What’s So Great

About God?

A Daily Journey through the Attributes of God

Darrell R. Ferguson

www.FoodForYourSoul.net

www.FoodForYourSoul.net

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT GOD?

published by Food For Your Soul Press

© copryright 2011 by Food For Your Soul Ministries. All rights reserved.

Cover Design by Tracy Ferguson

Editors: Rosemary Ferguson, Marie Grow, Virginia Wages

All Scripture quotations, except those otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Fifth Printing (February, 2014)

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011934856

CONTENTS

Preface

Part 1 GOD AND THE HUMAN SOUL

Attribute #1 God’s Presence

Meditation #1:      Can You Feel the Presence of God?

Meditation #2:      Benefits of the Presence of God

Meditation #3:      God’s Presence is Better than Productivity

Meditation #4:      Lovely Enough to Evoke Longing and Fainting

Meditation #5:      God’s Visible Presence is the Greatest Hope

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God

Meditation #6:      Delightful to the Human Soul

Meditation #7:      Satisfying to the Human Soul

Meditation #8:      Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Thirst)

Meditation #9:      Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Faith )

Meditation #10:      The Water-Likeness of God

Meditation #11:      The Only Satisfier of the Soul

Meditation #12:      Our Appetite for Goodness

Meditation #13:      Unfulfilled Desire

Meditation #14:      Loving the World

Meditation #15:      Satisfies with His Face (Presence)

Attribute #3 The Filler of All Things

Meditation #16:      The Source of all Enjoyment

Meditation #17:      Not Dependent upon Earthly Means

Attribute #4 The God Whose Presence is Preferable to the Pleasure of Sin

Meditation #18:      Enjoying Earthly Pleasures as Worship, Not Idolatry

Meditation #19:      Waiting on God vs. Forfeiting Grace

Meditation #20:      Worth Waiting For

Attribute #5 Splendor and Majesty

Meditation #21:      Meditation:

Attribute #6 Magnificence

Meditation #22:      Awe

Meditation #23:      Superiority

Meditation #24:      Adorned with the Creation

Meditation #25:      Personal Majesty

Attribute #7 Worthy to be Feared

Meditation #26:      God is Huge

Meditation #27:      The God We Simultaneously Fear and Desire

Meditation #28:      The Excruciating Rod

Meditation #29:      Fearing Loss of Closeness

Meditation #30:      Worthy of ALL our Fear

Attribute #8 Generosity

Meditation #31:      The God who Gives to the Point of Satisfaction

Meditation #32:      God Supplies Much More Than What We Need

Attribute #9 Refresher and Restorer of the Soul

Meditation #33:      Refreshment

Meditation #34:      Your Best Days are Ahead of You

Meditation #35:      Recovery from iscouragement

Attribute #10 The Generous Vendor

Meditation #36:      Supplier of Both Need and Luxury

Meditation #37:      His Generosity Enables Yours

Attribute #11 Giver of Strength

Meditation #38:      Don’t Waste Your Weakness

Meditation #39:      Giver of Effort-Enabling Strength

Meditation #40:      Strength Through Quiet Trust

Meditation #41:      Eternal, Supreme, Tireless, Unsearchable, Strengthener of the Weary

Attribute #12 Giver of Success/Prosperity

Meditation #42:      What is Prosperity?

Meditation #43:      Success Through Faith

Attribute #13 Giver of Satisfaction and Enjoyment of Work

Meditation #44:

Attribute #14 Vindicator

Meditation #45:

Attribute #15 The Father of Compassion and God of All Comfort

Meditation #46:      Compassion Like a Father

Meditation #47:      Enjoying God’s Pity

Meditation #48:      His Comfort is Enough for Joy

Meditation #49:      Why it is so Important to Find Comfort

Attribute #16—The Cause of All Good Desires

Meditation #50:      The Source of Your Desires

Part 2 GOD AND OUR SIN

Attribute #17 Compassion

Meditation #51:      Meditation: Appeal to His Compassion

Attribute #18 The God Who Forgives for His Name’s Sake

Meditation #52:

Attribute #19 The God Who Forgives Through Jesus’ Intercession

Meditation #53:

Attribute #20 The God Who Thoroughly Cleanses Us

Meditation #54:

Attribute #21 The Re-Creating God

Meditation #55:

Attribute #22 The One Against Whom All Sin is Committed

Meditation #56:

Attribute #23 Crusher of Bones & Restorer of Joy

Meditation #57:      Deep Joy through Deep Sorrow

Meditation #58:      Suffering Teaches us to Pray Earnestly

Meditation #59:      The Purpose of Joy—Praise!

Attribute #24 The God Whose Discipline Is Only Redemptive

Meditation #60:

Part 3 CARE FOR US

Attribute #25 Mighty Hand

Meditation #61:

Attribute #26 The Living Counselor-King

Meditation #62:

Attribute #27 The Only Solution to Trouble

Meditation #63:      The Only Worthy Object of Complaint

Meditation #64:      A Proven Ever-Present Help

Meditation #65:      Interpreting the Thirsts of the Soul

Attribute #28 The Source of All Blessing, Whose Favor is of Great Worth

Meditation #66:

Attribute #29 The God Whose Favor is Worth Any Price

Meditation #67:

Attribute #30 Shepherd

Meditation #68:      MY Shepherd

Meditation #69:      Creation is His Rod and Staff to Comfort Me

Attribute #31 Giver of Rest

Meditation #70:      The God of the Easy, Rest-Giving Yoke

Meditation #71:      Gentle Shepherd

Meditation #72:      The Only Source of Calm

Attribute #32 Giver of Life

Meditation #73:      The Meaning of “Abundant Life”

Meditation #74:      Spiritual Life

Meditation #75:      Life through Fellowship with God

Meditation #76:      Loving Life

Meditation #77:      Deliverer from the Pit

Attribute #33 Healer

Meditation #78:      Restorer

Meditation #79:      Forgiving Judge and Healing Physician

Attribute #34 God Whose Nearness Gives Encouragement, Comfort, Fellowship, Tenderness And Compassion

Meditation #80:

Attribute #35 Foundation for Salvation, Glory, and Strength

Meditation #81:

Attribute #36 The Only Source of Help; Creator

Meditation #82:

Attribute #37 Generous Benefactor

Meditation #83:      Provider with an Open, Full Hand

Meditation #84:      Necessity, Luxury, and Multifaceted Graciousness

Meditation #85:      The God of Tailor-Made Provision

Meditation #86:      He Makes it Possible for us to Reconcile with Him

Meditation #87:      How Much Has God Given You?

Meditation #88:      Generous to Givers

Attribute #38 Strength and Love Combined

Meditation #89:

Attribute #39 Love (HESED)

Meditation #90:      That Which Grants Access Into the Presence of God

Meditation #91:      The Difference Between David and Saul: God’s HESED

Meditation #92:      The Beauty of God’s HESED

Meditation #93:      Loving in Order to Know God’s Love

Meditation #94:      Prolific Love

Meditation #95:      The Facets of God’s HESED

Attribute #40 Love That Can Be Experienced through Loving Others

Meditation #96:      Taking Pleasure in Pleasing Him

Meditation #97:      Experiencing His Attributes by Being the Means through which they Come

Meditation #98:      Enjoying God through Loving People

Meditation #99:      The God Who Loves The Unlovely

Attribute #41 Jealous Love

Meditation #100:      God Cares about Your Love!

