Holiness

I'm currently reading Suffering and the Sovereignty of God edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. In the chapter I finished today, "Waiting for the Morning," author Dustin Shramek reminds us of God's holiness. Shramek asks, "How does regarding God as holy help us in the midst of our suffering? What help is this when we are trapped in the pit and the darkness threatens to suffociate us?"

He then answers the question, "It helps us in two ways. First, in the midst of our pain, God's holiness is a life preserver that we can cling to in order to keep us from falling into the abyss. Second, it is because God is holy that he himself will keep us from falling into the abyss."

Shramek then reminds us of this statement from John Piper:
"God is holy in His absolute uniqueness. Everything else belongs to a class. We are human; Rover is a dog; the oak is a tree; Earth is a planet; the Milky Way is one of a billion galaxies; Gabriel is an angel; Satan is a demon. But only God is God. And therefore He is holy, utterly different, distinct, unique. All else is creation. He alone creates. All else begins. He alone always was. All else depends. He alone is self-sufficient. And therefore the holiness of God is synonymous with His infinite value. His glory is the shining forth of His holiness. His holiness is His intrinsic worth- an utterly unique excellence."

The comfort? Shramek concludes, "This is our hope in the midst of suffering. There is no one more powerful. There is no one more loving. There is no one more merciful. There is no one more compassionate. There is no other God but God. He alone is Savior and he alone is Lord. It is because God is holy that we can have confidence that he will fufill his promises to us, that his power will be used to help us, that his mercy will be poured out on us, and that his wisdom will design our suffering and everything else in our lives to work together for our good."

Amen, and amen.