#075 "How God’s 'Omni' Qualities Change Everyday Life" (Luke 1:51)

"He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts."

In this episode, Kate returns to Luke 1:51 and Mary’s bold praise to explore three big truths most of us know about—but often forget to live from: God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. After a frightening moment in her own neighborhood stirred old fears, Kate invites listeners into the steadying reality that God isn’t just “all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present” in theory—He is those things for you, right now, in the nighttime fear, the overwhelming decisions, and in the quiet places where loneliness whispers.

With gentle clarity and Scripture-rich teaching, Kate unpacks what each “omni” really means and how believing them in real time reshapes our days—from how we pray, to how we make decisions, to how we walk through grief and uncertainty. Mary’s posture can sometimes contrast ours: pride shrinks God down to our understanding; humility lets God be God and brings us rest. 

If you’ve been anxious, weary, or carrying life on your own shoulders, this episode will help you trade panic for practiced faith—and actually experience the strength, wisdom, and nearness of the God you study.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And A Shattering Loss
• 2:31 Fear, Memory, And Praying Friends
• 3:55 Luke 1:51 Sets The Focus
• 5:24 Defining The Three Omni Attributes
• 9:57 Santa, Culture, And God’s Reality
• 13:02 Evidence From Scripture And Our Pride
• 17:12 Knowing Versus Living What We Believe
• 22:41 Course Offer And Listener Next Steps
• 24:03 Tuning In: Limits, Jesus, And Union
• 29:19 Daily Confidence In God’s Attributes
• 34:13 Hope For Fear, Confusion, And Loneliness
• 39:06 Mary’s Choices: Pride Or Dependence
• 42:04 Prayer, Review, And Memory Work

Transcript

Kate: 0:00

Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible.com, and you're listening to the Abidible Podcast. I'm just a regular wife and mom who's had my life transformed by learning to study the Bible on my own. If I can, you can. On this show, I help you know and love God more by abiding in Him through His Word yourself. My neighbor hung himself this past week. I won't get into the details of the story because it's tragic beyond words, but please be praying for his family. On a personal level, it really affected me in not a good way. I was shaking with fear. It brought me back to the first time I'd experienced death as a third grader. In a short period of time, my grandfather died, as well as our family dog in a tragic accident. I distinctly remember being terrified of the dark after this. In fact, until now I'd sort of forgotten this memory, but I would walk through rooms and up the stairs with my back along the wall. Going up the stairs, I was so scared of the front door and the windows beside it at night that I'd often have to have my parents follow me up the stairs so I'd feel safe. This eventually passed with time, but the feeling I had when I heard about my neighbor was similar. I was terrified. I texted some friends and asked them to be praying for the family and for our own home. We haven't told my son about what happened for now because I didn't want him to carry that. And one of my friends texted back. She said, just a reminder, just in case, don't let the enemy convince you that you are in some sort of danger or evil because of this. Yes, it happened right next door, but you and your household are under the protection of Jesus. Declare your covering. The enemy doesn't get to convince you of things that aren't true. And then she sent me some scripture reminding me of the strength and protection and shelter that I have because of the Lord. It really helped. I didn't have that as a kid because we weren't walking with Jesus yet as a family. And all of this has me thinking as we continue here in our study of Mary's song in Luke 1, 46 to 55, that knowing God should change everything about how we see and respond to real life situations on a daily basis. But as I saw, it's not enough to know about him in a detached, cold, or formulaic way. We have to know him personally in a way that meets us every single day. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. Today, as we look at that, our new verse from Luke 1.51, I want to focus on three traits of God: His omnipotence, his omniscience, and his omnipresence. These big omniwords are probably terms that most of us have heard, but if we're honest, probably have a little difficulty explaining. And certainly, just like me this past week, there are also these traits of God that we forget about in the moments when we need to remember them most. Thank God for sisters in Christ who can point you back to his word. We need to know and believe these things to survive this world, friend. Because as you've heard me say so many times before, things are broken here. What would change in your life if you really believed and walked out these three aspects of God's nature omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Real quick, if you're a big fan of the Abidible Podcast, check out the link in the show description to learn more about partnering with us by buying us a coffee. So you've heard this before. You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. Gather round. He's making a list and checking it twice. He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. And then what does the song say? He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake. Yep, the big fat man with the long white beard, the one who sees all, knows all, and has the power to determine your Christmas morning fate, he's coming to town. Interesting, right? We learn that song as kids. We grow up and sing it out loud with our kids. We watched Home