Meditation #101:      Our Only Good

Attribute #42 Omni(favorable)presence

Meditation #102:

Attribute #43 Awesome Creation Wisdom

Meditation #103:

Attribute #44 Patience

Meditation #104:

Attribute #45 The God of New Beginnings and Ever-New Mercies

Meditation #105:

Attribute #46 Caretaker of the Details of the Creation

Meditation #106:

Attribute #47 Light

Meditation #107:      Opens the Door to Reality

Meditation #108:      Not Just the Light of the World, but My Light

Meditation #109:      Splendorous and Self- Revealing

Meditation #110:      His Presence Drives Away the Darkness

Attribute #48 My Salvation

Meditation #111:      No Need to Fear

Meditation #112:      His Presence is Salvation

Attribute #49 Giver of Justice

Meditation #113:

Attribute #50 The God Who Guides His People

Meditation #114:      The Blessings of guidance

Meditation #115:      The God Who Guides us Personally

Meditation #116:      The God Who Guides by Turning on the Lights

Meditation #117:      He Guides into His Own Presence

Meditation #118:      His Way is Better than Any Other

Meditation #119:      He Teaches Us Because of our Oppressors

Meditation #120:      He Guides Us Even after We Have Rejected Guidance

Meditation #121:      The God Who Leads Fools by the Hand

Meditation #122:      Relates to Us as a Head to a Body

Attribute #51 Eagerness to Lead Humble Sinners

Meditation #123:      Meditation:

Attribute #52 The God Whose Words are Perfect

Meditation #124:      Restoring the Soul

Meditation #125:      Trustworthy, Making Wise the Simple

Meditation #126:      Right, Giving Joy to the Heart

Meditation #127:      Radiant, Giving Light to the Eyes

Meditation #128:      Precious

Attribute #53 Mindfulness, Care and Exaltation of Puny Man

Meditation #129:      Our Unique Ability to Commune with our Creator

Meditation #130:      God’s Love for People Makes them Precious to Us

Meditation #131:      The God who Grants Co-Regency to Puny Man

Meditation #132:      God Considers and Cares for Man

Attribute #54 Worthiness and Trustworthiness to be the Object of My Desire

Meditation #133:

Attribute #55 The God Who Listens to His People

Meditation #134:      God Watches with Interest

Meditation #135:      God Listens, Cares and Responds to My Sighing

Meditation #136:      The God Who Hears Desire

Meditation #137:      Complex Prayers

Meditation #138:      We Can Pray Expectantly

Meditation #139:      God Rends the Heavens when I Cry for Help

Attribute #56 Available to His People

Meditation #140:      The Many Different Avenues of Fellowship with God

Meditation #141:      God’s Presence is Available Every Moment

Meditation #142:      The God Who is Sympathetic to Our Sorrows

Meditation #143:      The God Who Delights in Our Joys

Meditation #144:      Availability at Night and in the Morning

Meditation #145:      God is Close to those who Take Refuge in Him

Attribute #57 God Who Speaks

Meditation #146:      He Confides in Us

Attribute #58 Refuge

Meditation #147:      God’s Refuge is a Delight to Those in Trouble

Meditation #148:      Shelter, Safety and Rock.

Meditation #149:      Rock, Salvation and Fortress

Meditation #150:      The ONLY Savior from the Enemy’s Traps

Meditation #151:      Guard, Rescuer and Refuge

Meditation #152:      The Only Refuge from His Own Wrath

Meditation #153:      The God Whose Favor is Our Protection

Meditation #154:      Our Constant  Protector

Part 4 GRACE

Attribute #59 Worthy of Hope

Meditation #155:

Attribute #60 The God Who Uses Catastrophe to Draw Us to Himself

Meditation #156:

Attribute #61 The God of Gracious Memory

Meditation #157:      We Can Request Gracious Memory

Meditation #158:      The Source of Past Good

Meditation #159:      The Weight of Sin

Attribute #62 The God Who is the Only Shelter from His Own Chastisement

Meditation #160:

Attribute #63 The Examiner of the Heart

Meditation #161:

Attribute #64 The Redeemer/Crowner

Meditation #162:

Attribute #65 Rewarder

Meditation #163:      The Promise of Reward

Attribute #66 Omnipotent Blesser

Meditation #164:

Attribute #67 Eternal Love

Meditation #165:

Attribute #68 Pursuing Love

Meditation #166:

Attribute #69 Omniscient God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #167:      Constant Company

Meditation #168:      God Sees My Resolve and Love

Attribute #70 Omnipresent God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #169:      His Hand upon Me

Attribute #71 The God Who Reveals His Will

Meditation #170:

Attribute #72 Mercy and Compassion

Meditation #171:

Attribute #73 Short-Lived Anger

Meditation #172:

Attribute #74 The Dispenser of Grace Through Ministry

Meditation #173:

Attribute #75 Faithfulness

Meditation #174:      Purchaser of His Own Promises for Me

Meditation #175:      The Benefits of God’s Promises

Meditation #176:      The God Whose Promises Preserve my Life

Meditation #177:      When People Are Unreliable

Meditation #178:      Always Faithful and Loving Ways

Meditation #179:      Faithfulness in Affliction

Attribute #76 The Highest and Final Judge

Meditation #180:

WORD INDEX

TOPICAL INDEX FOR COUNSELORS

Preface

It is not enough to learn true things about God. It is not even enough to experience the benefits of His attributes. We must not be satisfied until our experience of each attribute has been profound enough to move our soul toward deeper love for God. We must keep learning and experiencing what is so wonderful about each attribute until there is a response in our affections—sparks of actual joy, peace, delight, awe, fear of God, security, satisfaction of soul, comfort, courage, and all the other benefits Scripture promises will come from the nearness of God’s favorable presence.

Psalm 43:3-4 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.[1]

Each one of God’s attributes is a single ray in the spectrum of the brilliant radiance of His glory. That glory is an ocean, and just one drop of that ocean, if you could just see it clearly, would be enough to delight your soul and occupy your faculties of praise for all eternity. This book is a journal of how God has been opening my eyes the past few years to begin to see a glimpse of that drop.

How do you find intimacy with God? Open up the pages of Scripture, and instead of just looking at all the words, instead of just putting in your time so you can say you did your reading, instead of just trying to find some clever new angle—make an all-out search for anything and everything you can learn about how to experience the excellencies and perfections of God.

Consider, for example, Romans 15:5.

Romans 15:5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity.

It is possible to read that and think, “Ah—direct information about God. He is the type who gives endurance and encouragement.” But be careful. You can do that in such a detached way that it does not produce intimacy. You might read that and skip right by it and think, “I already knew that fact.” But the point is not just to put them in the list of facts you know.

If someone told you about a friend at church and says, “One thing about that guy is he just gives people endurance. If you spend any time at all around him, you will find that you can handle anything life throws at you.” What effect would that have on you? You would not simply think, “So and so has the attribute of cultivating endurance in people. I need to memorize that fact.” No, you would not think about a list of facts; you would think about the man himself. You would think of your interactions with him in the past, and put this information into that context. You might think “Yes, last week when he was saying ____ to me, that really did strengthen me, and, come to think of it, I was more able to endure things after that.” You would think through what it means in practical terms. And you would notice it more in the future.

That is how we should respond when we read about the attributes of God in Scripture. What does it mean that God gives endurance? How does He do it? Why does He do it? What does it feel like when it happens? How can I experience more of it? Then every minute of every day, as much as is possible, seek to make the connections between what you know to be true about God with what you experience in everyday life. Making those connections is the key to having a sense of intimacy with God.

Love is not caused by bare information. It comes from interactions and exchanges and experiences of the person you are learning to love.

After you read each meditation and you spend time in prayer seeking to have your eyes opened to the goodness of the attribute and to actually experience that attribute, ask yourself this: What kinds of effects would be present in my heart if I were to experience this attribute? Some examples are: gladness and joy, greater love and desire for God (and all those He loves), safety and protection, peace and calmness, a joyful, willing heart, confidence, courage, fullness and satisfaction, strength, motivation, zeal, a greater abiding presence of Christ in the heart, experiential knowledge of the love that surpasses knowledge, fear of God, awe and reverence, desire to obey. Which of those would be present in your heart if you experienced today’s attribute? This is a good test to discern whether you are experiencing the presence of God.

