incomprehensible

"See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?.......Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way?...

'To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?' says the Holy One.'

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."--Isaiah 40:10-14, 25, 28-31

Over the last several weeks, my stress level has been gradually building. This weekend, Justin and I came to one of those make it or break it moments, in regards to our business, as "his right arm" (as he calls her) is on her way out. We have all new employees right now and since neither of us spends much time there, we rely on her to hold everything together.

Other factors have contributed to our general stress level. I've already posted about our mice issues, and lately we have added fleas to the list. The fleas (which must have been brought in by our recently departed cat) love Lewis. We have sprayed and vacuumed and yet they have survived in his room somehow.

Needless to say, all of this stuff has made me feel somewhat out of control and like I could lose my mind at any moment. On Sunday, we heard a powerful sermon on Isaiah 40, much of which is quoted above. It was such an awesome reminder of God's power, but also his tenderness toward us as his beloved children. Sometimes my view of God becomes skewed. I tend to think of him as "big" but not HUGE. Maybe I have been away from the water for too long. It seems like sitting in front of the ocean is a clear picture of how vast and endless our God is. He's not just a little bit bigger than us. He's not even just a little bigger than the ocean, or mountains. He literally holds this entire world in his hands. I can't wrap my mind around this concept, but I think that it is intentional that God is incomprehensible. We have limited understanding, where His is infinite. It must be baffling to him that I so often question what he is doing. I--in my tiny brain, which He created--think I could it do things better so much of the time.

This passage set the backdrop for a good pleading session with the Lord early in the week. Justin and I do not pray together as much as we should. We were much better about it early in our marriage. But seeing our desperate need this week, together acknowledged our need to the Lord, and asked him to act on our behalf. We prayed about a whole lot of things, but our most immediate need, he met almost instantly. One of our former employees has agreed to work for us again and fill the coming void. We can't begin to describe what a relief this is to both of us.

There are still plenty of things for me to worry about, but I also have renewed hope. I know that God not only SEES us and knows our needs, but he is sovereign, willing, and able to act to meet those needs. It seems like I've learned this lesson over and over, but seeing God work so obviously never gets old.