In our world that is filled with hardships, trials and tribulations, there is one certainty.
God is alive!
Jesus Christ, God’s One and Only Son, rose from the grave, and is available, through His Holy Spirit, to all who submit their lives to Him.
The result of this relationship is hope for a future that is filled with eternal blessings and joy. There will be no more sorrow or tears when Christ’s followers join Him in eternity. There will be no more financial, health, relational, or other complications to threaten our joy in Jesus.
But how do we deal with the challenges today?
When life’s events threaten to undo me, I turn to praising God. I listen to praise music, and sing to my Maker and Creator (knowing He doesn’t care that I sing off tune).
I spend time in God’s Word, finding hope in His promises.
I also have a list of attributes and characteristics of God that cause me to turn and look full in His wonderful face. As I go through this list, my heart is encouraged, and the things of this world grow dim in light of Him, and His glory and grace.
Psalm 123:1: “I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven.”
But God alone can truly help me when I’m hurting. I’ve learned that no matter how rich a relationship I have with any person, when I’m hurting, God alone has the healing balm for my heart and soul.
Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is right next to God, and advocating for us: Hebrews 12:2: “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” and Hebrews 7:25: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them,”
Have you ever made an inaccurate assessment of someone? How did that turn out? It usually isn’t a pleasant experience. It is the same with knowing God.
It is essential that we know God, and know Him accurately. The way to do that is through intimate study of the Bible.
Below is a list of some of the aspects of God’s character that I’ve gathered:
Accessible
Active
Advocate
Abundant
Almighty
Awesome
Anchor of my soul
Authority
Bread of Life
Beautiful
Creator
Caregiver
Committed
Compassionate
Consistent
Defender
Detailed
Diety
Designer of our lives
Efficient
Eternal
Extravagent
Fair
Friend
Father to the fatherless
Great
Good
Gracious
Generous
Holy
Healer
Hypostasis
Immutable
Impeccability
Incomprehensible
Invisible
Invincible
Incarnate
Intercessor. Job 16:20
Involved
Jealous
Joy
Judge
Kind
King
Light
Limitless
Listener
Living
Love
Loyal
Majestic
Merciful
Miracle worker
Near
Omnipotent
Omniscient
Omnipresent
Orderly
Powerful
Preserver
Peace
Portion
Physician
Precise
Preeminence
Protector
Quiets our hearts;
quick to hear
Quenches
Quality
Refiner
Redeemer
Righteous
Sanctifier
Shield
Son
Spirit
Strength
Strong
Sufficient
Supreme
Superior
Sustains
Triumphant
Trustworthy
Truth
Unchanging
Uncreated
Unique
Unfailing
Victor
Vine
Wise
Wonderful
Xenial (friendly relationship between host and guest)
Yoke-fellow (with me)
Yearns (for me to walk with Him)
Yahweh
Zealous
This list is not exhaustive, but a recommendation for a place to start focusing on the truth about God.
What do you do with this list?
You can use a concordance, or even a Google search, to discover Bible verses to support each of these attributes.
For example, when fear wants to grip me, I remember that God is all powerful. That because of His omnipotence, I have no reason to fear, because He uses His power for my benefit.
Colossians 1:16 provides a foundation for me to let go of my fear: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” I will talk, out loud, to the Lord. I will use the verses I find to remind myself of what God is capable of. Since God is capable of creating, from nothing (Hebrew word “bara”), then He certainly is able to deal with whatever fear wants to overwhelm me.
Each morning I write to God, and praise Him for one or more of His attributes. I look for evidence of these in my life each day.
I have made index cards with His attributes, and put verses on those cards, for future reference. This can also be done electronically.
I share with others what God is showing me about Himself each day. Repeating these truths help me. I find the things I talk about can either strengthen me or deplete me, so the more I talk about God, the steadier I am in my relationship with Him.
When troubles come, I can praise God with truth, and these truths lift my outlook on life’s challenges. I can face life with hope, and not fear.
Becky Harling has a book, “30 Day Praise Challenge”, it is a great resource.
Can I help you on this part of your journey? You can start your own list of God’s attributes, perhaps using a few attributes from my list as a starting point. As you read the Bible, you can add to your list. Please contact me at the email below, if I can be of assistance.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you.
Copyright 2021 Donna Shappy
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