At the end of each meditation is a promise from God’s Word that is related to that day’s attribute. I urge you to take this portion of the meditation very seriously. We are sometimes prone to skip quickly over whatever is at the end because we are eager to get on with our day. But the promise is as important as any part of the mediation, if not more important. It is faith that pleases God, and faith that enables the Christian life. You are never closer to God than when you are trusting in, relying on, leaning on, resting in, and delighting in one of His great and precious promises. Take the promise to heart, and either write it down or commit it to memory so you can lean on that promise and draw strength and hope from it throughout the day.

Part 1

GOD AND THE HUMAN SOUL

Attribute #1 God’s Presence

Meditation #1: Can You Feel the Presence of God?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od exists everywhere. He observes and knows everything (Jer.23:24), and is upholding and sustaining every molecule in the universe (Col.1:17). When Scripture speaks of God’s presence, however, it refers to something more than His existence. The Hebrew word for presence is the common word for face. This is why in passages like Ps.105:4 some translations say “Seek his face,” and others “Seek His presence.” When Scripture speaks of the presence of God it does not merely mean God exists in that place or that God can see you or that God is at work there; it means God has turned His face favorably toward you. It is personal and relational. You are in God’s presence when God has turned His attention toward you in a way that enables you to have a favorable, personal interaction with Him.

The Lord is far from the wicked (Pr.15:29). He exists near the wicked, but His face is turned away from them. He is not showing them His favor, and they cannot be close to Him in a relational way. God is merciful, but you receive His mercy only to the degree that His face is turned toward you. He is a guide, a refuge, and a giver of strength, but you experience guidance, protection, and strengthening only to the degree that you are in His presence.

How does one sense God’s presence? If God were to turn His face toward you right now, or next Sunday at church, how would you know? Can the presence of God be felt? And if so, what does it feel like?

The answer is yes, the presence of God can indeed be felt. It is not a mere theological abstraction. The feeling that results from experiencing God’s presence is not a physical sensation, but an emotional response. The chief feeling that results from being in the presence of God is joy.

Psalm 16:11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are perpetual pleasures.[2]

Psalm 21:6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.[3]

Another feeling that can result from being in the presence of God is inner peace and calmness.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you … he will quiet you with his love.

Other effects of God’s presence are feelings of pleasure (Ps.16:11), refreshment (Hos.5:15-6:3), and satisfaction of soul (Ps.63:5). When God withdraws His presence (or turns His face away) the results are anxiety, sorrow, wasting or melting away, dismay, and internal anguish (Ps.32:1-2, 88:14-15, 30:7, Isa.64:7).

What an amazing and wonderful thing it is to serve a God whose mere presence is guaranteed to always have such an effect on your soul!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

You experience the presence of God when 1) God expresses one of His attributes toward you, 2) you are aware that He is doing so, and 3) you enjoy the experience. Think of the various joys you are experiencing right now—comfort, hope, rest, peace, understanding, safety—and remind your soul that those joys are due to His immediate presence in the room with you right now. If His favorable presence to bless were removed completely, you would quite literally be in hell.

Think: What would it look like if today you were to carry out your normal responsibilities while seeking wholeheartedly after God’s presence? Are you doing it now?

Promise to trust today:

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hosea 5:15-6:3 They will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." 1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."[4]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #1  Presence (part 2)

Meditation #2: Benefits of the Presence of God

T

he presence of God results not only in wonderful feelings (joy, peace, etc.), but also in other kinds of blessings, such as safety, salvation, answered prayer, and the fullness of God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The nearness of God shelters and protects you from evil and harm. It is a place of safety, restoration, and salvation.

Psalm 31:20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.

Psalm 80:19 Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

When we pray for any kind of favor or blessing from God, it is when His presence is near that such prayers are answered. When His face is turned away (presence withdrawn) they are not.

Psalm 24:5-6 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah

Psalm 31:16-17 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you.

Psalm 44:3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was … the light of your face, for you loved them.

This is what Paul was asking for when he prayed that Christ would dwell in our hearts (Eph.3:17).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Learn to use all pleasure and all pain as vehicles to experience this attribute of God. To enjoy God’s presence and all the benefits that come with it one must 1) be aware of His presence and 2) believe that all good things are due to His presence and not any other factor. The reason your favorite activities and people sometimes bring joy to your soul and other times do not is that those activities and people are not the source of joy (if they were real sources of joy they would always work—there would never be times when they fail to bring joy). When your favorite activity makes you happy, the joy comes only because God granted you an illustration of what His nearness is like through that activity. So every time you experience any pleasure or joy, use that as a memory cue to remind yourself, “This is what it is like to experience God’s presence.”

And whenever you experience any pain, frustration, boredom, or any other discomfort, let it remind you that the reason your soul is unhappy is that it is hungry and thirsty for the presence of God. In times like that it seems as though relief from your suffering is what you really desire, but the truth is mere relief is not enough to bring joy. Very often relief comes and the frustration or despair remains. However, when you experience the joy that comes from the presence of God you are happy even if the suffering persists. The worst torture ever invented, plus God’s presence, would be infinitely better than the best pleasure of this world minus His presence.

Think: Take a moment and imagine the kind of anger, frustration, or sorrow you are most likely to encounter today. Now imagine yourself turning to God at that moment, seeking an experience of His presence, and being so delighted by that experience that it generates a joy that is greater than your sorrow. Do you believe God’s presence has that property?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 24:5-6 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah

Write your own prayer

Attribute #1  Presence (part 3)

Meditation #3: God’s Presence is Better than Productivity

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, and this is what I seek: that I might dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

N

othing is more productive, more healthy, more profitable, more beneficial, more important, or more delightful than experiencing the presence of God. It does more good than a workout at the gym, or the doubling of your investments, or getting all your work done. You may not be able to afford a ten-day luxury cruise vacation, but you can do something that will be more refreshing and cause greater joy. You may not be able to earn millions of dollars, but you can do something more profitable. You may not be able to make it to that top rung on the ladder in your career, but you can obtain great favor with the King of kings. We serve a God whose mere presence is so delightful and profitable that fellowship with Him is guaranteed to deliver more of what our souls crave than anything else can deliver.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When God called you to become a Christian it was a call to enjoy fellowship with His Son (1 Cor.1:9). Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning and thinking, “I know I should probably spend some time alone with God, but I have so many things I need to get done today—I just don’t have time this morning for a long prayer time.” We have probably all reasoned that way at one time or another, but think for a minute about what that attitude reveals about the way we assess a profitable or unprofitable day. When we choose busyness over time alone with God, it is because we believe accomplishment of tasks is the measure of whether a day is profitable.

Which would make you feel better about your day—reaching bedtime with everything checked off your “to do” list, but without having had sweet fellowship with God, or a day of wonderful fellowship with God and some things still on your “to do” list?

The true measure of the profitability of a day is fellowship with God. The most productive day “getting things done” in which we have not enjoyed fellowship with God is absolutely worthless! The work we accomplish on those days is the accomplishment of putting distance between us and God—nothing else.

Draw near to God today and He will draw near to you (Jas.4:8). Be aware of His nearness and enjoy it. And seek to have God enjoy your presence. That may sound almost blasphemous at first, yet Scripture is clear that God delights in fellowship with anyone who calls upon Him and who looks to Him as Provider, Rescuer, Savior, Caretaker, Lifegiver, Sustainer, Encourager—your very food and drink.

One may wonder, If experiencing the presence of God is so much better than productivity—why not spend all day every day in devotions? It would be wrong to spend all day in devotions because one of the ways we experience God’s presence is in working by His side and carrying out His will. So productivity in serving His people is an important aspect of fellowship with God. However, productivity is not automatically fellowship with Him. It does not bring us closer to His presence unless it is a time of conscious, intentional enjoyment of Him; and that is not likely to be the case unless we have spent some intensive time at the beginning of the day seeking His face, and putting some wonderful truth about Him in the front of our minds to meditate upon throughout the work day. The goal is for the fires of love to burn throughout the day, but it takes a special effort at the beginning of the day to start that fire. Consciously enjoying fellowship with God while you work during the day is difficult, because the concentration required by your work distracts you from thoughts about God. So if you cannot enjoy sweetness of communion with the Lord in the seclusion of your prayer closet in the morning, you certainly will not be able to during the distractions of your work day.

