God by the Numbers

Numbers mean different things to different people. You have statisticians who use
numbers to describe properties of a group of people, whether it is behaviors, medical conditions,
or in this day voting preferences. Entire companies and corporations have been established for
the sole purpose of gathering numbers (data) and using them for predictive purposes. But be
wary, statisticians can make numbers say what they desire. Numbers do not lie, but the use of
them can be questionable.

Numbers are sometimes called a language all their own. If you don’t agree, try to read a
statistical or algebraic formula without knowing the language! Trying to read an algebraic
sentence can be as daunting as trying to read a foreign language which is written in characters,
such as Chinese or Japanese. Without being educated or fluent in this type of language, you will
be hard pressed to understand it.

Numbers however are also called a universal language. Hold up one finger in a foreign
market and point to a fruit, and you’ll get "one" of what is receiving your pointing. Two means
a pair of something and so on. The use of numbers has been in existence since creation to
delineate time, quantity, and measurements.

God created the heavens and the earth, and then created man and woman – two. God did
all this in six days and rested on the seventh. In the days of Noah, it rained forty days and forty
nights. Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a whale, or a fish. Jesus referenced this
same number when He told His disciples He would spend three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth (See Matthew 12:40). God uses numbers throughout His Holy Word to help us
understand significance in His kingdom. Even though God uses these numbers, He would rather
we pay closer attention to events.

During creation, was a day really twenty four hours long? Did it really rain for forty
days? Did Jonah really spend three days and three nights in the belly of a fish? God wants us to
look at the significance of the events and not dwell on the finite numbers our human brains
understand. Thank God creation happened. The Great Flood happened for a purpose. Jonah’s
mind was changed and once being deposited on the beach, He decided to follow God’s
instructions (and it only took 3 days to do it in a very convincing way!!).

God is event driven. But there is one number that is very important to God, and that
number is ONE. That is the number of steps it takes to return to Him. No matter how far we
stray from Him, He says He is always with us. The journey of one step is ours to take, not His.

Let us remember, the journey to God or back to God is only one step in length. All we
must do is turn toward the destination and take that one step. Therefore, the number one can be
the most rewarding and life-giving numbers we’ve ever known.

Remember, one step is all it takes to receive ever-lasting life, and can be the most
lifesaving and life-giving number you’ll ever know!!!