God Is Not Like Us
: God is not like us. His greatness, holiness, and nearness to the humble through Scripture, calling us to stop shrinking Him to fit the human mind.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to shrink God down to something they can understand. We imagine a God who thinks like us, reasons like us, and reacts like us. In our minds we create a version of God that feels manageable. But the God revealed in Scripture refuses to fit inside the limits of human imagination.
The Bible does not present a slightly bigger version of man. It presents a God who is altogether different.
God Himself says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor 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.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)
We struggle to understand that kind of difference. Our minds always try to measure things. Bigger. Smaller. Stronger. We compare everything with something we already know. But God cannot be measured that way. He is not simply greater than us. He exists on a level that human minds cannot fully grasp.
When Moses asked God His name, the answer was unlike anything human beings had ever heard. “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)
God did not describe Himself with a title or an explanation. He declared His existence. He simply is. He depends on nothing and no one. Everything else depends on Him.
When Scripture tries to describe His power, it uses language that stretches our understanding to the breaking point.
“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?” (Isaiah 40:12)
The oceans of the world are beyond our ability to measure, yet the Bible says God holds them in the hollow of His hand. The heavens that stretch across billions of galaxies are measured by the span of His hand. What overwhelms us does not even challenge Him.
And then Isaiah says something even more humbling.
“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales.” (Isaiah 40:15)
The greatest empires in human history rise and fall like dust in God’s sight. The kingdoms that dominate the headlines of our world barely register on the scales of eternity.
Even the stars, which seem endless to us, are known personally by Him.
“He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:4–5)
Astronomers estimate that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on the earth. Yet God not only created them, He names them. His knowledge has no limits. His understanding is infinite.
But the greatness of God is not seen only in His power. It is seen in His holiness.
When Isaiah saw a glimpse of God’s glory, he did not feel comfortable. He felt ruined.
“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips… for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5)
The angels around God’s throne were not casual in His presence either.
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
God’s holiness is beyond anything we know on earth. It is perfect purity. Absolute righteousness. Complete separation from sin.
Yet here is the part that should stop us in our tracks.
The God who created galaxies is also the God who sees the smallest details of life.
Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matthew 10:29)
The God who holds the universe together notices when a sparrow falls.
And Isaiah says something even more remarkable.
“For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit.’” (Isaiah 57:15)
The God who measures the oceans in His hand and names every star is the same God who draws near to the humble heart. He is not a God we control, explain, or shrink to fit our understanding. He is the high and exalted One who lives forever. And yet He makes His dwelling with those who come to Him in humility and repentance. The greatness of God is not only that He rules the universe, but that He calls sinners to come near.
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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler
This work may be shared for ministry or personal use, but please credit the author when doing so. © Dean Butler