Lord, save me from “productivity” that keeps me from fellowship with You! Help Your servant today, Father, to gaze upon Your goodness, loveliness, and beauty. Help me interpret the tipping of my heart away from You not as a small misstep but as a serious relational slap against You, and as a damaging application of mud to my eyes, making the vision of Your glory so much harder; and as a further encrusting of my heart so that I am that much less able to be touched and moved emotionally by Your glory. Let me dwell in Your house today and gaze upon You.

Teach me how to do this while I am doing other things, Father. Help Your servant develop a constant recoil so that at every moment the tension of having to attend to something else lets go, my heart is spring-loaded to immediately turn back toward the contemplation and enjoyment of You. Let me see Your glory in Your Word. Open my heart that I might see wonderful things in Your Law. Incline Your servant’s heart to be responsive to it—and to love it.

Let me enjoy nearness with You, dear Lord. You have called me into fellowship with Your Son. Move in the heart of Your servant to respond to that call. Let me enjoy fellowship with You, dear Lord Jesus, every moment. I go so long in between thoughts about You. Teach me to make all my actions all day long little acts of communion with You.

Think: What kinds of things does your heart prefer over spending time alone with God? What would it take to convince your soul that fellowship with God would bring more joy than those things?

Promise to trust today:

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Psalm 63:3 Your love is better than life.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #1  Presence (part 4)

Meditation #4: Lovely Enough to Evoke Longing and Fainting

Psalm 84:1-2 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he longing of the psalmist seems almost incredible. For most of us it is a huge victory to desire prayer at all. And if our time with the Lord were our favorite time of the day we would count it an especially significant victory. But to desire the presence of God so strongly that when you wake up and as you are getting dressed your soul is yearning and even fainting in anticipation—imagine! It takes a great joy to get your soul to yearn for something; a greater joy still for it to faint. Greater still to cause such longing that your flesh and soul and whole being cry out in desire and shout for joy when the desire is fulfilled.

What caused the psalmist to become so hungry and thirsty for God? Had he neglected spending time with the Lord? Probably not. When we go without being in God’s presence, our desire and longing diminish rather than increase. More likely he had such longing because he had experienced especially profound fellowship with God and desired more.

Imagine what it was like for the psalmist to enter into the courts he speaks of here. The Tabernacle at that time was a tent—walls of skins or fabric, dirt floor, poor lighting, the same old furniture and utensils arranged in exactly the same way they had been since he was a kid. Apart from God’s glory it must have been about as boring a place as there could be. So for the psalmist to have this kind of desire, the experiences he had had in there with God must have been something beyond anything most of us have ever known.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

What depths of joy are available to us every day that go unclaimed, like a lost lottery ticket. Most of us, even if we do enjoy our time with the Lord, do not mind postponing it to read the news or open a package that just came to the door. How weak and sickly is our enjoyment of God!

Father, I want what the psalmists had. Please, give me that gripping, controlling, dominating, passionate, insistent, incessant NEED to be in Your presence and to see Your glory. Bring me to the point where my heart and my flesh just cry out for You, the living God; the Lord of hosts.

Lord, I believe Your presence is that wonderful. If I were to taste it over the next hour I would long and pine for You, and my whole being would be consumed with desire. But I cannot taste of it unless You awaken the heart of Your servant. Lord, please, make me hungry. Make me pine for Your presence. Replace the sluggish apathy in my life with passionate desire and longing. Only Your Spirit can do that, dear Lord. I cannot generate it. I want it. Only You can give it. Lord, You are with me now right in this room. You are attending to the prayer of Your servant. Listen to this request, dear Lord. Please, grant me this. Teach me what I need to know, and do whatever work You must do in me to bring this about—please, dear Father!

Think: Have you had experiences in your daily time with God that cause your soul to yearn for His presence? What if you remained in prayer today and did not stop seeking Him until you did have such an experience?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #1  Presence (part 5)

Meditation #5: God’s Visible Presence is the Greatest Hope

Philippians 3:20 Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:13 We wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

James 5:7-8 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

H

is presence is so glorious that seeing Him in person is the greatest hope there is. It is the central focus of Christian life. We look forward to that with more eager expectation than any other event, because nothing else could possibly produce as much joy.

His invisible presence is the greatest experience in this life. It is the source of all the grace we receive, and calls for great joy.

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So yes, there is joy that comes from His invisible presence. But in that very same context Peter is clear that the joy of His visible presence will be far greater.

1 Peter 1:3-6 In his great mercy he has given us new birth …4 into an inheritance … kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice.

It is the final culmination of our salvation at the Second Coming that is the object of our hope. Peter goes on to say that we even rejoice in our trials and suffering because of the benefit they will bring us on the day that Jesus Christ is revealed (verse 7).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the hope of the visible appearance of Christ today?

Experiencing this attribute:

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore … set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Experience this attribute by obeying the command of verse 13. Set your hope fully on the Second Coming.

But how can we put our hope fully on the Second Coming and also place hope in the promises God has made in this life here and now? God has promised to provide for our temporal needs (Mt.6:25-34), to comfort and shepherd us in the valley of the shadow of death (Ps.23:4), to satisfy and delight our souls (Ps.63:5, Isa.55:2), to guide us (Ps.139:10), to protect us (Ps.32:7-8), to show us fatherly compassion (Ps.103:13), to listen to our cries (Ps.10:17), and to bless us with His presence in general (Mt.28:20). If God did not want us to place hope in those promises He would not have revealed them to us. So how can we hope in temporal blessings and yet still set our hope fully on the Second Coming?

Evidently, our hope in temporal blessings must be part of our hope in the Second Coming. Take delight in God’s protection, provision, compassion, guidance, etc., because of the fact that those things are foretastes of what will happen when Jesus returns. The samples of grace we receive in this life are wonderful inasmuch as they point to the fullness of grace that we will receive on that Day. In this life they are temporary and partial. God provides guidance, but also allows lostness. He provides protection but also allows suffering. He satisfies and delights our souls but not in a permanent or absolute way (we still groan as we wait for final redemption). The samples of blessing in this life are enough to fill our hearts with joy, but only because they point to a much greater reality.

So when God comes to you in a time of sweet communion in your devotions, and your heart is flooded with a sense of deep, profound peace; enjoy that peace as a sample of thousand-fold peace you will experience on that Day when He returns. When He grants you a measure of joy, or feeling of confidence, or sensation of having been forgiven; enjoy all of those as illustrations of the infinitely greater measure in which you will experience those blessings when He appears.

Think: Think of a few of the blessings you will probably receive from God today. Take a moment to consider how they are foretastes of the Second Coming, so that when you enjoy them today that enjoyment will be a conscious act of hoping in and eagerly anticipating the Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Promise to trust today:

Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God

Meditation #6: Delightful to the Human Soul

V

ery frequently God compares Himself to food (bread, a feast, etc.). Part of God’s nature is that He is a delight to the human soul. When His grace is tasted, it is sweet. When His glory is seen, it is beautiful.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Notice that the verse does not say, “Taste and see if the LORD is good.” It says “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” Usually taste is a matter of preference. When a person tastes a new food for the first time, he may or may not like it. But the experience of the presence of God is not like that. It is good. It is pleasing to the soul. The goodness of God to the human soul is a fact—a property of God’s nature.

This means there is no chance a human being could experience the presence of God and not be delighted. Your favorite food may or may not delight you in a given moment of time. Your favorite pastime may or may not seem good. Your favorite person may or may not make you happy. Neither anything nor anyone can guarantee that if you taste, you will find it/him to be good—no one, that is, but God.

