If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:8-10.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24.

How do we begin to understand everything that is? Our minds comprehend so little of the vastness of life and creation. And this morning in our Friday Retreat we cared about the needs of a much loved furry friend, and pondered why those we love suffer and when that suffering will end. Is it because of control? Are we so afraid of what we don’t know? We watched a video by John Ortberg about how we are not God. One of the verses quoted I shared I have a difficult time understanding: But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. My grace is sufficient for you. And then, joy of joy, we were able to look at our personal solar system in photos – our miniscule part of the Milky Way Galaxy we inhabit with our Sun and planets, the asteroid belt and something I had never heard before…that our Sun exerts energy that spreads outward to encompass the planets that revolve around it, creating a bubble holding everything within that bubble; and that Voyager finally went beyond that bubble as it continues into the vastness of space. And it is still transmitting information to NASA! When I am overwhelmed with the things on our planet that make no sense to me, I find comfort in having my view expanded outward to the heavens that include our solar system and beyond. I find such comfort in knowing that Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, holds all things in an elegant precision that speaks the language of complex mathematics we are still learning. And yet…with all of the glorious mystery of our physical universe, and with all of us with our limited thinking, God’s grace is sufficient for us. His grace covers everything we cannot control or yet comprehend.

And in our chapter, Ezekiel 45, God is preparing the remnant of Israelites for when they finally return to Israel after the 70 years in captivity. They are shown how to set up the sanctuary and spaces for the priests within their tribal inheritances, how to measure fairly, and how to observe God’s festivals and bring sacrifices to atone and to give thanks to God who provides. Why is that needed? “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” v. 9. That speaks to then and now and through every generation of humankind. When we have gone far enough, God intervenes. Whether in individual lives or nations, we reach that place of far enough where without Creator God we would be lost in our sins and glorying in our ignorance. And as the video today pointed out…but for God! There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and I would add, closer than our closest friend. By design as beautiful and intricate as this universe….But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. John 16:7-13. We are wrong about the things that matter…sin, righteousness and judgment. We are not God! The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, there at the beginning of the creation of all that physically exists, is. He is at the center of all things and especially within us. We can cry out to Him and He is here. He gives comfort when we suffer. He gives understanding as we are able to accept it. He will not speak on His own; He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you….I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:13-15, 33. When this world becomes too much to understand, I go to Creator God. He knows. In Him, I know peace because He is God, not me or any human or nation. Reading the record of His interactions with our ancestors, I know He intervenes. Knowing the comfort He has brought me, I know how much He has intervened in my life. He is at the center of everything and it is good! The question is, do we listen? Do we let Him be the center? He is able and He is worthy!!!