COV LIFE BLOG

Acts 17:16-34 The God Who Is There

Where does your life come from? It comes from God! He has every one of your days numbered, and when the number is up, He will take your life and you will stand accountable before Him. He gives you breath. In the past minute, you drew about 18 breaths of air. In the past hour, you breathed 1,080 times, which adds up to more than 25,000 times in the past 24 hours. If you are 40 years old, you have gulped in more than 365 million breaths of air. Each one was a gift from God. Have you thanked Him for the air He gives you to breathe?

But God not only gives you life and breath; He gives you all things! Do you have a roof over your head? God gave it to you. Do you have a family or friends who care about you? God gave those people to you. Do you have money to buy clothing and food and other things? It came from God. Do you have the ability to enjoy the taste of food, the aroma of a rose, the touch of a baby’s skin, the sound of music, or the beauty of a snow-covered mountain? All these gifts come to us from God. A man needs to know that the fact that he has taken all of these gifts for granted all of his life, and what is worse, that he has had the audacity to challenge the existence of the Creator, only reveal his incredible arrogance. If the Sovereign of the universe so willed, the proud man would choke on his next bite of food and die!

Furthermore, men need to be humbled by realizing that they have nothing to offer God. He is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything. He has gotten along just fine all of these centuries without their astute intellect, and He will do just fine in the centuries to come whether they offer Him their services or not! While He graciously gives His redeemed children the privilege of serving Him, He does not need any one of us to accomplish His purpose. The minute I start thinking that I am indispensable to God, I am in big trouble! God is able to raise up children for Himself from the very stones, if He wills (Luke 3:8).

Steven Cole

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Heart Preparation
Read Acts 17:16-34. Marvel at the greatness of our God and consider Paul’s description of him in Athens. What was the significance to the people here? How is it significant in your life and worship?