In Jeremiah Chapter 32, the Lord made a declaration of His Own omnipotence to encourage His faithful prophet, Jeremiah, who lived in a very dark day. Jeremiah would be an eyewitness to the overthrow of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. The prophet would see the mass murder of his fellow countrymen and the awful days of God’s judgment upon rebellious, sinful people. The context of this chapter reveals that Jeremiah was imprisoned at the time the Lord spoke to him.

God gave Jeremiah these words of encouragement on the very brink of the days of destruction: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). God’s omnipotence is rooted in His very nature. Because He is the creator and because He is the One Who made all things from nothing, there is no challenge too great for His omnipotent power.

This truth can be a comforting reminder to us in our daily circumstances. In times of poor health, financial difficulties, or when we are tempted to worry about the future, we can be assured that the Lord is all powerful and that He knows our difficulties.

Jeremiah had just finished using very similar words in his prayer to the Lord. “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name” (Jeremiah 32:17–18). It was in answer to this prayer of faith that the Lord gave His own statement of omnipotence!

Prior to Jeremiah’s prayer and God’s assurance of His omnipotence to the prophet, the Lord had commanded Jeremiah to do a very surprising and illogical bit of business: buy a field in Anathoth — a plot of land that was part of Jeremiah’s family inheritance. Jeremiah responded, “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 32:8).

Yet, it would seem to be a very poor time to purchase land! The prophet was making the purchase from prison, where he had been placed for his prophecy regarding what was to come. The countryside was about to be ravaged by a ruthless invader. Fields would be pillaged. Livestock would be butchered to feed the Babylonian troops. Blood and carnage was about to devastate the landscape.

But regarding the land purchase, God’s words were clear. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land” (Jeremiah 32:14–15).

God often calls upon His children to trust in His omnipotence, even in the face of what may seem to be insurmountable odds. His power should be a constant stimulus to our faith, our humility, and our boldness.

God’s omnipotence stimulates our faith

Because Jehovah God is all-powerful, we can trust Him to do what He has promised that He will do. In this case in the life of Jeremiah, God had commanded the prophet to buy a field in faith, believing His promise that after the judgment and devastation of the Babylonian captivity, houses and fields would again be possessed. The Lord went on to promise Jeremiah, “For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them” (Jeremiah 32:42).

The Apostle Paul encouraged Titus with the “hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2). God does all that is consistent with His Own nature and character. Therefore, He cannot sin. He cannot lie. He cannot deny Himself. What God has promised, He most surely will perform.

What a stimulus to our faith! What an anchor to our prayers! Because God is the God of all flesh and because nothing is too hard for Him, there is nothing that we ask for that is beyond His control or His ability. If we really believed this, how powerful our prayers would be!

Search out God’s promises, claim them in faith, and trust in the omnipotent God to perform all that He has promised. In the very next chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord gives this invitation to His people: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).

God’s omnipotence stimulates our humility

In the light of God Almighty’s power, our own power and ability are nothing at all. As we gain a proper view of His omnipotence, we are humbled in His sight. In an earlier generation, before the time of Jeremiah, the Prophet Isaiah reminded the nation of Israel: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength” (Isaiah 40:28–29).

It is to the humble man, the man that acknowledges that he has no strength of his own, that the LORD is pleased to demonstrate His power. It is in this context that we are given the oft-quoted promise, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

May God give each one of us the humility to think less of our own power and ability and more of God’s Almighty power. The strong man in God’s sight is the man who humbly admits his own weakness. This truth is echoed by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament when he testifies of the Lord’s words to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” In response to this promise, Paul says, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Corinthians 12:9).

God’s omnipotence stimulates our boldness

Because we serve an omnipotent God, we have absolutely nothing in this world to fear. To the Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord’s omnipotence was a steadying confidence in the face of the Babylonian invasion. Jeremiah did not have to fear the Babylonians because he knew in his heart that they were only tools in the hands of an omnipotent God. He had raised up the Babylonians for His Own purpose, and He would certainly bring them down again.

The power of evil, the power of wicked rulers, and even the power of Satan is limited, restricted, and held in check by the hand of our omnipotent God. To the afflicted people of Israel Jeremiah gave these words from the Lord: “But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid” (Jeremiah 46:27).

In Isaiah 41:10, God gives His people a similar promise of confidence: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” When we sing the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” we sing this affirmation of God’s truth.

When you are tempted to be fearful — whether of death, sickness, financial loss, or even the power of the evil one — remember that we serve the omnipotent God. Take the words of Scripture to heart and “fear thou not.”