“God moves in a mysterious way.”
– William Cowper, poet and hymn writer
When we encounter the God of the Bible, we realize He declares Himself to be all-powerful (omnipotent), all-present (omnipresent), and all-knowing (omniscient). In stark contrast, we are none of those things. Accurately understanding God is the only way to gain a correct understanding of ourselves. The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). It was during a difficult year of national change as the long-time king, Uzziah, died. When Isaiah sees the Lord, his first response is, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). For both Job and Isaiah, God’s majesty went well beyond their limited mental, physical, and spiritual perspective.
Both the Bible and our common human experience teach us that we are far from all-powerful, all-present, or all-knowing. We each must face the limits of our mental and physical abilities. All of humanity is constrained by time and space. We can only be in one place and in one moment at a time. The proverb is true: Time waits for no man. God, by stark contrast, is outside of time, space, and unencumbered by any inability. C.S. Lewis writes, “In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all.”
Simply stated: there is a God and we are not him. His abilities and ways are unique only to Him and, as we’ll see, radically different than our own.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven – what can you do? Deeper than Sheol – what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. Job 11:7-9
God’s way is holy.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. Psalm 77:11-13
God’s way is everlasting.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Psalm 33:11
God’s thoughts are wise.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Romans 11:33-34
God’s ways are beyond critique.
Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, “You have done wrong?” Job 36:22-23
God’s view is heavenly.
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2
God’s power is supernatural.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. Ecclesiastes 11:5
Our Ways
Humanity is the polar opposite. Not only in our abilities and inabilities, but our values and views are completely different from God. Arthur Pink accurately writes, “Much of the contents of the Bible conflicts with the sentiments of the carnal mind, which is enmity against God.” Our way isn’t just opposite; our way is opposed to God’s way. The Apostle Paul writes that the fallen mind “is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). Songs from every recent generation and genre declare, essentially, it is my life and I’ll do what I want with it. In our own poetry, we defy God by claiming to be “the master of [our] fate…the captain of [our] soul.” In his letter to the Romans, Paul summarizes what direction we steer our own souls.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:10-18
That’s a definitive, comprehensive view of humanity’s spiritual condition. God is holy, we are anything but. Our ways are earthly, foolish, disobedient, rebellious, and broken. And on top of all of that, we are dirt. Psalm 103:14 says, “We are dust.” We are both earthly and earthy. King Solomon writes, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
The following illustration falls ridiculously short of capturing the poetic beauty of the prophet Isaiah’s phrase, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,” (Isaiah 55:9), so please forgive me. Every parent has a perspective that their children lack. Experience has given them wisdom and, in some cases, a better point of view. When a child is young, the warnings may be about crossing the street or strangers or electricity. As a child grows, the warnings change. They may revolve around relationships, money, jobs, driving, social media, or other issues of which the parent has a more mature perspective. Using this simple idea, God is the parent and we are the child. His view is greater, higher, and wiser. We are limited, shortsighted, stubborn, rash, and often reckless. God is God and we are not. But what if we were God, just for a moment? Let’s imagine you or I get to be God for a day.