Alone 2 last night. At the end, the family wakes up in the Plaza Hotel on Christmas morning and Kevin warns Fuller to not get too excited because Santa doesn't visit hotels. Without missing a beat, Fuller replies, Are you nuts? He's omnipresent. He goes everywhere. Why is it so easy for people to tell kids that Santa knows and sees and goes everywhere? But so hard to confidently ascribe those qualities to God. Is it because Santa is all in good fun and one day the kids will grow up and find out that Santa was just a myth? Because common sense and logic and science tell us that no one can be truly omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent? Probably, right? That's also probably why God is so often placed in the same category as Santa in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. He's just a myth people make up to comfort themselves and to help them feel better about the world around them. Mary talks to us today about the strength of God as well as the justice of God. He's demonstrated that strength with his arm, and he brings justice by scattering the proud of heart. God wasn't a myth or a fairy tale to Mary, and he shouldn't be to us either. He has given us evidence of these attributes that we can build our lives on. But to get there, I think we need to first define these terms and then back them up with evidence that we have in Scripture. And then, second, I think we need to address the nature of our proud human hearts, the nature that causes us to disbelieve that God really is each of these omnis. My hope is that the Holy Spirit will clarify and highlight these aspects of who God is for us today. And then I'd like us to agree together in our request that He'd enable us to walk by faith with unshakable confidence. Your God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And if your heart is open to the information and evidence today, I think it will transform how you face everything every day. Though what happened with my neighbor this past week was tragic and evil and so heavy, I had every reason to stand firm by faith without fear. My God, even in tragedies I don't understand, is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. When I forgot that for a moment, I was trembling with fear and panic, completely unsettled and afraid in my own home. I told you that story to remind you that you can love Jesus like I do. You can abide in his word and you can still forget sometimes, still have a moment of panic. Our flesh is stubborn, but God's grace is greater. And by that grace, he is transforming us day by day. So the hope, dear friends, is that we will be quicker to remember, faster to stand firm by faith, and ready to rest in the immeasurable comfort available to those who know and choose to believe. Let me say that again, and choose to believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. It would help tremendously if we first define these terms and support them with scripture. We had a great many cross-references for Luke 1.51. There is no better source than God's word to tell us who He is. We go to the source because it is trustworthy and true. Our feelings are not, and neither are the things the world has to say about who God is. So, what does it mean that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent? I had help with this information from a Gospel Coalition article by John M. Frame. I'm going to link the article for you in this episode's description because Frame references just shy of 70 Bible verses or passages to support his argument. I'll share the ideas of those verses in a moment here, but I can't possibly cite them all for you, so it'll be in the description. We'll begin with short definitions of these big omni words. The prefix omni means all. So omnipotence means all-powerful. Omniscience means all-knowing, and omnipresent means all present or everywhere present. Frame says each of these involves the other two, and each provides a perspective of the all-embracing lordship of the true God. When it comes to the most helpful definition of God's omnipotence, frame says God has complete control over everything, the big things and the small things. In scripture, we see that God's omnipotence means that he has the absolute ability to accomplish everything he intends. Nothing can stop his purposes. When he speaks, creation responds. Even human sin, though genuinely disobedient, still falls, this is mind-blowing, somehow under his sovereign control and is ultimately woven into his good plan. This doesn't mean God can do anything in the careless sense. He cannot lie, act wickedly, contradict himself, or do anything out of step with his perfect nature. His power is never a rational, immoral, or absurd. A clearer way to speak about his omnipotence is that he exercises total and comprehensive rule over everything. Again, the smallest details and the biggest moments. Every seemingly random outcome, every rise and fall of nations, every decision of rulers, and even the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion unfold under his authority. God's power extends to the story of every individual life, our formation, our daily paths, and even the inner workings of our hearts. And most beautifully, his power is what saves us, opening our hearts to believe and giving us new life in Christ. His rule truly covers all things at all times for his glory and our good. How about God's omniscience? Remember, we said that this means God is all knowing. Scripture shows us that God's power is never blind or aimless. His works flow from complete and perfect knowledge. He knows everything, his own purposes, the whole created world, every event in history, and every detail about our lives. Scripture consistently describes his knowledge as limitless and exact, even regarding things that have