If you read my New Years post you’ll recall that my focus for 2019 is on knowing the voice of my Father. In order to know and recognize his voice I need to know who he is.
We can come to know God by discovering his characteristics or attributes.
Here are 10 characteristics of himself that God has been revealing to me lately.
1. Holy
What does it mean? God is sacred and set apart, he is in his own league.
Why does it matter to me? There is no 2nd with God, no one or nothing is in the conversation when we talk about God, he is Holy and set apart.
“No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2
2. Glory
What does it mean? A weight and worth that is immeasurable and can’t be calculated. God can’t be fully known or comprehended with our human mind.
Why does it matter to me? How powerful is it to realize we can’t fully know or comprehend God?! This thought brings me peace in the unknown and difficult circumstances. He’s got it! He is glorious!
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-11
3. Righteous
What does it mean? He can do no wrong, he is perfectly right.
Why does it matter to me? I also must live according to this righteousness and once I am saved my faith brings me to this righteousness. Since Jesus died, living a righteous life in our place, God now looks at us and sees this righteousness!
“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:22-24
4. Love
What does it mean? He is a God of emotion; love is one of the most known emotions of God.
Why does it matter to me? In 1 John 4 God is described as love…he is love! He loved us before we ever loved him. He loved us and gave his son for us, even knowing that some may never come to love him, even knowing that, he did it anyway.
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10
5. Truth
What does it mean? He only speaks truth. His voice is only ever true, he can’t lie.
Why does it matter to me? Anytime you have lies enter your mind you can know they aren’t from God. Put them through the test and ask, “Is this truth?” If the answer is yes then it’s from God, if the answer is no then it’s not from God!
“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is no human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19
6. Always Present
What does it mean? How many of you get frustrated if your husband doesn’t fully listen to what you’re saying? You can tell his mind is elsewhere, even if he’s sitting right next to you. This is not how our Father is, he is always present, and always fully listening to whatever we need.
Why does it matter to me? We can always ask for help throughout the day, and let him know what we need. Because guess what? He already knows what you need and what you want to talk about! Talk to him about anything and everything, he’s listening.
“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get way from your presence!” Psalms 139:1-7
7. Helper
What does it mean? Helps at any time, in any place, and in any situation.
Why does it matter to me? We never have to go without help, with him being always present, help is always present too. We just have to ask for it.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16
8. Friend
What does it mean? A friend is someone you are close to, have a lot in common with, share struggles with, enjoy spending time with, and care about. This is who God is!
Why does it matter to me? Although we have some great friends in our lives, we are all human so at some point our friends will let us down. God will NEVER let you down. He is the perfect friend. He has accepted you from the time of birth, and he will always accept you, from now throughout eternity!
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” Pslams 139:16-18
9. Counselor
What does it mean? He is our teacher and counsels us through tough decisions
Why does it matter to me? We often encounter tough decisions. To make these decisions we run them by our husband or a friend first. We have people in our lives we trust to counsel us through these decisions or moments in life. Even better, God is our counselor too. He will counsel us through these tough spots and decisions through the people he’s placed in our lives, through his word, and through his Holy Spirit.
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative- that is, the Holy Spirit- he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26
10. All powerful
What does it mean? I love this one so much, so I saved it for last. Who doesn’t want to serve a God who is all powerful and above EVERYTHING in this world?! Nothing is above him and nothing can defeat him! Yes we serve that God…yes we are on the winning team!
Why does it matter to me? Nothing is impossible with God. If we truly believe this attribute of God we wouldn’t hope that things in our life would work out, we would know that they will work out! Many times I think we, myself included, put God in a box and think we know what God can do and how he will do it. There are many instances in the bible where God did things so totally out of the ordinary we would be shocked if they happened today; the great flood, parting the red sea, the ten plagues, feeding of the multitudes, Daniel in the lion’s den. He is still that same God! Believe he can do it, because he can, he created everything so he can do anything!
“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17
When you first start dating the one you think you’ll spend forever with, you spend a lot of time together, sharing things you’ve never shared with anyone, truly getting to know each other on a deeper more intimate level then anyone else in your life. This is how our relationship with God should look.
I want to encourage you this week to list the attributes that God is revealing of himself to you. Then dive deeper into them and ask ‘What does it mean?’, and ‘Why does it matter to me?’.
God wants to be known by you..intimately…deeply…and the good news is you can know him in this way! How intimately and deeply do you want to know God?
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