Lord, You are so supremely good. The water from Your spring is so utterly sweet, pleasing, gratifying, and enjoyable; so superior to anything in this world. Let me reserve all my tasting for You. Teach me to never put anything else in my mouth.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s food-likeness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Seek to make your life a life of tasting. If you are going to convince your soul to give up what it will have to give up in order to seek hard after God, you are going to have to be able to make a plausible argument to your soul about the benefits. If your efforts to seek after God in the past have not been satisfying to your soul, then when you try to persuade yourself to spend time in the Word and in prayer your soul will say, “That was not satisfying yesterday, what makes you think it will be today?” Tasting of the goodness of God gives you the ability to make a plausible argument: “Remember when the presence of God was so sweet and encouraging and satisfying—don’t you want that again?”

So often we fall into knowing about God’s goodness without tasting it. A taste is something that cannot be known any other way than by the actual experience of tasting. No amount of information can replace the experience. Learning facts about God’s attributes without having delightful, satisfying experiences of them will not be enough to generate love for God in the heart any more than studying the properties of food will satisfy a hungry stomach. Knowing without tasting it is not enough.

Sometimes we experience the kindness of God like a person wolfing down a plate of food without even tasting it just to get some calories in his body or to get the meal over with so he can rush out the door. God expresses and illustrates His goodness through all the pleasures of life, and so often we wolf them down in such an idolatrous frenzy that we barely taste God’s goodness through those pleasures. We use His gifts but pay no attention to Him. Seeing a spectacular sunset, enjoying a time of special closeness in your spouse’s arms, getting some wonderful news in the mail—each of the pleasures of life, if enjoyed without conscious awareness of the goodness of God being expressed through those things, does very little to build one’s love for God.

Other times we cannot taste God’s goodness because our mouths are full of the (poisoned) junk food of sin. You can only taste one thing at a time. In fact, usually it takes some time after expelling those other things before the palate is clean enough to really taste God’s goodness.

Taste and see that the Lord is good! Experience all the pleasures of life as tastes. Do not be like Sampson’s lion—a storehouse and dispenser of sweet honey, but without having tasted it yourself. If you fall into that you will become as dead and powerless as that lion.

Lord, let me despise sin and the distractions of this world because they prevent me from tasting Your goodness. As much as possible—more than yesterday—let every good thing I encounter today remind me of my duty and joyful privilege of tasting Your goodness.

Think: God’s goodness is showering you in a deluge—an absolute downpour—every second of the day including your most painful, difficult moment. It is raining down on you. Are you tasting it?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.

Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 2)

Meditation #7: Satisfying to the Human Soul

J

ust as the body has appetites, so does the soul—appetites for love, joy, delight, awe, security, rest, meaning, etc. Part of God’s nature is that His presence satisfies the appetites of the human soul. His grace and favor are not only sweet when tasted, but also satisfying. God’s presence is to the human soul as water is to the thirsty mouth and good food is to the hungry stomach and rest is to the tired body.

Scripture uses various metaphors to describe God’s attributes in ways we can understand—He is a rock, a mother bird, a fortress, a shelter, a father, a mother, a friend, a king, a warrior, a sun… but one metaphor that is particularly wonderful and prominent is that God is a feast. In Psalm 36 He is the storehouse of food and river of delights that satisfies both high and low among men. In Isaiah 58 He is the feast that satisfies those who call His holy day a delight instead of doing as they please. In John 6 He is the real bread and real drink that satisfies the souls of all who come to Him. In Isaiah 55 He is the milk, wine, and bread offered for free that satisfies so much more than the bread that is not bread. In Proverbs 9 He is wisdom’s banquet that is so superior to folly’s banquet. In Psalm 63 He is the richest of foods that thrills the soul of David. In Jeremiah 2 He is the spring of living water that satisfies so much more than the broken cisterns, and that never fails (Jeremiah 15) and that supplies our roots and makes us flourish (Psalm 1) and that David longed for like a thirsty deer (Psalms 42, 63, and 143). In Psalm 34 He is the delicacy that our souls will crave if we just taste and see.

Psalm 103:5 [He] satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

This is God’s nature. Just as eternality or omniscience are attributes that describe essential aspects of His very being, so is this: that He satisfies the human soul. We often think of God as simply offering good things and commanding good things, and we forget that He also promises to satisfy us with those good things. If we truly encounter Him in a given moment, it is guaranteed that we will go away satisfied. If a person leaves his prayer closet unsatisfied, he has not communed with God.

People in the world often find themselves with no access, in a given moment, to anything that will be satisfying to their soul. What an amazing thing it is to have access to something that, unlike even the greatest pleasure in this world, is guaranteed to always satisfy when it is experienced! What joy is ours to be children of such a God!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as Satisfier of the soul today?

Experiencing this attribute:

If a person goes to a buffet and walks out starving then clearly he did not do what one is supposed to do at a buffet. How long should a person stay at a buffet? Until he is full. How long should a person pray? Until his soul has been satisfied by God. Before getting up from your knees consider, Is my soul satisfied? Or am I about to leave the buffet hungry?

We are prone to turn the pursuit of God into a mechanized process. A thirty-minute workout each day will eventually produce results. An hour a day practicing an instrument or sport will result in progress. Eight hours of good sleep and a person is rested. Put in the time and you automatically get guaranteed results. But love relationships are not like that. It is possible to spend time on a regular basis with your spouse and still grow apart. And it is possible to spend an hour every day on your knees saying things to God without actually communing with Him or experiencing His favorable presence. There is much more to seeking God than “doing time”—putting in your daily twenty minutes. Being present at a buffet is not the same thing as eating. And running through a prayer list is not the same as enjoying a Person. Our goal should be to experience the attributes of God in such a way that we take delight in them, thus increasing our affection for Him.

We all know what it is to have emptiness in our soul—an inexplicable restlessness, longing, discontent, unhappiness, unease—to want something and not know what it is we want, or to think we know it but to be unable to have what we want—to feel we are going nowhere, that our work is meaningless, that we are spinning our wheels. We know how it feels to lack satisfaction of soul. And we also know what it means to have joy—to be encouraged and happy and energetic; to be motivated and full of hope, such that even trials and suffering barely bother us. And when we have the latter and not the former, it is the direct action of God on our souls. When the thirsty deer drinks, he is never more distracted from the world around him.

Lord, teach me to do whatever it takes to experience Your presence to the point of satisfaction of my soul’s longings—so that I walk out of the buffet with no interest at all in the gas station snacks (worldly pleasures) that are so enticing when I am hungry, but repulsive when I am full (and that ruin my appetite for the buffet).

Father, remind me of this principle whenever something fails to satisfy. When I drink something that does not really hit the spot, or have a lunch that leaves me wanting something else, or wake up from a night’s sleep tired and wanting to stay in bed—let that serve as a memory cue to cause me to delight in the fact that You not only give good things, You satisfy me with them.

And when I am satisfied—when something does hit the spot, let that remind me that that pleasure is a sample designed to point me to its Source—a God who is the kind of Being who satisfies. Help me remember that it hits the spot and satisfies, not because of that thing but because at that moment You decided to give me satisfaction through that thing. When I have joy and fullness instead of dissatisfaction and emptiness of soul, I know it is from You, dear Lord. Glorify Yourself by satisfying Your servant.

Teach me, dear Lord, that no matter what difficulties happen today I will be happy and satisfied if I reach this evening having drunk living water from being in Your presence all day. But no matter what blessings happen today I will have completely wasted the day if I have not spent it either enjoying Your presence or seeking it.

Think: How often do you leave the buffet hungry? Is that going to happen today?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 63:2-5 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 3)

Meditation #8: Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Thirst)

God is to the soul as water is to a thirsty mouth, or to the health of a tree.

