Do you know . . .
. . . the approximate number of stars in the sky?
- “Astronomers estimate that the universe could contain up to one septillion stars – that’s a one followed by 24 zeros (1) !”
. . . about the “Goldilocks Zone?”
- That’s what scientists call our perfect position in the galaxy, where Earth doesn’t get too hot or too cold. The distance is “just right” to sustain life (2).
. . . how ocean currents are important to our survival?
- They help regulate Earth’s climate by distributing heat around the globe. They also transport nutrients and oxygen to deep-sea ecosystems (3).
. . . where the tallest mountain is located?
- It’s not Mount Everest—it’s Mauna Kea, part of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount range. It rises 13,800 feet above the Pacific Ocean and extends down to the ocean floor another 19,700 feet, for a total of 33,500 feet—more than a mile higher than Mount Everest (4).
. . . how trees in a forest can stay healthy for centuries without human intervention?
- An underground fungus network connects plants together, allowing for transfer of water and nutrients (5).
I can’t speak for you, but such facts astound me and prompt awed adoration for the Creator of all things.
My amazement expands even further as I read in scripture:
- God knows all those septillion of stars by name (Isaiah 40:26).
- He is the One who set the earth on its [invisible] foundations; it can never be moved (Psalm 104:5).
- God inspired David to include “the paths of the sea” in one of his songs (Psalm 8:8), long before Matthew Maury studied those currents and charted them.
- He covered the earth with enough water to stand above the tallest mountains (Psalm 104:6).
- God has made sure his trees in the deepest forests have been well-watered and nourished since time began (Psalm 104:16).
Photo taken by Paul Saad in the “Cedars of God” nature preserve in Lebanon.
Some trees are well over 1,000 years old, a few even 2,000 and 3,000 years old.
Who is like our God?!
Because of his incomparable power, he could do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Yet his actions are always guided by absolute love, wisdom, and goodness.
But of course, God’s magnificence isn’t limited to his creative genius and immense power to accomplish every good work.
Consider his holiness—his separateness from all else, his perfections above everyone else.
He’s the Only One who:
- can create out of nothing
- has the capacity to rule and sustain the universe
- knows all things, all truth
- can provide eternal life to those who come to him (6)
We see his holiness in:
- the numerous, already-fulfilled prophecies of scripture, brought about with 100% accuracy
- his promises, kept with 100% reliability
- his flawless attributes, at work 100% of the time (7)
Think of all his blessings lavished upon us, the answers to prayer, the difficulties overcome, the miracles bestowed. Your life and mine offer proof of God’s holy faithfulness and lovingkindness.
In fact:
Not since Adam stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him.
—A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, 44.
Again, my heart responds with awed adoration.
Yet there’s more.
This astounding, wonderful, and perfect God invites us to be holy too.
“Now why would we want to do that?” the skeptic will ask. “Holiness sounds dull and boring!”
In actuality, the process of becoming holy is the pathway to happiness. Yes it is.
Every time God says, “Don’t,” he’s indicating, “Don’t hurt yourself.” When we choose to sin, we’re choosing to suffer (9).
Now why would we want to do THAT?
Some will argue, “But holiness is so hard to achieve.”
That’s where awed adoration comes in, for the magnificence of God’s deeds and the perfections of his character, just as we’ve done in this post.
Why?
The life of true holiness is rooted in the soil of awed adoration.
—J. I. Packer (quoted by Ann Voskamp in 1000 Gifts, 111).
So let’s plant our roots and grow!
Greater happiness awaits.
Endnotes:
- https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/
- https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-the-habitable-zone-or-goldilocks-zone/
- https://oceanblueproject.org/ocean-currents-map/
- https://www.mos.org/blog/the-earth-around-us/Why-Hawaii
- https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/underground-mycorrhizal-network
- Hebrews 11:3; Colossians 1:17; 1 John 3:20c; John 3:16
- Isaiah 46:10-11; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 18:30
- James MacDonald, Gripped by the Greatness of God, 36-37.
Image credits: http://www.commonswikimedia.org (2); http://www.flickr (Paul Saad); http://www.picryl.com; http://www.freebibleimages.org; http://www.canva.com.