not yet happened. Passages that seem to show God learning something are not describing ignorance, but portraying him gathering evidence as the righteous judge. Because God himself is the standard of truth, he can never be mistaken. This all-knowing God sees every part of our lives, our actions, our thoughts, our hidden places, and our future days. While this is terrifying for those who reject him, it is a source of comfort and awe for his people. His intimate knowledge of us is meant to lead us to repentance, trust, and worship. Finally, God is omnipresent. He is everywhere present. In scripture, we see that God is present everywhere. Not because he has a physical body that fills every space, but because his power and knowledge extend to every corner of creation and every moment of time. Since nothing happens outside his rule or his understanding, he is never absent. He is present in every place and throughout all time, and his presence is not distant or abstract. Throughout Scripture, God makes himself known among his people. Most profoundly, he came near to us in Jesus Christ, who lived among us, died, and rose again. For God's people, his presence is a promise of mercy and help. I will be with you. This is the heart of his covenant love. He is our God and we are his people. Jesus Himself is called Emmanuel God with us. He just wants to be with us. God is also present with those who reject him, but that presence means judgment rather than comfort. Still, whether for salvation or justice, God is truly present everywhere, working out his purposes. In summary, Frame says omnipotence means that God is in total control of himself and his creation. Omniscience means that he is the ultimate criterion of truth and falsity, so that his ideas are always true. Omnipresence means that since God's power and knowledge extend to all parts of creation, he himself is present everywhere. Together, they define God's lordship and they yield a rich understanding of creation, providence, and salvation. Now, my mind is swimming. How about yours? Yeah, I can read all that and define it and see the evidence in Scripture. I can hear Mary say that God has shown strength with his arm and enter into this new section where she highlights in detail evidence of God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. But my finite mind can't seem to grasp it. It's too lofty. I feel like Isaiah hearing from God in chapter 58, verses 8 and 9. God says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Confession time. I think that my own limited understanding of this otherness of God gets me in more trouble than any kind of willful rebellion. It's insidious. It's a making of God in my own image. Because I can't possibly have complete control over everything, how could anyone? How could God? Because I can't grasp what it means for me to do everything at all times with perfect knowledge, complete intelligence, and a definite goal, how could God? And because I certainly can't be in all places at all times, for all people, at all times in human history, well then no one can. I can't grasp it. So how can it be? How does this unbelief primarily manifest itself in my life? I think when it comes to my unbelief about God's omnipotence, I can get really fearful of evil. I take a look at the world, at certain people in the world, and at certain things that are happening in the world, and I think, and therefore sometimes live like he who is in the world is greater than he who is in me. As if Satan, his demons, and evil are stronger than God, because it sure seems like evil is pervasive right now and is winning. This ties into how my unbelief about God's omniscience plays in. I am most tempted to waste time doom scrolling or reading the news when I'm caught in unbelief that God knows all, that in all things he has intelligent purpose and a definite goal, and that he can even use evil for good, because he knows everything throughout all history, including how the whole story ends. And probably, like many of you, I struggle with unbelief about God's omnipresence when I see suffering, when I learn about injustice, when I can't understand why something has been allowed to happen. Because I can't comprehend it, and because it seems incompatible with God's nature or what I presume to be the right plans for human history and all of mankind, I doubt him. If it feels untrue, it must be untrue. If I can't understand it, it must be wrong because I know best. What I'm essentially doing is limiting God in some of the ways that I limit myself or that I myself am limited. If not for studying and having this podcast, that's probably not something I'd say out loud. It would probably be a blind spot for me. I'd nod alongside any sermon or Bible teacher who calls God these three omnis. But in the everyday details of my life and the world I know, I reign God's otherness, his omnis in by putting them into controlled, knowable little boxes. The only image that comes to mind to illustrate how ridiculous this is of me is the tragedy and arrogance of a rancher slamming the gate closed on a wild stallion that he's confined to a 20 by 20 foot pen. The horse doesn't belong there, and the rancher's ignorance will prevent him from seeing the glory of this wild stallion running at full speed with the wind in its mane and its muscles flexing and contracting, and its nostrils flaring wide with the intake of freedom, unleashed to fully exercise all his power unhindered and unrestrained. Mary says, He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. This section of her song, as we discussed last week with verse 50, is the section where Mary turns outward from personal reflection of who God is to her personally, again, outward to who he is to all mankind. And in verses 51 to 53, we see the choices that