Isaiah 40:12 (ESV) – Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon to see the vast expanse before you? Have you stood atop a mountain or at the shoreline of the sea and marveled at the sheer size and scope of them? These natural wonders are the sights of regular visitors every day of the year around the world. People love to stand in awe. We love to feel small. We marvel at the pictures telescopes from space send back to us. The smaller we feel, the more in awe it leaves us.

Nothing should make us feel smaller and more in awe than the reality of God’s greatness. We read an example of His greatness in our passage today. We read in Isaiah 40:12, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”

The question asked in the text is asked in statement form. It is a question meant to make a statement and cause reflection. Who is the One who has measured the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand? God is. Think about that statement. We can scarcely hold a few ounces of water in the hollow of our hands. Imagine the size and immensity of the God who can hold the waters of earth in the hollow of His hand? How great must that God be? 

The passage goes on to describe God as marking off the heavens with a span and being able to weigh mountains on a scale.

Nothing on earth is big to God.
Nothing is great to Him.
Compared to His greatness and scope,
all is small. This includes us.
Our hearts ought to
lift in worship of the God
who is greater than our loftiest estimations.

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There is no measuring Him. We cannot comprehend Him. But we should seek Him. Live for, and seek, the God of the universe today. In Christ, you have access. He loves us. He’s for us. He provides what we need. Believe that with all your heart because you recognize nothing is beyond His great power. 

Reflection & Journal:
- Why does the Scripture describe the oceans as fitting in the hollow of God’s hand?
- What does seeing God in this vastness cause you to feel?
- How should passages like this one affect our hearts?

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