The song, ‘How Great Thou Art’ is often sung in our worship services. Here are some of its lines: 

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O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee
How great Thou art! How great Thou art! (2) 

(Carl Boberg/ Stuart K. Hine)

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When we sing this song, we give some reasons why God is so great: “I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.” We say, “You made the hills and the mountains, you made the seas and the dry land.” What an awesome God we serve!

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The wonders of God’s creation are reason enough to affirm His greatness. Even the simplest living thing has complexities unconceivable to the human mind. Look at another of God’s creations: We sit in the light of the sun, an object so huge that though millions of miles away, it warms our entire planet with just a fragment of its energy. Water falls from the skies that allows life to grow and flourish. What power! What wisdom in planning our world! How great is our God! The same God who sends the gentle rains allows floods and tidal waves to sweep across lands, homes, cities, islands.

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Our reading today is God speaking to Job, a man who struggled with this kind of dilemma. When God allowed trial and heartbreaks in his life, Job did not curse God, as Satan predicted he would. But he did begin to wonder whether God was so wonderful after all, beginning to doubt God’s goodness and love. Job wasn’t the first (or wouldn’t be the last person) to complain about how God was treating him in his life.

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Which of us hasn’t questioned God when problems arise? Which of us hasn’t thought, “Does God really know what I am going through?” Like Job we have had questions. The first eleven verses are God’s answer to Job--God’s answer to anyone who questions His wisdom. The Lord declared: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me." (Job 38:2-3 ) Maybe we don’t always realize it, but this is what we’re doing whenever we speak against God and his Word- challenging God, setting ourselves up against him as an opponent! To put it simply, God told Job, “if you want to have a debate, let’s see how well you can answer these questions.”

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God didn’t answer all of Job’s questions that day but spoke to him what he needed to hear- God reminded him of His power and wisdom and love. God won’t always answer our questions either. He’s not going to give you and me his WHY’s and WHAT FOR’s. He’s not going to tell us His reasons for allowing us to go through heartaches or distress. Neither is He going to explain His thinking to us, that we evaluate how much of a good God He is. Instead, He speaks to us as He spoke to Job: He shows us his beautiful creation that showcases his wisdom and says, “Trust me.” He pours out daily blessings for our sustenance and whispers, “Trust me.” He gives us the promises of His Word to watch over every moment of our life and declares, “Trust me.” But above all, He points us to His Son who bled and died and rose from the dead, saying, “I gave My life for you, made you holy with your sins forgiven! TRUST ME.” How Great He is! Let’s continue to worship Him and sing His praises. Amen.

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Prayer:

Dear God I bow in worship before You who is awesome

and mighty in wisdom and power. I trust my life in Your hands.

Amen.

Listen- ‘How Great Thou art!’