are given to man. Depend on God's strength, or be scattered because of your pride. Be humble and exalted by God, or be mighty in your own eyes and brought down from your throne. Be hungry and filled with good things from God, or be rich on your own and sent away empty. Do things your way or do them my way. Be lowercase g God of your life, or lower yourself in submission to the one true God. Left to my own devices and tiny, tiny brain, I'd stack my strength against God's unknowable omnipotence. I'll proudly rely on my wisdom and understanding rather than God's omniscience. And I'll keep trying to be all things to all people at all times rather than rest in God's omnipresence. Not out of a place again of willful rebellion, but out of an inexcusable, finite understanding. The consequences are disastrous. I end up crushed, exhausted, despairing, and disappointed. Because I am not all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present, my efforts will fail every time. And instead of surrendering to the one who is entirely and completely each one of these things, I'll get back on the hamster wheel of my man-made effort. My point is, we can know God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but not live like it. I know that I can be in that place of knowing but not living. How about you? How in the world do we remedy that? We'll be right back after this message. If you've never taken our How to Study the Bible course, or if someone you love has been longing to grow but doesn't quite know where to begin, this is the perfect time. Our 20-lesson video course is on sale right now for nearly 40% off, which will change after the new year. And I cannot tell you how many people have said it has completely changed the way they study the Bible. One woman recently told me, and she has been in church her whole life, that she has never experienced a Bible study as in-depth or as spiritually grounding as this one. She said the course helped her finally understand what the Bible actually says, grow in her relationship with Christ, and even start bearing fruit in ways she never expected. If you've been listening to this podcast and wanting to go deeper, this is your next step. And if you want to gift the course to someone this Christmas or whenever, it's super simple. Just snag them an abidable gift card. You can watch a free preview and grab the course through the link in the show description. I would absolutely love to have you join the course and be one of our How to Study the Bible students. Learning is such a gift, and God has a lot in store for you or for your loved one in this course. Hope to see you there. And now back to the show. I said that we can know God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but not live like it. We can slam the gate shut on God based on what we are able to understand of His nature. This is no good. We can all agree on that. So I asked, how in the world do we remedy it? We have this pride in our flesh that assumes if we can't grasp something, it must not be real or reliable. So we shrink God down to the size of our comprehension. But when we do that, when I do that, nothing, absolutely nothing, changes about God. My inability to understand Him does not in any way diminish God's omnipotence, omniscience, or omnipresence. My lack of understanding has no impact on the boundaries of the reality of God's complete otherness. Just think about the radio or the TV. I have neither on in my office right now. There's just silence. But just because I'm not tuned in, it does not mean that the radio and TV stations aren't broadcasting right in this moment. Even if the receiver is off on my end, those signals continue strongly and consistently transmitting. It is absurd, really, to think that God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are dependent on my ability to understand them. My confusion does not alter his nature, one iota. So the issue isn't God's lack of clarity, it's my lack of capacity. And the question is: can anything be done to change that? My finite mind feels sort of hopelessly limited unless something or someone intervenes. There are all kinds of verses and stories in the Bible that talk about the right arm of God, about the mighty hand and the outstretched arm of God. Now, stick with me for a second, because God the Father is an eternal spirit. Jesus is clear about this in John 4.24 when he asserts that God is a spirit, and also when he explains to us in Luke 24, 39 that a spirit does not have flesh and bones. So anywhere that Scripture describes God with physical attributes, aka a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, these are metaphorical rather than literal. But something crazy happened when life was placed in Mary's womb. God took on human nature in a physical body. The Son, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, put on flesh. The baby growing inside Mary would remain fully divine, meaning he would still be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent as displayed by the miracles he performed, while also being limited by his humanity. He would experience all of the non-sinful limits that we experience as humans, like hunger and exhaustion. How Jesus could be fully man and fully God is known as the hypostatic union and is a profound mystery beyond human comprehension. And here we arrive again at things too wonderful and too lofty and too other for me to comprehend with my finite mind. But here is the beauty of what this baby would become for me and for you. The right hand of God, the mighty arm of God, the outstretched arm of God would be demonstrated in no way more powerful than in the sending of his son to earth. Think about it. Jesus, symbolically, is the outstretched arm of God. If God is omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent, but