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By Rev. Kyle Miller

I love the water. So, as a recent transplant from Texas, one of my favorite activities is walking the boardwalk in downtown Washington. I have lost track of just how many times I have walked its path. I have walked it all times of the day, but I think my favorite is at night. There is just something mesmerizing about the sounds of the lapping waves and the smell of the ocean air that relaxes me. It helps me keep things in perspective. As I stand gazing over the vastness of the water, it is easy to forget just how much water there is, and I am not just referring to the Pamlico. A quick internet search will reveal that our planet contains some 326 million cubic miles of water or 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons. (That’s 326 million trillion gallons for those of you who, like me, cannot comprehend it.) And there I stand, looking out over just a small fraction of that. If that’s not mind-numbing enough, I look up to the sky and see a fraction of the estimated 200 billion stars in the sky. That number does not include planets, comets, meteors, and other objects that exist somewhere in the endless blackness. Vastness above, and vastness below. Talk about perspective.

The Bible has much to say about this very phenomenon. The prophet Isaiah was attempting to describe the vastness of the Lord when he wrote, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?” (Is. 40:12) Later, in Romans, the apostle Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1:12) These two verses teach us something profound.

First, God is bigger. No, that was not an incomplete sentence. God is simply bigger. He is bigger than our thoughts and imaginations, bigger than our problems and sufferings, and bigger than our needs. He is just bigger. As humans, we have a tendency to make “mountains out of molehills” as the old axiom goes. We meditate on our problems until they seem so big that they paralyze us. Isaiah’s words remind us that no matter how big a problem we might face, the Lord is bigger still. As much water is on this planet, God has it all measured out.

Secondly, creation is a testimony to the God who is bigger. I have never believed in the evolutionary theory of creation. Macroevolution, sure, but I believe everything came from intelligent design. I have stood on the rim at the Grand Canyons, and it is spectacular. Standing there, looking over miles of breathtaking scenery, was a powerful reminder to me of God’s power and majesty, and this is precisely what Paul was saying. The complexity, immensity, and majesty of creation each testify of God’s existence.

I find that when life gets difficult, a solemn gaze into creation puts things back into perspective. God is bigger than anything that comes my way—or yours. With all the chaos and uncertainty in this world, his vastness and power bring me a level of comfort I cannot find anywhere else. Perhaps it is time to alter your own focus. God is bigger than you, and that is perspective.

Rev. Kyle Miller is senior pastor at Washington Assembly of God.