Tag: God’s attributes

Bible Verses of the Week

~ K ~ Leave a comment
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I “randomly” turned to Psalm 103 in my devotions yesterday, and it was full of quote-worthy verses. Here’s a passage that stood out to me:

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. (v. 8)

Oddly enough, a few days ago, I read in Joel 2:

Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. (v. 13)

I like these verses because they are reminders of God’s attributes. In the midst of my pain, stress, and anxiety, I don’t feel a God who is any of these things. (Well, maybe the slow to anger part because I haven’t been smited yet.)

But God is gracious: I have three, going on four, part-time jobs in a down economy.

God is compassionate: I am earning money to pay bills and start a freelancing business.

God is slow to anger: In all the stupid ways I’ve disobeyed him and blasphemed, he still loves me.

God is abounding in lovingkindness: He has surrounded me with supportive friends and family.

God is relenting of evil: Oh, the punishment I deserve for being a rebellious child and having my heart set against him!

Satan has really set some attacks against me so that I destroy myself. But I am thankful that God’s truths are reiterated in different ways.

 

365+ Days of Enjoying God

~ K ~ 2 Comments


Since joining the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) in 2007, I have been meditating on the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q: What is the chief end of man?

A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

There are two parts to this answer: (1) glorify God, (2) enjoy Him forever. I’ve never been baffled much by the first part but the second part has always left me stymied. From my February 2010 entry:

I know how to enjoy His creation but enjoying Him is an entirely different matter.

Recently, it dawned on me: the way to enjoy God is by knowing Him and having an active, personal relationship with Him.

How do I enjoy the people I care about? I enjoy them through their qualities or attributes and not necessarily the things that they do for me (contrary to how I often approach God). For example, I enjoy being around my husband and spending time with him because he’s funny, smart, and kind; not necessarily because he brings me a latte when I want him to (although that IS a bonus).

As a result, I realized the way for me to enjoy God (and fully understand the second part to the first answer of the catechism) is to know, see, and experience God’s attributes and who He is in relationship to me. Here is a Biblical list of some of God’s attributes (with the help of The Navigators website): Continue reading “365+ Days of Enjoying God” →