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We often underestimate the power and greatness of God, the Almighty. There's no one like Him - no one as powerful, no one as wise. Yet, too often, we let our circumstances chip away at our hope that God will come through for us. The more we focus on our problems, the bigger they seem, and the smaller God appears in our eyes.

Our thinking becomes boxed in and narrowly focused. We get so caught up in our own issues, abilities, resources, and limitations that we start to confine what we believe God can do to what we've experienced so far. We act as if He can't do anything new or intervene in our lives today. But that's a small, uninspiring way to live and a dull, diminished view of the Almighty God.

Fortunately, that is not the God of the Bible. So, I want to zoom out and look at the big picture. We don't have to understand everything that is happening in our lives. We are to trust Him to make it work out. Proverbs 3:5 is one of my anchor verses in the Bible:

(Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Notice the "do not lean on your own understanding" rule, for it will always confuse you. God's laws do not make sense to our natural mind, but then neither does the law of gravity, which is invisible yet holds buildings to the ground. The natural mind considers the things of God to be foolish.

(1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

For example, the natural mind tells you to keep everything for yourself like a packrat to survive, but God says, "Give and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38). Trust Him and give some away, and He will bless you with even more. Choosing to obey God is often the opposite of the natural. It's the Supernatural.

I want to make it clear that God is Able to take care of you in any circumstance that you face, from the beginning to the end. If you put Your trust in Him, and I mean by your actions, not just words, He will take care of you. The Holy Spirit will speak to our spirit, and we become inspired to do something, then a door opens, and we can move forward with it or not. Faith is a decision followed by your obedience, not by your understanding or your ability to accomplish it.

Let's refresh our minds by lightheartedly flipping through the Bible and reviewing some simple, fundamental things we all know. Maybe it will stir something within us, and we can get a clearer picture of how powerful He is.

(Genesis 1:1 NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

We are talking about the God that created the universe, who said, "Let there be light," and there was light. "He also made the stars," which I believe has to be one of the coolest verses in the Bible (Genesis 1:16). He gave Abraham a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90.

This is the God who parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River for His people to pass through. He fed the Israelite people in the wilderness manna from heaven every day except on the Sabbath. Their clothes did not wear out, nor were there any diseases found among them for the 40 years they spent there. He gave them water when they were thirsty, sometimes from strange places like out of rocks. He led them as a pillar of fire at night to keep them warm and give them light, then a cloud by day to give them shade.

Sometimes, when His people whined and complained, they were consumed by fire. The earth opened up and swallowed some of them. When they followed His advice, the walls of Jericho collapsed before them (Joshua 6:20). Time itself stopped for Joshua (Joshua 10:12), and time ran backward for Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:10).

God caused Balaam's donkey to start speaking (Numbers 22:28). He anointed Samson with incredible physical strength, so much so that when a lion attacked him, he ripped it in half (Judges 14:6).

God once allowed the Ark of the Covenant to be captured by the Philistines when the Israelites tried to use Him as a tool. They placed the Ark in the temple of their god dagon, who was made of stone, but the following morning dagon was lying on his face before the Ark. They stood their statue back up, but the next morning, he was lying on his face again, this time with his head and hands broken off. Then, God struck the Philistines with hemorrhoids. After that, they hastily decided to send the Ark back to Israel (1 Samuel 5).

For a while, God had ravens bring Elijah meat and bread in the morning and again in the evening while he lived beside a brook. After the brook dried up, Elijah stayed with a widow for "many days" who only had a handful of flour in a bowl and a tiny amount of oil in a jar. They ate all they wanted every day, and they never ran out. Later, when her son died, Elijah prayed for him, and he came back to life (1 Kings 17).

Elijah prayed that it would stop raining on Israel because they had turned away from God, and it didn't rain for three and a half years! Then he prayed for rain, and it began raining a few minutes later. His apprentice, Elisha, came along and did twice as many miracles as Elijah did. They both called down fire from heaven, multiplied food, and raised the dead. This was not done by their strength but through the power of God Almighty. They prayed, and He answered them.

Some enemy armies were struck blind, captured, and then made to see again. Some were confused and attacked each other. 185,000 Assyrians apparently failed to wake up the next morning after a single angel visited their camp (Isaiah 37:36).

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a burning furnace, God protected them (Daniel 3:23). God also protected Daniel when he was thrown into the lion's den (Daniel 6:16).

Jesus performed so many miracles, including healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, multiplying food, calming storms, and casting out demons. However, He is "Emmanuel, God with us." So, let's continue to look at common people like you and me.

Peter, the fisherman, walked on water and healed the sick, and Ananias and his wife Sapphira fell dead at his words. His prayer raised a disciple named Tabitha from the dead. Peter spoke, and people died; then he spoke, and people lived. The power of life and death was literally in his tongue.

Paul was a leather worker, but God caused special miracles so that even handkerchiefs or aprons taken from him and laid on the sick would bring healing and deliverance. Paul spoke, and sorcerers were stricken blind. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons.

There is so much more that I could cover, but we have our Bibles for that. My point is that God can control your food supply, multiply your resources, and control the weather. He has brought the dead to life and made some naughty ones dead. God is able to protect those who trust in Him.

He has always been a deliverer, a miracle-working God. He often works through people like we just read about, and He has not changed. He has not stopped. God is alive and well today. God is able.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me see through Your eyes. Stir my faith and help me connect the dots. Open the right doors for me and close the ones I should avoid. Today, I put my trust in You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!