The Omnipotence of God is Good News for Teenagers
This is part of a monthlong series about teaching youth the attributes of God. We believe it’s important to teach students about God. That should be a no-brainer. But it’s surprisingly easy to never teach clearly about the attributes of God. You can read YPT’s other articles about the attributes here.
Being a teenager is hard. Many adults will roll their eyes at that sentence as they think, “They don’t know how easy they have it!”
Sometimes adults scoff as they hear teens lament their piles of homework, the challenge of balancing school and athletics, and recovering from a breakup. To many adults, these problems are minuscule compared to paying for a mortgage, navigating complex relationships with in-laws, or working at a job they don’t like for a boss they don’t get along with.
Thankfully, not all adults are like that. Every week, teenagers across the country are encouraged, prayed for, and discipled by caring and compassionate adults who understand the struggles of adolescents. One area of doctrine that provides comfort for stressed and anxious teens is the reality of God’s omnipotence.
When we speak of God’s omnipotence we are speaking of the fact that God is all-powerful and has complete control over every fiber of the cosmos. We need only to look at Genesis 1 and see God’s power at play. He merely speaks and creation comes into being. Because He is omnipotent, He has such power that He is able to do whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115:3) and nothing that He desires to do can be thwarted by another (Job 42:2). Nothing too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:27). He has power over the winds and waves (Matthew 8:27) and knows when even the tiniest of birds falls from the sky (Matt. 10:29).
Lest we think God’s power is only found in nature, we see that the heart of kings is in the hand of God (Exodus 4:21; Proverbs 21:1; see the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4). All of humanity, in fact, lives and breathes because of God’s omnipotent power. James 4:13-16 tells us, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (emphasis mine). The reason we are alive right now to read this article is because the Lord in His power has given us breath and is sustaining us by His hand.
This is a weighty doctrine. How does the complete and total power of God over kings’ hearts, birds, and our very breath encourage the teenagers in our ministries?
Because God is All-Powerful, Our Suffering Is Not Ultimately From the Devil
When teenagers are faced with suffering, they may think that the situation is brought about by the devil and his demons. How can they not come to this conclusion when many well-meaning Christians credit the devil with everything from inconvenient car problems to natural disasters to genocide? While Satan is able to influence people and maybe even cause certain disasters (see Job 1), Satan’s influence is a permitted influence.
Even when Satan acts, he is only able to do what God permits him to do. Our suffering is not the result of Satan winning some struggle against God. God’s omnipotence means that neither Satan nor the actions of humans are the deciding factor in our lives. God is. For example, the devil was allowed to influence Judas but only to bring about God’s plan: the death of Christ for the salvation of sinners. Another example is the thorn in Paul’s side mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul describes the thorn as a “messenger of Satan”, yet the thorn was used by God to prevent Paul from becoming conceited and prideful. Satan acted but only because God used him for His good purposes.
This is good news because it means the One who is ultimately in control over our student’s trials is the One who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6a). Our students don’t have to fear that their suffering is a sign God has abandoned them or forgotten them. They don’t have to wonder if they are suffering because God has somehow lost control of His plan for their life. They can rejoice in Christ even in the midst of their suffering because they know their Heavenly Father is in complete control of all things.
Because God is All-Powerful, Our Suffering Will Turn Out For Our Good
Many Christians consider Romans 8:28 among the most comforting verses in the Bible. It is good news because of God’s omnipotence. If God did not have total power and control, how could we rest in the fact that God is working all things together for good? On what basis can we rejoice that God is working the bad things of our life to result in good if God isn’t in complete control?
God’s omnipotence is the reason we can tell our students that God will work the bad things that happen in their lives for good. Things like the divorce of parents, cancer, breakups, and being the victim of gossip are all bad. Romans 8:28 does not say that we are to call those things good. What it does teach us is that God’s omnipotence will work those bad things out for the good of those who love Christ. Every tragedy will be redeemed. Not a single tear or cry will be overlooked.
Because God is All-Powerful, We Can Rest
One of the stresses for many teenagers is the feeling that they are one bad grade or one sports injury away from wrecking all their dreams for the future. God’s omnipotence tells them that their futures are not ultimately up to them.
Yes, they should work hard to achieve their goals and what they want. God’s control of all things is not an excuse for laziness, nor does it mean that their choices don’t have lasting consequences. Christians are not fatalists who passively resign to whatever is going to happen.
God’s omnipotence means that our students can be reminded there is One who is greater than they, and He rules. We can help students remove the burden of the future from their shoulders by pointing them to the omnipotence of the Lord. They can experience deep and abiding rest through their confidence in the gospel. This is an especially important message for youth as they prepare for graduation.
Because God is All-Powerful, We Worship
God’s omnipotence causes us to stand in awe of God. In an age of influencers and iPhones, our students need a vision of something greater and bigger than themselves and their situations. They need to see God in all of His glory, beauty, and power. Youth workers, point them to the glory of God and call them to trust in His power.
If we are honest, the doctrine of God’s omnipotence is intimidating. As youth workers, we may be tempted to skirt the topic in fear of the questions students might ask. There are a few ways this doctrine connects with other questions that can lead to disagreements among believers, but that doesn’t mean it should be bypassed in the name of avoiding hard conversations.
Be prepared and know your students will never fully understand the relationship between God’s omnipotence and human responsibility, so you can release yourself of the pressure to solve that divine mystery. The omnipotence of God is clearly taught throughout Scripture, so teach it with confidence. Encourage your students to rest in God’s steadfast love towards them, which can transform the way they approach hardship and suffering. Show them that because God is all powerful they can experience rest and worship their Father in Heaven, knowing that all things -- the good and the bad – are being used to bring about the renewal of all things.