Our God is so amazing!
He is merciful and gracious to us – giving us forgiveness of our sins, and loving us unconditionally, and so much more.
How we view God matters.
It matters because what we believe about God impacts every moment of our day.
It matters because what we believe about God impacts how we react and respond to life’s challenges.
It matters because what we believe about God impacts our relationships.
It matters because what we believe about God impacts our choices and decisions.
It matters because what we believe about God impacts our lives for all eternity.
The Bible is the source for what we should believe about God.
When we believe what the Bible tells us about God, fear dissipates, anxiousness diminishes, and peace rules and reigns in our hearts and minds!
The author of Psalm 8 [ESV] gives us a glimpse into what he believed about God, and what we should believe about Him:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!” [The Psalmist believed that God’s name represents who He is, our creator, and powerful God.] “You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.” [The Psalmist believed that we can see God’s splendor – His magnificent qualities – above the heavens. The James Webb Space Telescope has recently provided another view of God’s splendor above the heavens.] [You can do a web search to find details.]
“Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, that You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.” [The Psalmist believed that God helps the weak, and is in control of evil.]
“When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have established, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?” [The Psalmist believed that God loves and cares for us. He believed that God cares for us, even though we appear to be insignificant, when you compare us with God’s creation. But God created the moon, the stars, the heavens, and the earth for US! That truth provides us with a message from God – we matter to Him.]
Additionally, the Psalmist reminds us that God has given His people a place of honor: “Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.”
The Psalmist believed that we are valuable to God, through the work He has given us to do for Him: “You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.”
The Psalmist concludes by praising God: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
Majestic – having impressive beauty or dignity
Glorious – of exalted excellence
Excellent – great virtue or worth; distinguished for superior attainments
The above definitions come from online sources, including Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. These qualities of God should help us lift our heads out of our troubles, as we look to our majestic, glorious, and excellent God.
The Psalmist understood the greatness of God. He had a high view of God. He understood that God’s power was not simply something He displays so that we can be in awe [which we should be], but God uses His power to help “insignificant” you and me.
He understood that God loves and cares for us, every one of us. He understood that in God’s greatness, he considered us significant.
When you and I view God, as He reveals Himself through Scripture and creation, we should not only bow before Him, but dance before Him! Our lives can be filled with great peace and joy, strength and encouragement when we view God as He really is, not as we design Him based upon our own ideas.
What ways has God personally revealed Himself to you, using the Bible as your foundation?
God pulled me out of a lifestyle that was leading me into a mess. He guided me so that I came to the realization that I needed Him, personally. He gave me faith to know and believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior, recognizing myself as a desperate sinner, and He as the perfect Savior. He continues to guide me each day, helping me through “thick and thin”. He corrects and forgives me as I continue to sin…even though I don’t want to sin, I still do.
The Bible tells us that God desires none should perish, and that He is the way, the life and the truth. He proved that to me by giving me salvation.
In addition to the miracle of my salvation, God does other miracles in my life.
I’m grateful for all of them, but the “little” ones seem to resonate loudly in my heart and mind, helping me to understand how significant I am to our great God.
I was out with friends for lunch one day. After lunch I continued on to do some errands. When I arrived home, I realized I’d lost my prescription eyeglasses. I had been wearing my sunglasses, so I didn’t miss them. I prayed for God’s help to locate them, and that they would be unharmed. I knew He knew exactly where they were, and could reveal that to me, if He chose. I rested in Him. I don’t have insurance to pay for glasses, so this was a significant matter to me. I know it is minor compared to many challenges of life, but at that moment, this was important.
I called the last place I had been, which I had left over 20 minutes previously, and they found them in the parking lot. When I picked them up, they weren’t even scratched! Not only had I not run them over, having dropped them where I was parked, but God kept them safe from any other cars running them over. All thanks and praise to God!
God cares for us – in the small things and the big. If they were never found, God still cares. If my glasses had been mangled, God still cares. I know He would somehow provide for a new pair, if necessary. I can rest in God because of what I know and believe about Him from the Bible.
What is your struggle? What do you believe about God, based upon the truths of the Bible? How does what you believe help you in your struggle?
Do you know God cares for you? Do you know that God wants to help you? How committed are you in a relationship with Him, through the Lord Jesus Christ?
Since God is so majestic, glorious and excellent, and He cares for us, how should we respond to Him?
We should offer Him our lives for whatever purposes He has in mind for us. Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
When we offer our lives to God, and allow Him to guide and direct us, He can turn the heartaches to joy, because He has the ability to touch our lives with His power, as Isaiah 61:1 teaches us: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”
May you know God, as He truly is!
I would be glad to talk with you about what you believe about God. Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com
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 2022 Donna Shappy
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