feedback on this devotion? You can reach out to me through my Contact page.

How God’s Mysteries Inspire Our Worship

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