Let Omnipotence Fuel Your Step
The following is an adapted excerpt from
Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Matthew 6: 30
In Matthew 8, the disciples are worried because of the storm:
Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? (vs. 26)
In Matthew 14, Peter is worried because he is starting to sink in the waves:
O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (vs. 31)
In Matthew 16, the disciples are worried because they do not have any bread to eat:
O you of little faith, why are you discussing among
yourselves the fact that you have no bread? (vs. 8)
“The description “You of little faith” refers to those who are not sufficiently taking to heart the comfort they should have derived from the presence, promises, power, and love of Christ.”
William Hendriksen
Do we take to heart God’s power? Does the field of wheat have any chance against the tornado? What about the bed of flowers against the frost, or the stack of kindling against the flame? There is inevitability in each of these scenarios because the one object is no match for the other. When it comes to God’s power, there is no match, no equal, and no rival. “If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!” (Job 9:19). God never acts without prevailing, never resists without conquering, and never decides without accomplishing. He challenges Job, “Have you an arm like God?” (Job 40:9). His arm speaks of his limitless power. He created the heavens and the earth. He gives life to all things. He defeats his enemies and protects his people. God alone has “a mighty arm” (Psalm 89:13).
Stephen Charnock describes God’s power as:
“that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatever He pleases, whatever His infinite wisdom can direct, and whatever the infinite purity of His will can resolve.”
God is not only strong but “mighty in strength” (Job 9:4). He is not only powerful but “excellent in power” (Job 37:23). There is indeed “no rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2). Here is strength when struggling with strong temptations, encouragement when languishing under difficult circumstances, and hope when facing powerful enemies. We stand firm in the knowledge “that power belongs to God” (Ps. 62:11).
Meet the author:
Stephen Yuille
Stephen Yuille is a Content Director and Editor at Reformation Heritage Books and a Professor of Church History and Spiritual Formation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has over thirty years of ministry experience and is currently the preaching pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas. He has published an extensive list of academic articles and books in Puritan studies. He has also published several popular works in biblical studies.