Psalm 63:1 A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hirst is as powerful a drive as there is. A man dying of thirst would trade anything for a drink of water. Water sustains our life and it does so in a refreshing, pleasurable, satisfying way. God compares Himself to water because He wants to show us that the satisfying and life-sustaining properties of water are pictures of what His presence is like.

His presence is the source of all we need. He is the supplier of life, vitality, strength, and hope. Eating food takes some time to have its effect. But water eliminates thirst the instant it makes contact with the mouth. His presence is water to the thirsty soul in that just as the mere contact of water with the inside of the mouth brings instant relief, so the mere contact of God’s presence with your soul brings refreshment, comfort and satisfaction.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s water-likeness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When our desire for God is small, and we have little desire to pray or spend time in the Word, there are at least two reasons. Small desire for God is caused by:

1) Lack of thirst in our souls for Him, or

2) Lack of belief that His presence will really satisfy the thirst in our souls.

The goal, then, is to increase both thirst and faith.

Increasing Thirst

Water is not very pleasant to drink when you are not thirsty. But the thirstier you are, the more you drink and the more you enjoy drinking. One way to increase your thirst for God is by simply interpreting the pangs of thirst in your soul for what they really are. Since the presence of God supplies the soul with peace, joy, contentment, rest, strength, wisdom, confidence, courage, zeal, etc.; the lack of those things is thirst in the soul for God. When you lack joy or strength or any of the other benefits of God’s presence, that is what it feels like to be thirsty for the presence of God. Depression is thirst for the presence of God. So are sorrow, boredom, discontent, fear, and anxiety. They are the feelings of a dried-up soul. The problem is we so often misinterpret them as thirsts for something else. When we lack joy we think we are thirsty for a friend or a movie or a video game. When we lack strength or zeal or motivation we think we are thirsty for a vacation or a cup of coffee. When we lack courage we think we are thirsty for the encouragement of some person or certain circumstances.

It is a deadly malady to misinterpret thirst. If every time your body needed water your mouth started craving sawdust, you would soon die. Learn to interpret all of the pain of life as thirst for the presence of God. Since the key to desiring God more is greater thirst, and since there is plenty of pain in life, turning all of life’s pain into thirst for God will be enormously effective!

All of life is made up of pleasure and pain. The more we interpret all life’s pleasures as samples of what God’s presence is like, and all of life’s pains as pangs of thirst for His presence, the more all of life will be either an enjoying of God or a desiring of and seeking after God.

One of the most acute kinds of pain is the pain of unfulfilled longing—longing to be happily married, longing to be thin, longing to be healthy, longing to be able to indulge in some sin, longing to be respected or rich or well-known or secure or beautiful. The pain of unfulfilled desire can be excruciating—especially when it is a forbidden desire, because there is no hope of having it satisfied. Must we simply resign ourselves to living with that pain? No! Every time the pain of unfulfilled longing strikes, use it as an occasion to teach something to your soul: “Soul, there is something better—more enjoyable and more fulfilling—than the thing you think will bring so much satisfaction. And this other thing (nearness to the presence of God) is available!” The enemy will try to tell you that you are missing out on something. He is lying. If you experience the nearness of God’s presence, your soul will be so utterly satisfied that there will be no sense of having missed out on anything. You will feel the way you feel when you sit down at a feast, glad that you did not chose to stop on the way at a gas station and ruin your appetite with some junk food snack. As you indulge in the feast there is no sense of having missed out at all when you think about the junk food.

The fact that God so often compares Himself to water alerts us to the fact that He wants our enjoyment of physical water to teach us about Him. Turn every refreshing drink of water into a memory cue for this principle. Remind yourself that no matter what difficulties happen in a day, you will be happy and satisfied if you have indulged in living water by being in God’s presence that day. But no matter what pleasant things happen in a day your soul will dry up if you have not spent it either enjoying or seeking God’s presence.

David said not only did his soul thirst for God but so did his body. God made us whole, unified entities. Your body is part of you. So if you would long for God your body must be part of that longing. Learn to interpret the physical longings of your body as part of your longing for the presence of God.

Think: What is God doing in your life right now to help you increase your thirst for Him?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 4)

Meditation #9: Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Faith )

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s water-likeness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

S

mall desire for God is caused by

1. Lack of thirst in our souls for Him, or

2. Lack of belief that His presence will really satisfy the thirst in our souls.

The goal, then, is to increase both thirst and faith.

Increasing Faith

Becoming convinced that the pain in your life is thirst for the presence of God will not, by itself, be enough to drive you to seek hard after God or to desire prayer and Scripture more. The soul must also be fully convinced that the presence of God will actually quench that thirst.

When you are desperately thirsty, you desire a drink and nothing else. Never do you ask, “What kind of desire should I have to address this particular discomfort?” The pain of a dry mouth and the desire for a drink are one and the same. You have so identified that feeling of discomfort (a dry mouth) with the fact that water will alleviate that suffering, that the discomfort itself is interpreted by your brain as a longing for water. You have so much faith in the power of water to quench thirst, that the pain of the longing is exactly the same thing as desire for water.

The goal, then, is to have that same kind of faith in the presence of God, so that the pain and discomfort of the soul is exactly the same thing as desire for the presence of God. We should never wonder what the solution to some discomfort in our souls might be.

This is difficult, because all of us have had plenty of times when we have spent time in prayer and Scripture and have come away with the longings of our souls unsatisfied. If you try to tell your soul that your fear or restlessness or anxiety or depression will dissolve if you experience the presence of God, your soul may answer, “It didn’t work the last ten times you prayed or read your Bible; why should I believe it will happen this time?”

The answer is this: The reason it did not happen the last ten times is that the last ten times you had your devotions you did not experience the presence of God in great enough measure to satisfy the thirsts of your soul. The mere act of saying words to God in prayer or looking at the words on the pages of your Bible does not guarantee the experience of the presence of God. But it is important to understand that when one does experience His presence, that experience is absolutely guaranteed to satisfy the thirst of the soul; because the water-likeness of God is one of His attributes. It is just as impossible for a thirsty soul to be unsatisfied by the experience of the presence of God as it is for God to sin. It would contradict His very nature.

When a baby starts crying for hunger, he may be distracted for a few seconds with his favorite toys, but not very many seconds. He may not even know that what he wants is milk. All he knows is he does not feel good, and his toys do not help, being held does not help—nothing but milk helps. But when he gets milk he is the picture of contentment.

Desperate thirst is so intense—more intense than the desire for any luxury. When you long for some wonderful possession or circumstance, you can put it off for a while—even forget about it most moments in the day. But thirst is different. A man dying of thirst in the desert is driven to find water. He cannot put it out of his mind even for a moment, and he will do anything to get a drink. That is how David described his thirst for God (Ps.63:1).

O Lord, that I may long for Your presence like that! I do thirst for You, but not with anything close to that level of intensity. My desire to come into Your presence in my morning prayer time is not even a fraction of the strength of a dying man’s craving for water. O Satisfier of my soul, I appear before You now hanging my head because of the lack of intensity of my desire for Your presence.

How often I am like a crying, hungry baby seeking after every toy in the house to make me feel better. Lord, give Your servant a longing not for Your gifts but for You.

Lord, having a small thirst for You is a disaster. It is a horrible, horrible fate. Please do not leave me here. Re-energize my passion to see You and know You, Lord. If it takes stinging pain and crippling trials so be it. I would much rather be racked with pain and driven to You than to be stalled at this distance from You where I will soon crust over and die.

David had the misery of the desert, the pain of Absalom’s rebellion, and the desperation of fleeing for his life to help him see his need for You. I am in every bit as desperate straits, Lord, but because of the comforts You have given me I do not feel desperate. Make me remember past times of desperation, Lord, that I might remember my need for You.

