God is Absolute
“I believe God.” The apostle Paul faced an uncertain future when he uttered those words to a frightened crew as a storm engulfed their boat on the raging Mediterranean. But Paul had been told that after the trip, he would stand trial before Caesar and that God would spare the lives of all who sailed with him. So it was with confidence and great faith that he told his fellow sailors, “Keep your courage men, for I believe God, that it will happen just as He told me” (Acts 27:25).
We too face an uncertain future as our world seems to grow crazier each day. It seems that wrong is right and right is wrong. Without a doubt, the very foundations of our society are crumbling beneath our feet and we have lost our way.
Recent statistics show that today most Americans do not believe in moral absolutes. Instead, 69% believe in “situation ethics,” where right and wrong are determined by circumstances. At the same time, 70% say it’s important to do what God or Scripture says is right. 91% of Americans also believe that religion is important, but 63% of those people reject the concept of moral absolutes!
We all must have a set of absolutes to live by. Otherwise, whose definition of truth will we embrace? Throughout history, people have been interested in a relationship with God, but only on their own terms. Voltaire said, “God made man in His image and man returned the favor.” Today many people are still remaking God into their image, into a deity that they can control (Isaiah 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; Romans 1:21).
In Kyoto, Japan, there is an unusual place of worship called the Temple of the Thousand Buddhas. On display inside the shrine are more than a thousand likenesses of Buddha, each just a little different from the others. It is set up this way so that a devotee can come in, find the one that looks most like himself, and worship it.
Many Christians essentially seek to do the same thing. But no one has the luxury of picking and choosing the attributes of God that are most appealing. We are given the option of accepting Him or rejecting Him, but not of changing Him.
God is omniscient (all-knowing).
God is vitally aware of His own creation—mankind. What’s more, He is interested in us as individuals. Not one single thing occurring in any place escapes His knowledge (Psalm 139:1–6; Psalm 147:4; Matthew 10:29; Proverbs 15:3).
God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
God can do all things. Nothing is too hard for Him. No problem is so large that He cannot deal with it and, if it is His will, He is able to eliminate it altogether (Psalm 139:7–12; Job 42:2; Genesis 18:14).
A.B. Simpson said, “There is no difficulty too intricate for Him to unravel. There is no little detail of life too petty for Him to take an interest in. There is no toil too tedious for Him to go through with us. There is no tangle too involved for Him to unthread and loose. There is no complication or difficult circumstance too extreme for Him to not be willing to take hold and lead us gently out into the light.”
God is omnipresent (present everywhere).
You are never alone. Like Paul on that storm-tossed ship, you can boldly say: “I believe God!” He will be with you no matter what you face in life (Isaiah 43:2). He is always everywhere (Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 139:7–10).
