More Than We Can Count

“Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” (Ps 40:5 AV)

This entire verse is an incredible and completely true statement.  God shows more grace, mercy, and benevolence to His creation than we could possibly fathom.  It is that second half that really blows my mind.  If we tried to tally all that God has done for us, there is no possible way we could come close to listing it all.  David states that even if we tried to tally them, it is virtually impossible to come close to the times God has done wonderful works toward us.  And infinite God is infinitely benevolent.  This naturally and necessarily suggests God does things we are totally unaware of and the majority of what He does we do not notice.  Or, could never notice.  This is true even more so for the child of God.  God works wonders on our behalf that we will never know of, or cannot know, especially on this side of glory.  This is particularly important to remember when things are not going as wonderfully as we had hoped.

When I think of this truth, I think of the comparison between Jonah and Paul.  Both were on a boat in the middle of a storm which threatened the lives of everyone on board.  Yet, the two of them reacted completely differently.  Jonah was determined to be self-destructive.  Paul, on the other hand, chose to trust the LORD.  Why?  Because Jonah saw only the dark side of trusting the LORD and Paul only saw the upside.  Again, why?  Jonah could not see his situation and calling in life as a blessing from God.  As far as he was concerned, the LORD had called him away from a prosperous and relatively peaceful ministry in the midst of an ungodly and unrepentant people to a place that hated God but would repent.  He saw the call of God as a loss.  He saw God’s hand as a step-down.  He could not see God’s will is always better than one’s own.  Paul, on the other hand, saw suffering as a means to show the strength of God to those who have none.  Paul’s eyes were not on his circumstances nor on what he may or may not lose.  Paul’s eyes were on those whom he could help and on the glory of the LORD Jesus Christ.  Throw Peter in there and now you have a third person in the same circumstances.  Peter chose to trust what Jesus could do because he had seen mighty things from the Son of God.

When the storm is swirling around you, it is very easy to forget how good God has been to you.  Trust me, I know.  When we are consumed with our own failures and doubts, it is easy to forget how good God has been to us.  I know.  Trust me.  When you do the unwise thing of thinking back on the past with regret over decisions you made or wonder how the trajectory of your life might have gone if certain events never happened, it is easy to forget how good God has been.  Trust me, I know.  The thing is, we can to a certain degree, recollect the blessings of God.  What David says above must be accepted by faith.  If we cannot number them, it does not make it untrue.  We must believe that God is a reward of those who believe Him and diligently seek Him.  Hebrews chapter twelve, in part, deals with the chastening hand of God.  The writer makes a comparison between the chastening of our earthly fathers to our heavenly Father.  He makes the point that even in times of correction, God shows far more compassion and love than is humanly possible.  Even in hard times, the benevolence, mercy, and love of God are more than we can comprehend.  The point is to trust in it even if we cannot see it or comprehend it.  Trust in the hand of God is the strength of each and every trial we will ever face.