outstretched arm

When I was 20 I became so enthralled with this concept and studied it so much. Last night at family dinner my dad said something that triggered my memories of this particular time in my life when I studied this theme in the Bible. Today it's helping me again.

First. I recall Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth, by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."

Second. This verse takes me to Hebrews 1:2-3, "..Through [God's son] he made the universe... and he sustains all things by his powerful word."

I have this fact written next to these verses in Hebrews to help me remember he sustains my problems, my future and my life.

"The earth weighs 660,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. A million earths can fit inside the sun. The sun is an averaged sized star. There are over 200 billion stars." By His Word he sustains all that. (For more a visual on this click here.) Meditating on this really helps me hear Him say to me about my problems, "Molly chill, I got this. If I can sustain all this, I can sustain you."

Third. The Jeremiah verse then points me in this direction. At the passover meal they drink four cups each representing or remembering four promises from God in Exodus 6:6-7 about the freedom of the Israelites. These four "I will" statements/promises were:

1. I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
2. I will free you from being slaves to them.
3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.
4. I will take you as my own people and I will be your God.

Fourth. I then fast-forward hundreds of years to the "Last Supper" in Luke 22, the Passover meal Jesus participated in right before his death. Jesus did not drink the 3rd cup at this meal. The 3rd cup symbolizes the 3rd "I will" statement: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. Not only would he become the 3rd cup and pour out his life for our redemption, he would do it with outstretched arms on the cross.

Those arms created the universe and sustains our lives. The most humble act, arms that were nailed down was the most powerful act, arms that stretched out in order to redeem us.