Jeremiah 2:13 My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Dear God, make me thirsty. There is already plenty of thirst—plenty of lacking and longing. It is just that I seem to have crossed the wires in my soul so that my thirst for You gets interpreted as thirst for Your gifts instead. I think I want physical pleasure, or companionship, or encouragement and sympathy from people, or sleep, or a quiet house, or meaningful work. But those things are not really what my soul longs for. They will not fill the void. My idolatrous flesh wants to imagine they will and then seeks after them as though they were living water, but they are dry cisterns and bread that is not really bread. Why do I spend my labor on what will not satisfy? Teach me to listen to You and eat what is good that my soul may delight in the richest of fare!

Think: Do you really believe the presence of God alone would be enough to satisfy all the unfulfilled longings you have in your soul right now?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 5)

Meditation #10: The Water-Likeness of God

Psalm 104:10-13 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

o many wonderful things happen from the simple showering down of rain on the earth. God sends water and the whole creation comes alive. Birds sing, brown turns green, the dead comes to life, man and beast alike are satisfied, happy, strengthened, and sustained. Water is such a wonderful picture of God’s presence. His grace is to our lives like rain is to the earth. His face turns the brown of the landscape green, brings life from death, and causes sweet melodies to spring forth. Man’s spirit responds to His presence just like the earth responds to water.

I need water this morning, dear Lord. The lavish supply from yesterday has already mostly run off. Most of it did not even seep in, because the crusted shell of my heart is so untrained to receive Your grace. So now I need more, Lord. Please, have mercy on me. Show me Your kindness for Your own glory. Keep showering down Your grace to finally soften the ground of my heart, that it might penetrate and be received and turn the brown green and bring life and singing and satisfaction and joy.

Thank You, Lord, that You are like water to me! Thank You that I can know a God who is like this! Oh, the blessedness of a man who knows a God who is like water! Please, dear Lord, let me never take for granted the wonder of having access to such a delight. May I not be outdone by the birds. May my heart offer You a far greater song, as one who has been redeemed, and who can understand so much more of Your glory.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s water-likeness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you see God’s watering of the earth, or the earth’s response, or hear the birds sing, let it remind you that God is like water to your soul. And when you see the valleys through which the rivers flow and where all the runoff goes, or a depression in the ground where the lakes form, let that illustrate the fact that the most grace flows to the lowest places.

Dear Lord God, make me a deep valley and a low depression in this world. Humble me, that I might disappear under the flow of Your grace.

You can tell that you have experienced the presence of God by the impact it has on your soul. After you have your devotions or time alone with God, ask yourself, “Did I actually experience the presence of God? Have I communed with Him? As a result of this time alone with Him is there a clear increase in…

Joy?

Peace?

Encouragement?

Strength?

Love?

Comfort?

Insight?

Trust?

Delight?

Confidence?

Assurance?

Courage?

Zeal/motivation?

Passion/drive?

Rest?

Security?

Desire?

Patience?

Fear of God?

Reverence?

Awe?

Refreshment?

Satisfaction?

Fulfillment?

Amazement?

Dependence?

Hope?

Those are the effects of God’s presence on the human soul. Not every experience with God’s presence results in all of those things, but where one is lacking, the remedy is greater communion with God.

Father, I bless Your name for the communion I have enjoyed this hour! Thank You, dear Lord, for these gifts I could get no other way. Thank You for all those in the list for which the answer was, “Yes, I received that from my time with God this morning!” But Lord, I still want more. I need the ones for which the answer was, “No, I did not experience that this time.” Peel back the scales from my eyes that I might see more clearly and rejoice more fully.

Think: Circle the benefits from the list that you have experienced some of in your prayer time today. Underline the ones you hardly ever seem to experience, and begin seeking hard after God for those.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 1:2-3 …his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Jeremiah 31:12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD—the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 6)

Meditation #11: The Only Satisfier of the Soul

G

od is not only a source of satisfaction of the appetites of the soul; He is the only source. Nothing else can satisfy, which means whenever we have any sense of satisfaction at all, we have had an experience of this attribute of God. One day a person can go boating and come to the end of the day with a great deal of satisfaction. Another day he can go out on the same lake and be utterly unsatisfied. The fact that sometimes our favorite activities or favorite people satisfy, and other times they do not satisfy shows that the satisfaction is not a function of those things. They are only means through which God sometimes delivers His satisfying grace (and other times does not). It is idolatry to think of anything or anyone other than God as a source of satisfaction. Only God satisfies the human soul.

Psalm 62:1-6 My soul finds rest in God alone … 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation … 5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation.

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 28 For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.[5]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

All satisfaction of soul is an experience of the presence of God. If His presence were removed completely there would be zero joy. That is what hell is. So every time you experience any pleasure that is not forbidden in Scripture, increase your delight in God by saying to your soul, “See, this is a sample of what it is like to be in God’s presence.”

The soul is the seat of the appetites. In fact, the Hebrew word for soul is sometimes translated appetite.[6] Your soul is the part of you that has desires. So to love the Lord your God with all your soul means He must be the final object of all your desires. If there were any other source of joy besides God, loving God with all your soul would be impossible because part of your affections would gravitate toward the other sources of joy.

When Asaph said, “There is nothing on earth I desire besides you” did that mean he didn’t want a drink of water when he was thirsty, or a good night’s sleep when he was tired? No. He did desire other things (just read the rest of Psalm 73), but his desire for all earthly pleasures was ultimately a desire for the presence of God because he knew that those things bring joy only when God grants an experience of His presence through them. Those things in and of themselves are not the source of any joy.

What wonderful news this is! It means something that is better, more beautiful, more satisfying, more thrilling than anything in this world—the source of all joy—is available to us all the time! At any moment of any day, even in the midst of horrible suffering, we can have access to that which is the only source of satisfaction of soul (Ps.139:7-12).

Lord, when I move through Your creation today, let me see it for what it is. Let me see much of You in the physical emblems You have created—let me see Your power and wisdom and goodness wherever I look. But Father, at the same time let me also realize, whenever I see any wonderful thing You have created, how utterly incapable that thing is (even at its best) of satisfying my soul. Let me see much of You reflected in those things, but let me see nothing but emptiness in them alone. Father, if I am struck with how beautiful some woman is, or how tasty some food is, or how good some air conditioning feels, or how comfortable some chair is, or how fun some vacation would be, or how fulfilling some ministry would be—let my first, knee-jerk thought always be, “O Lord, how utterly incapable that thing is to satisfy me; and how fully capable Your love is to satisfy me—teach me to prefer You.” Lord, let that become a habit, so I say it a hundred times a day. Help me to train my soul to see much of You reflected, but nothing inherently satisfying, in the creation.

Think: Is there some joy or satisfaction of soul that you have tended to attribute to some earthly pleasure rather than realizing it was from the presence of God?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 63:5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 7)

Meditation #12:  Our Appetite for Goodness

Psalm 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 28 For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the only Source of satisfaction today?

Experiencing this attribute:

T

hose who are not near God will perish. Apart from the grace of His favorable presence there is nothing to sustain life. And He punishes all who commit adultery against Him—all who imagine they have someone else in heaven or who desire something on earth besides Him. But for those who know Him, His nearness is their only good (Ps.16:2). It is their supreme good. It is the only thing they desire and it is all they desire. Their souls find rest nowhere else, so they ask God for one thing only—nearness to Him. The goal for the believer is to become a one-desire person. We glorify God when we prefer Him above every other delight. Defeating sin and letting go of the world is not mainly a matter of resisting; it is mainly a matter of preferring.

Lord, that is the resolve of my heart, but I fear it is not the reality of my life. So many times a day I commit adultery against You by desiring something besides You—even preferring things You have forbidden above Your glorious presence. O Lord, make my heart faithful and true to You. Fill Your servant’s heart with love for You that is compelling and that distracts me from this world.