I can't wrap my mind around all that entails, how can I walk with him and trust him correctly? The answer is Jesus. The Son came, and during every single day of his 33 years on this earth, he perfectly trusted every one of God's omni-attributes. He related to the Father in complete and perfect obedience, fully confident in God's power, knowledge, and presence. When I put my trust in Christ as a 17-year-old, as a very naive young girl, an exchange took place. His record became my record. His trust becomes my trust. His knowledge becomes my knowledge. What he knows of the Father, not just some of that knowledge, but all of it, Jesus shared with me. The Father becomes approachable and knowable. And my record of frail, fickle, finite comprehension was traded for his perfect record of unwavering faith. The best news in all of this is that I don't have to conjure up belief. I don't have to force my finite mind to finally figure out God's otherness. I just receive faith as a gift. The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised as a gift to me upon his departure, takes what belongs to Jesus and makes it mine. And Jesus, the symbolic, outstretched right hand of the Father, now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for me, praying the other day that when I heard the tragic news of my neighbor's death, I would choose to rest in his lordship, that he has control over all things, that he has the authority to declare what is true, and that he exists ever near to me and can also be near to my neighbors as they grieve. When I momentarily forgot it, he was all powerful in causing me to text my friends for prayer, all knowing and giving my friend the right words to point me back to what I needed to hear and what was true, and present everywhere, simultaneously with my friends praying for me, with my neighbors comforting them, and with me encouraging me and comforting me and calming me down. Here's the big idea: God will be who he is regardless of whether I tune in or not. But because of Jesus, I am tuned in. So, if this is true, what should life look like for the one who is in Christ? Well, when I wake up in the morning, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. As I live my life throughout the day, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And when I go to sleep at night, God is still omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And because of Jesus, because of the gospel, the believer's future is one of growing confidence in God's omniattributes. All of this can be lived out daily. Instead of feeling crushed, anxious, self-reliant, overwhelmed, and spiritually dizzy, we can be settled, relieved, surrendered, steady, and confident in God's power, wisdom, and presence. I know that there are things in your life right now that are tempting you to spiral out in fear. That story on the news, a recent diagnosis, the behavior of your child, impending layoffs at work, a medical bill that's coming in the mail, or a friendship that has unexpectedly gone south. Instead of all consuming fear, you spend your days increasingly aware of the fact that Jesus purchased a life for you in which you get to remember God's omnipotence and free fall into his strong arms and surrender when you are afraid. The Spirit, gifted to you by God, will cultivate that reminder, desire, and action, even though you don't fully comprehend what the heck it means for God to be omnipotent. As you grow in the Lord, again, a gift from God, this is your reality in Christ. I know that there are many places in your life where you have no clue what you are supposed to be doing. You're at a loss over your husband's lack of desire to engage with God and you don't know how to change that. Something is different with your child. They haven't been themselves lately and they're pushing you away. You've gotten yourself into debt, and it appears that there's no way out. You don't know how to fix it. You want to start attending church again, but you have no idea where to go or how to choose. Work is a dumpster fire, and you're slammed with a massive project that you don't have the time or the team to complete. Your ministry is failing despite all of your best efforts and the pure desire in your heart to serve. You just don't know what to do. Imagine making decisions grounded in God's wisdom rather than proudly scrambling for your own. Instead of relying on your own finite understanding, you lean into the knowledge of the omniscience of God that Jesus purchased for you and that the Holy Spirit will cultivate in you. This is your reality in Christ. I know that you have moments where you feel completely alone. You step off the stage and feel that no one understands the weight you carry. You and your spouse have what feels like zero connection anymore and are spending your days as roommates rather than lovers. You're waiting to meet that special someone and it just isn't happening. You are the only one at work who believes in God and you're mocked and ostracized for having archaic, foolish beliefs. Your friend, the friend you always used to be able to count on, has gone mysteriously MIA. And despite an overwhelming feeling of loneliness, imagine remembering that Jesus purchased God's ever-present presence for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. This is the reality, whether you know it or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you feel it or not. Because you belong to Christ, God could not possibly be any closer than He already is to you now. Psalm 139 tells you everything you need to know. Wherever you go, if you go up to heaven, he is there. If you make your bed in the depths, he is there. If you take the wings of mourning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, God's what? His hand