Blake Long

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” (Nahum‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬)

Yesterday at church my pastor preached on Nahum—a book I have admittedly never given much thought to. So when he opened Scripture and began preaching from this passage, the above verse stuck out to me, specially one phrase—the clouds are the dust of his feet.

What does that mean, though? I think there’s a detailed version of this, and a very simple version. And here’s the bottom line, the main gist: God is bigger than you could ever imagine. In fact, He is transcendent. That’s a fancy, theological term for saying God is outside of space and time. It also means God is in the highest authority, as the author and creator of all things.

Regarding transcendence, theologian and scholar John Frame noted:

God is exalted in his royal dignity and exercises both control and authority in his creation (transcendence), he is, by virtue of this control and authority, very present to his creation, especially his people, in a personal and intimate way (immanence).

Even in God’s transcendence, God is especially close to His children. Even though the clouds are but the dust of His feet, God is imminent to those whom He redeemed. How incredible is that? The God who controls the heavens and earth; the God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; the God who is from everlasting to everlasting, is so close to those who place their faith in Christ.

God sits in the heavens; he is not confined to a particular space. He is everywhere—and everywhen—at once. And yet, He is not distant, but hands-on with and in His creation. He didn’t wind the clock of creation up and is simply letting it tick. He is personal and in control.

Christian, marvel at this. The God we serve is so huge, so ginormous, so transcendent, yet He is right here next to us. He wants us to know He’s close. I pray you feel His presence today.