by Ramesh Richard

Our world is quite fascinated with high net-worth individuals, nearly 10 million of them, with investable assets of $1 million or more. I’d like you to total the net worth, book value, and market value of these 10 million elite—it wouldn’t amount to anywhere near the economic wealth in the world (more than $300 trillion). Now, would this huge amount get us to God’s net worth? Barely!

Why?

Because God is not only the Lord of all the earth, He is the Owner of all reality anywhere. You may want to meditate on Isaiah 40:12–31 to correct your misperceptions and miscalculations of God’s net worth. Whether defined by monetary wealth or personal capability, God’s assets are indescribable. They are boundless, peerless, and endless.

Actually, “net worth” is too crass and too awful a word to use for God. He doesn’t make the annual lists of the world’s wealthy because there are no ways to monetize His holdings, measure His assets, or compute His equity. God’s net worth will always be (to use investor terminology) undervalued by humans.

How may believers value God for what He is worth? I can hardly contribute to His total market value, but let me take a stab at one way of increasing God’s value in your life.

IF GOD IS GOD, HE IS WORTH WAITING FOR.

None of us likes to wait, whether in clogged traffic or at the cashier’s line. I don’t know what you are waiting for God to make happen, but I presently have a couple of matters that only God can do something about. Having done what I can do, I still must wait for Him to do what only He can do. At that sensitive point of extreme dislike—the place of waiting—God’s worth in my life is revealed.

What does waiting for the Lord mean? The Hebrew and Greek synonyms for “wait” all mean the same, simple thing—WAIT! Because the object of the waiting is the God of all Reality, the Lord of all Creation, the Highest High-Net-Worth Person, we confidently anticipate future good regardless of present circumstance. When I become disillusioned with God, disappointed in His ways, and dissatisfied with His timing, I’ve reduced His worth and devalued Him in my life. I’ve determined and declared His true value to me by whether He plays by my rules, keeps my agenda, meets my calendar. We have waited for many a man or woman in life. Why then would we not wait for the Lord? If God is really God, He is worth waiting for.

Many know that “worth” forms the root of the word “worship.” God’s worth-ship calls us to increase His worth in our lives. Though His total worth is incalculable, His personal worth is discernible. Am I willing to wait for, work for, and watch for the Lord? ¹ After all, He is God. He already is God. He is not applying for the job opening.

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¹ Space limits me from developing two other indices to determining God’s worth in our lives. (1) God is worth working for and (2) God is worth watching for. You may benefit from two of my talks on “The Reduction of God,” an exposition of Isaiah 40 in light of contemporary humanistic tendencies. To order a copy click here.