will guide you. His right hand, symbolically Jesus, will hold you. Even the darkness we choose through sin cannot separate us from the love of God. For even there, darkness is not dark to God. The night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to God. This is your reality in Christ. There is nothing, no darkness, no finite thinking, no lack of knowledge, and no small faith that can separate us from the God who is, who always has been, and who always will be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Mary knew this. That's why she describes these choices: pride or humility, perceived might or God's strength, temporary riches and separation from God or eternal satisfaction in God alone. These choices are not burdens, they're an invitation to depend on God alone, humbling yourself, and to be filled with what he offers alone. And what he offers is himself, a God that was Mary's God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, the God of generations, the only God who alone is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Hear Mary, see Mary, she is doing exactly what we are to do every day. She is choosing him, though she does not have the strength in her flesh to be the mother of the Messiah, though she does not have the knowledge of how it will all work out for her and Joseph and this baby. And even though she does not yet even hold the baby in her arms and has not yet seen him hang on a cross and rise from the grave three days later, what she is doing is choosing to tune in to the truth of who God is, no matter how small, how inadequate, how confused, how scared, or how alone she feels. Her feelings fade when she places her faith in the factual foundation of the nature of her father. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. That was enough for Mary. Let it be more than enough for us. And that's it for this episode. If you know someone who would be blessed by what you just heard, please share the Abidible podcast with them. Keep spreading the word so we can make much of the word. Drop us a review, tell us what you love and what you're learning. Check out the link to learn more about partnering with us by buying us a coffee one time, by joining our Abidible Plus Women's Membership community for $10 a month, or by becoming a monthly supporter. For those of you following along in the workbook, go ahead and begin working on our next verse in this series, Luke 152, on pages 42 to 45 in your study workbook. Ideally, you would have this section done before you listen to the next episode, number 76. In this episode, we will see what God does to those who proudly exploit their positions of leadership and how he responds to the humble. The verse next week is Luke 1.52 and says, He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. Next week, we will take an historical look at what Mary is referring to and study the patterns of God toward those in power who do what is right in their own eyes, who sit proudly on their thrones without acknowledging God, and who do what is wicked in the eyes of the Lord. I know it will be hard to think of modern-day politicians who act like that, but try hard to come up with a few before our next episode. I think this message will be exceedingly encouraging to all of us living under the authority of such godless governments. I'll pray for us and then close us out with our memory work for verse 51. Father, we come before you humbled by who you are, high and holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and yet so near to us because of Jesus. We confess that our minds are small and our hearts are easily overwhelmed. We admit that we often shrink you down to the size of what we can understand. Forgive us for the ways we let our limited comprehension shape our view of your limitless nature. Thank you that our confusion does not diminish you. Our doubts do not weaken you. Our inability to grasp your greatness has never once reduced your power, your wisdom, or your presence. Thank you that you remain completely yourself even when we forget, even when we fear, even when we fail to tune in. Jesus, we praise you as the outstretched arm of the Father, the one who put on flesh, who trusted perfectly where we trust imperfectly, who obeyed fully where we falter, who believed without wavering where we so often stumble. Thank you that through your life, your death, and your resurrection, your record is now ours. Your trust becomes our trust. Your knowledge becomes our knowledge. Your nearness becomes our nearness. What a gift. Holy Spirit, help us. Tune our hearts to the reality of who God is. When fear rises, remind us of his power. When confusion clouds our vision, ground us in his wisdom. When loneliness creeps in, anchor us in his presence. Cultivate in us the very faith you have already placed within us. Grow our confidence in the God who has always been and will always be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And like Mary, teach us to choose humility over pride, dependence over self-reliance, and surrender over striving. Help us anchor our lives not in what we feel, but in the unchanging truth of who you are. Let your nature be more than enough for us, just as it was more than enough for Mary. Lord, thank you that because of Jesus we are tuned in. Open our eyes to see you, open our hearts to trust you, and open our hands to receive everything you offer, chiefly yourself. In the strong, wise, ever-present name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Let's close by doing our memory work together. I'm going to repeat Luke 151 five times. Say it out loud with me or quietly to yourself. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. Luke 1 51. Remember, you are able to abide in the Bible. We'll see you next time. Until then, let's abide.