Do sign up below for the monthly newsletter that includes a THANK YOU GIFT: Thirty encouraging quotes to inspire your own spirit and share with others.
Scroll to the end of the newsletter to find this resource!
Discover more from From the Inside Out
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
From the Inside Out 
There is nothing greater than our God😄 but your words come close💕
Aw . . . thank you, Kathy. Praise God for his guidance and inspiration!
Nancy, thanks for reminding me in such an elegant way of how amazing our God is. Each day He sets before our eyes the many ways He is worthy to be praised.
Anita
“Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:2). It’s not hard at all to do when we determine to LOOK! I know this has been a life-habit of yours for a long time. You’re a poster child for praise!
You are so right, Nancy. Our God is an awesome God! 🙂
Indeed!
these are things I think of when walking through the woods knowing my thoughts are on a very very small scale in comparison. Yet knowing this creator of all welcomes my awe and wonder…way beyond me
He’s a compassionate, appreciative Father, Gary!
Beautiful “coincidences,” beautiful Creator!
Indeed, Mitch!
Wow 😮 can you imagine that the Lord of Universe knows each star by name. Such majesty is too wonderful for me to comprehend
Agreed, Brenda. “Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?” (Psalm 113:5-6). Also too wonderful to comprehend? He’s our heavenly Father!
Praise to our awesome Creator. Thank you for sharing of His unique and powerful creativity!!
You’re welcome, Alicia. I’m praising our awesome God with you!
Awed adoration . . . could we ever be in a better state of heart, soul or mind in worshiping and being thankful to God for His infinite love? I think not! Thanks for this reminder of our interdependence with each other and with our Creator God, Nancy. Blessings!
Amen, Martha! Worship does positively impact the state of our hearts, souls, and minds. A psalmist reminds us: “Blessed are those who dwell in your house [your presence], ever singing your praise” (Psalm 84:4 ESV)! We do well to weave worship throughout the day. Of course, I know you do that already. Your blog posts point us to God every week–in worshipful ways.
This could be two blog posts–God’s marvelous creation and God’s holiness. You combined the two themes so well!
Thank you, Linda. No doubt over thirteen years of blogging I’ve handled the two topics separately, but in actuality all his attributes are intertwined, aren’t they. His marvelous creative ability is a facet of his holiness, his holiness is a facet of his goodness, his goodness is a facet of his love, etc. On and on we could go, relating each attribute to all the others. Just one more reason to praise him: “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (Psalm 145:3)!
Amazing!
Indeed he is, Dana–beyond comprehension–and so worthy of our obedience to him and our worship of him.
What a worshipful blog post and draws us into the wonder and majesty of God. septillion? Now that’s a new word for me. beyond our comprehension isn’t it?
Our God and the wonders he performs are indeed beyond our comprehension! “Who can proclaim the might acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise” (Psalm 106:3)? Nevertheless we try!
Awed adoration – I love it, Nancy! Not only for the alliteration and amazing facts but because you put it in the beautiful perspective of God. Thank you!
So glad you found the post meaningful, Wynne. Praise God for his inspiration!
Such beautiful examples you’ve given us of the greatness of our awe-inspiring God! Aaron and I often watch nature shows. At night before he goes to bed he loves to try to guess an animal sound I play over his monitor and then we watch a video about the animal. Just tonight we watched several videos about butterflies. One scientist said no one knows how Monarchs know how to migrate. I told Aaron that we know because we know that God gave butterflies that ability. We see the power of God in every animal and all over our earth and in space. Our God is truly an awesome God and it’s a joy to worship Him. I love the J. I. Packer quote, too. Thank you for this blessing tonight, Nancy.
Praise God you found blessing in this post, Patty. God’s power is indeed on display everywhere we look. You are so right–it IS a joy to worship him!
Just think about how many stars and the fact that God created each one and has placed us in the golden zone is astonishing and puts me in awe of God.
Me too, Matt–He astounds me all the time!
Thank you for giving glory to God through this blog! I read some of it to my husband–it does produce awe–to think of all these things!!
It is my JOY to bring glory to God through this blog. Thank you for joining me, Katie!
Hi Nancy,
There as many stars in the sky as grains of sand on Earth. So many wonder we can’t understand. But what we do is awesome.
