Devotional: All Powerful God

All Powerful God

By Marsha Iddings

Deuteronomy 32:39 ¶ 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

This is a powerful verse. God is telling us several things about Himself here that many would rather ignore.

1. He is the only God, there are no others.

We see this in several other passages of scripture.

Isaiah 45:5 ¶ I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

God is quite clear about the fact that He is the only God. No others exist except in the imaginations of humans. Some even like to think they are gods or that they can become gods. I think of Shirly Mclain in "Out On a Limb" proclaiming, "I am god! I am god!" But God says, "there is no God beside me." He will not share His glory. Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

2. God kills.

Did you ever wonder why the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill" while it says that God kills? The answer is simple. He is the maker. He can do whatever he wants with His creation. Consider Romans 9:20-21, Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

While this verse doesn't explicitly say that God kills, it implies His complete power over His creation to do what He wants with it. If God chooses to take life it is in His power to do so. He is sovereign over all to do as He pleases. We are not and God has commanded us to not kill another unless He has expressly commmanded it in His word.

3. God makes alive.

Many times in Scripture we see God raising people from the dead. He raised up Jesus Christ from the dead so that ultimately those who are in Christ can also be raised up from the dead. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

This should bring great comfort to us. After we die, God will raise us up again to live with Him in heaven.

4. God wounds.

God wounds us for our good.

Hebrews 12:5-8, 11 My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.... Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Be patient in the pruning, keeping your eye on the peaceable fruit of righteousness that God is forming in your life.

5. God heals.

Jeremiah 3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Hosea 6:1 ¶ Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

When you find yourself in affliction of some sort, find comfort in the fact that it won't last forever. God will heal the wounds he makes as we submit to His pruning and sanctifying work in our lives.

6. No one can deliver from of the hand of God.

If we read further down in Deuteronmy we see that the context of this verse deals with judgment. Deuteronomy 32:41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

This is a warning to those who reject God that their day is coming and there will be no escape from His hand on that day. These are sobering words. Only those who cease from trying to work their way to heaven and lay hold on God's mercy will escape His judgment. "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5

I hope and pray that you will find some truth in this verse to encourage you in the coming week.