20,000,000,000,000,000 reasons to be in awe of God
In God’s Hand
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In [God’s] hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race.
Job 12:10 (NET)
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According to a 2022 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, there are an estimated 20,000,000,000,000,000 ants in the world.
That’s 20 quadrillion, in case your fingers can’t count that high.
😂
Apparently, that works out to about 2.5 million ants for every one human.
That … is a lot of life in God’s hand.
(And we’re just talking about ants here, I didn’t even look into other animals.)
God rules over them all.
I need good reminders like this.
It’s so easy for me to go about my day-to-day and fall into pattern, forgetting that I have a relationship with the all-powerful God of the universe.
This verse helps keep me grounded in reality.
I’m sure Job had no idea of the sheer number of ants in the world. Nor of the vast amount of different animals across the globe.
Yet he did recognize God’s majesty.
Not only did he acknowledge this when his life was going well, but when his life was struck with tragedy too.
It says so much about his character that he would endure such hardship and still praise God.
Could I do that?
I wish the answer would be yes, but I worry that I would complain too much.
I’m glad God’s grace is sufficient to cover my sins.
Indeed, God is good … all the time.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