Thank you, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
Agreed, Gary. Years ago I heard a speaker say that if we understood everything about God, he wouldn’t be worthy of our worship. It is because he is far beyond our comprehension in who he is and what he does that gives rise to “awed adoration”–worship.
can you ask catsartpics to write from 0 to 100 using the same pen & page please & can you write from 0 to 100 nancy?
God shows us endless and visible examples of His wonders, and I’d say any one of the five you listed dispels the notion of “big bang theory”. How can our adoration NOT be awed? Thank you for these “faith facts”, Nancy, as well as their connections to the words of the Bible.
I agree, Dave. The more we know about the wonders of this world, the less likely “chance” is a viable explanation. I love it when science “discovers” what the scriptures have taught all along!
Celebrating the majesty of our God with you, friend. His wisdom, strength, and beauty are matchless and awesome. We can’t begin to fathom the depths of who He is.
And yet He loves each and every one of us with the deepest of affection. Thank You, Jesus.
Amen, Linda! It’s incredible to think about the awesome, all-powerful Lord of the universe loving each of us individually, caring about what happens to us, making sure our needs are met, providing blessings we don’t deserve, and so much more. Thank you Jesus indeed, for making possible our relationship with God the Father, Son, and Spirit!
Thank you for bringing these amazing facts to light. A septillion? I can’t even conceive of that big a number. And how high is that mountain that is under the sea and above? The magnificence of our God, His sheer majesty, is so much greater than my frail and tiny mind can contain. How wonderful to be loved, provided for, and experience the presence of such an amazing God. This is wonderful, Nancy. Thank you.
Amen to your worshipful statement, Dayle: “How wonderful to be loved, provided for, and experience the presence of such an amazing God!” The more we know about his works, the more wonder we get to enjoy. The discovery process never grows old!
It is amazing how God engineered things.
Isn’t it though? “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise” (Psalm 96:4a)!
In addition to the God’s amazing attributes listed in your blog this week is the miracle of His love for me in spite of my failings!
It brings to mind the hymn ‘I AM NOT WORTHY”:
#(1) I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But Jesus left heaven for me;
The Word became flesh and He died as my Savior,
Forsaken on dark Calvary.
I am not worthy this dull tongue repeats it!
I am not worthy this heart gladly beats it?
Jesus left heaven to die in my place
What mercy, what love and what grace!
(2) I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But “In the beloved” I stand;
Now I’m an heir with my wonderful Savior,
And all things are mine at His hand.
I am not worthy this dull tongue repeats it!
I am not worthy this heart gladly beats it?
Jesus left heaven to die in my place
What mercy, what love and what grace!
(3) I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But He is preparing a place
Where I shall dwell with my glorified Savior,
Forever to look on His face.
I am not worthy this dull tongue repeats it!
I am not worthy this heart gladly beats it?
Jesus left heaven to die in my place
What mercy, what love and what grace!”
That song was part of my mother’s solo-repertoire; I had a piano rendition by Gloria Roe, I think, that I enjoyed playing. (Did you have any of her music?) The lyrics do stir up wonder and gratitude for what Christ our Savior has done for us!
I do have the sheet music for this song. I would play it on the piano on Sunday evenings at my church as people were being seated.
Wonderful! I would have like to have been there to hear you play!
Amen. God’s creations are more glorious than we can comprehend. I pray I pause each day and enjoy His creations. Have a blessed day! 🙂
A worthy habit for all of us, Melissa, to pause each day and enjoy God’s creations. Daily gratitude is such a valuable exercise to minister encouragement and renewed faith to our spirits. Even it it means just looking out the window (because it’s so cold right now!), we can find something to praise God for. For example, this morning offered a cheerful, rosy sunrise! P.S. Thank you so much for stopping by and becoming a follower, Melissa. I’ve got your blog on my list of websites to visit often!
Thank you so much for your encouragement. 🙂
You’re welcome!
Wonderful and inspiring post! God is Holy, and we are awed by His magnificent creation. I love that you began with the stars. I often think of Psalm 147:4: ” He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”
Thank you, Linda. Praise God you found wonder and inspiration in this post. That verse (Psalm 147:4) alone is enough to stir up overwhelming awe, isn’t it?