Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Parallel verses:
Isaiah‬ ‭40:12-14‬‬‬
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?

The above passage in Romans is, in part, patterned after the parallel verses in Isaiah. I find it interesting that God wanted the prophet Isaiah and the Israelites back then, and us right now, to consider these questions. We serve, at once, a personal and an almighty God. This is in itself a bit of a mystery. In the same moment I can speak to God as a friend, and I must also realize he has immense power and authority over the universe I live in. I think part of the reason Paul brings this up is mankind, in general, has a propensity to judge. We judge ourselves, we judge others, and when all seems to be falling apart in life … many judge God. This is tempting and it is also the easy way out. It takes zero courage to resolve life’s problems by judging God. We can be angry with God, we can wrestle with God, we can cry out to him in anguish that life is brutal and not fair. But when we level final judgment on God, we reject the very one who is reaching out to help us — and in all cases the one who can help us the most! And so, after we get frustrated and angry at our circumstances, we have the questions in Isaiah to consider. “Who measured the waters …”, “who held the dust of the earth in his hands …”, “who weighed the mountains on a scale …”? Each of these questions cause us to focus on his “almighty-ness” and his massive power.

“Who instructed the Lord as his counselor …”, “whom did the Lord consult …”, “who taught him knowledge …”? Each of these questions help us to focus on the completeness of all wisdom and all understanding that is God’s, not bound by time or space. So today, as we see new challenges or uncertain times ahead, let us rest on the fact that the wisdom of our God knows no depth, his paths are without tracing, his knowledge is far beyond our understanding, and his gifts are not repayable, they are too much! And for his children, he has unleashed his wisdom, knowledge, plans and paths, and his gifts to bless us. We must believe and not doubt this!

Lord, today, as brothers and sisters in Christ, banded together by your Holy Spirit, we say:
“For FROM HIM and THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM are ALL THINGS! TO HIM BE THE GLORY forever! Amen.”