and theywere created” (
Ps
148:3-5). We do not only exist byGod’s mighty power; we also live with
him and besidehim. This iswhywe adore him.
73.
The writings of the prophets invite us to find renewed strength in times of trial by
contemplating the all-powerful God who created the universe. Yet God’s infinite power does not lead
us to flee his fatherly tenderness, because in him affection and strength are joined. Indeed, all sound
spirituality entails both welcoming divine love and adoration, confident in the Lord because of his
infinite power. In the Bible, the God who liberates and saves is the same God who created the
universe, and these two divineways of acting are intimately and inseparably connected: “Ah LordGod!
It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm!
Nothing is too hard for you…You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and
wonders” (
Jer
32:17, 21). “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He
does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and
strengthens the powerless” (
Is
40:28b-29).
74.
The experience of the Babylonian captivity provoked a spiritual crisis which led to deeper faith
inGod. Now his creative omnipotence was given pride of place in order to exhort the people to regain
their hope in the midst of their wretched predicament. Centuries later, in another age of trial and
persecution, when the Roman Empire was seeking to impose absolute dominion, the faithful would
once again find consolation and hope in a growing trust in the all-powerful God: “Great andwonderful
are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways!” (
Rev
15:3). The God who
created the universe out of nothing can also intervene in this world and overcome every form of evil.
Injustice is not invincible.
75.
A spiritualitywhich forgets God as all-powerful andCreator is not acceptable. That is howwe
end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of
claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot. The best way to restoremen andwomen
to their rightful place, putting an end to their claim to absolute dominion over the earth, is to speak
once more of the figure of a Father who creates and who alone owns the world. Otherwise, human
beingswill always try to impose their own laws and interests on reality.
