Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
As I read through this passage from 1 Chronicles, I’m struck by the vivid imagery these descriptive phrases describing God’s wonder and majesty. Line by line, we read how God’s magnificence and his glory permeate every space of heaven and earth. Understanding God’s absolute sovereignty should cause us to experience blessed inner rest and peace knowing who our heavenly Father is and how much he loves us.
But we all know that reading these Scripture passages is but the first step in the process of allowing these powerful truths to saturate our thinking and thus bring comfort and consolation to our frequently anxiety-ridden hearts.
So how do we move from simply reading God’s word to allowing its life-giving truth to deeply transform us from fear-driven, worry-laden, fretful believers to those who have lingered long in Christ’s presence and have now learned to rest easy in his faithful provision? We begin by unpacking these powerful promises and allowing the wonder of God’s unchanging character to bring inner stillness and calm to our anxious hearts.
God Is In Our Past, Present, And Future
Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Is there any more fitting way to open our prayers to God than by praising him? The writer here acknowledges that God is the father of Israel, the same God who has chosen you and me to become part of his eternally redeemed family. The next statement reminds us that God has no beginning nor end. He has always existed and even time cannot constrain him. The God who lives within our hearts is also the God who lives simultaneously in our past, our present, and our future. Ask yourself: Does knowing that God has always existed help me to rest easier in his divine care today?
God Owns Everything
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Here we read these illustrious descriptions of God’s character – he embodies greatness; he is all powerful; he is glorious; he is majestic; and he is splendid. It is clear that the author of this passage has a heart overflowing with praise and adoration as he recognizes the wonder and glory of God. In this second part, we are reminded that everything in heaven and on earth belongs to our God. Every single thing in heaven. Every single thing on earth. As far as our eyes can see and our hearts can imagine…it all belongs to God. Ask yourself: How does knowing that God owns everything in heaven and on earth encourage your heart when you are in some kind of need be it spiritual, emotional, physical, or material?
God Is Ruler Over All
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. This passage declares God’s rightful position as head over all. Let’s focus on the “over all” phrase and contemplate what this means to us. In short, there is no government, no ruler, no elected official, or any other person in authority that commands this kind of power. And knowing that God is the head over all should bring us comfort and peace. God never has nor ever will abdicate his position to any power on heaven or earth. Let us then rest securely in this everlasting truth. Ask yourself: What should be our rightful response as we let this truth about God marinate in our heart and mind when we are faced with unjust authority figures in our lives?
God Governs The Entire World
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. This portion of the passage should give all Christians the divine assurance that God is indeed the One who oversees our lives in very practical ways. Do we have wealth? It comes from God. Have we been honored for our work vocational or volunteer? This too, comes from the hand of God. Again, the writer reminds us that God is the ruler of all things…not fifty, or sixty, or ninety percent of things…but of all things. He is completely sovereign and carefully governs the smallest to the largest areas of our lives. Ask yourself: How does recognizing that God is the ruler over all things change our attitudes toward the practicalities of life such as our monetary wealth and our positions in meaningful work?
Our God Is All Powerful
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. In this verse we are again reminded that all the strength and power are in God’s hands to exalt a person. It is his decision to lift up or to bring down. We can rest in this additional dimension of God’s absolute sovereignty over heaven and earth and everything that takes place throughout time and history. Following on the heels of this reminder is the promise that God is similarly in the position to give strength to all as he deems fit. Ask yourself: When you are feeling overwhelmed and burdened, does knowing that God has the power to supply you with the strength you require prompt you to stop and pray for his assistance as you need it? If not, why not?
God Is Wonderful And Glorious
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. What more fitting close to this glorious account of God’s glorious rule and sovereignty over the nations than to pause and give thanks. Yes, Lord, we do stop and give thanks and we praise your glorious name for not just what you have done…but most important…for who you are. Ask yourself: Have you found it beneficial to your faith to better understand who the bible says God is? Remember, we can’t fully trust another unless we know who they are and this principle applies to our ability to put the full weight of our trust and faith in God.
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