The word translated good (Hebrew: TOV) in Psalm 73:28 includes, among other things, beauty. The nearness of God is our beauty. The human soul has an appetite for beauty—we want to see spectacular sights. That desire comes from a deep-seated, God-given craving for splendor. I have almost driven off the road watching amazing sunsets. People pay money to go to spectacular places or to purchase lovely pictures. A man loves to gaze upon the beauty of his wife, and is tempted by the beauty of other women. We spend a great deal of time cleaning, arranging, and decorating the space around us and our own bodies. We have a massive appetite for beauty. And God’s nearness is all that is needed to completely satisfy that appetite. He is all the beauty we need. If the eyes of our hearts were just pried open a little bit so we could behold His power and glory as David did in Psalm 63:2, the entire appetite of our soul would be utterly and completely satisfied—as with the richest of foods. He is the source of all the illustrations of beauty we see around us in this beautiful world. No beauty derives from any other source—it all comes from the beauty of God. To the degree we are conscious of this truth, then, all our enjoyment of earthly beauties can actually be enjoyment of God. (If we are not consciously aware that He is the only source of beauty, however, earthly beauties become idols as we imagine them to be the source of their own beauty and we enjoy them without reference to God.)

And there is more to TOV than just beauty. It also speaks of goodness in general—excellence, order, structure, usefulness—that which is beneficial. God’s nearness is our supply of benefits. It is all that the world imagines “good luck” to be. It is so much better than good luck. It brings blessing into your life, but not the meaningless blessing of some abstract concept like luck. What good is money or goods or health in themselves? None. Apart from God’s presence they are not capable of lifting you out of despair. They are only truly good if they are gestures of a personal God who grants them as acts of love for you. Whenever you desire some benefit—money, food, circumstances, relational favor, health—let that desire remind you that those things are not your TOV. God’s nearness is your only TOV.

God is so good that all that is required for your highest wellbeing is that He merely be close to you. What insanity it is to provoke Him to turn His face from us—when we walk down paths that lead away from His presence toward destruction and no TOV at all. What utter insanity!

Father, whenever I start stepping down a path like that, remind me that on that road there is no TOV in front of me—only behind me; and let that move me to turn around and seek You alone.

Think: Look ahead a ways on the path you have been taking. Are you headed toward or away from God’s TOV?

Promise to trust today:

Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good (TOV) to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 8)

Meditation #13: Unfulfilled Desire

Psalm 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 28 For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the only Source of satisfaction today?

Experiencing this attribute when you

desire something you do not have

W

henever we find ourselves longing for some earthly thing it is important to remember that the reason we long for that thing is we believe it will satisfy some appetite of our soul. And one of the glorious benefits of being a child of God is the realization that God is capable of satisfying that appetite with or without the earthly thing we so desire. If a woman strongly desires to be married, she can take comfort in the fact that all the appetites of her soul that she hopes marriage will satisfy (companionship, security, love, intimacy, pleasure, joy, etc.) can be satisfied by the presence of God even while she is single. Since this is true, there is never a time when we need to lose heart or despair or fret because of some unfulfilled desire.

Increase your desire for and delight in God by turning all desires into desire for Him. When you want a spouse, or you want the spouse you have to change, or any other desire; remind yourself, what I really desire is the satisfaction of a certain appetite of my soul; and God can fully satisfy that appetite with or without using another human being or circumstance. Oh how freeing this is! And oh how it will draw our hearts toward God as the object of all our desires.

Experiencing this attribute when you

enjoy something you do have

In the same way, any time we have something we wanted and we are enjoying it; we must realize that the enjoyment is coming not from that thing or person but from the presence of God. If we fail to remember that we will turn that thing into an idol and imagine it to be the source of the enjoyment. But if we do remember that all the enjoyment is from God then all of the delight we take in any earthly pleasure will train our souls to long for the presence of God all the more.

Thank You, Father, for being a God who is an infinite, satisfying treasure. No one genuinely and earnestly pursues You and ends in increasing sorrow.

Lord, I live too little on the sustenance of Your provision. I live too little on the source of real satisfaction. And I live too much on that which is not bread and which does not satisfy. But even in the midst of my folly I can praise Your name all day long because of how many times You have given me that satisfaction of soul. Thank You, dear Lord!

Father, I desire that satisfaction from You more than I desire the pleasures of life. That is my resolve at this moment. I forget it a hundred times a day, but when I am in my right mind, I want nothing other than You. Help my unbelief. I know You are my only good; help that belief weave into the fabric of my very being more and more every passing day. You offer satisfaction and You are glorified simply in my desiring satisfaction from You and pursuing it from You. So Lord, give it to me. Glorify Yourself by satisfying Your servant.

Think: What is your deepest unfulfilled desire right now, and how can you use it to train your soul to thirst for the presence of God? When you are unhappy or bored with what is happening on the outside, turn to the Fountain inside and drink deeply from His river of delights.

And what is the most delightful fulfilled desire you have right now, and how can you use that today to train your heart to delight in the presence of God?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 103:5 He satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 9)

Meditation #14: Loving the World

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the boasting of this life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

J

ohn makes it very clear that desire is at the core of love. He forbids love for the world and then immediately goes on to speak of desires for this world. Desire for the world is the opposite of love for God, which means at the core of love is desire. We are forbidden to love anything in the world, because everything in the world comes from the world rather than from God. The only desires we are permitted to have, then, are desires for God.

The reason for this prohibition is that the world is passing away but the one whose desire is the will of God lives forever. You share the fate of what you love. Desire in your heart attaches you to the object of your desire so you go where it goes. It is a gracious kindness, then, for the Lord to instruct us to desire Him alone. In doing so we rescue ourselves from the disaster of sharing the world’s fate and we propel ourselves into eternal joy in God.

Worldliness is not first a matter of actions or practices. Worldliness takes place in the heart. It is a matter of desire/love. A man who has never been drunk, never gambled, never engaged in any impure sexual behavior of any kind, and who has very little wealth may still be quite worldly—if in his heart he thinks of those things as being sources of joy. The pleasures of this world can be enjoyed by the Christian if they are enjoyed as an act of fellowship with God and received as gestures of God’s love and admired as emblems of God’s goodness; but if desire terminates on them as though they themselves were the source of joy—that is unfaithfulness to God.

God is the only worthy object of our desire. Nothing else should be desired because nothing else is inherently good. All of the goodness, beauty, loveliness, sweetness, or excellence of anything in existence is good, beautiful, lovely, sweet, or excellent only inasmuch as it resembles God. And the feelings of happiness and enjoyment from those things come only when God grants an experience of His delightfulness through those things (which is why sometimes our favorite things do not bring happiness at all).

Think of what a marvelous thing it is that God is worthy of desire. In order for an object or person to be worthy of desire, it or he must be capable of fulfilling that desire. God is worthy of all desire, and nothing else is worthy of any desire because nothing else has the innate capability to satisfy the appetites of the soul, and the presence of God always satisfies—no exceptions, ever.

One of the most unpleasant experiences in life is disappointment. When you get your hopes up for something and it ends up being cancelled or ruined somehow, it is more depressing than if the hope had never come up in the first place. The wonderful thing about God’s worthiness to be desired is that He never disappoints. He always satisfies. We never have to worry that an experience of the presence of God will turn out to be unsatisfying.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness to be desired today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The only way to experience this attribute is to eliminate love for the world from your heart. And desire for the world can only be eliminated by what Thomas Chalmers called “the expulsive power of a new affection.”[7] It is impossible to stop loving something or to stop desiring something by a mere act of the will. Desire can only be removed by displacement. Removing desire is like digging a hole in a body of water. With each shovel full removed, the surrounding water rushes right back in. But if you put some other object in that space, it displaces the water. Only love for God can displace love for the world.

Susanna Wesley understood this principle. She said, "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however, innocent it may be in itself."[8]

What does it look like to desire God alone? When you go on vacation, before you leave remind yourself that this vacation could be delightful or it could turn out to be miserable. It could satisfy the cravings of your soul or leave you depressed and empty. And the only factor that will determine whether it is one or the other is whether or not God enables you to experience the grace of His presence through the vacation. Think about every enjoyable experience that way. The more you learn to attribute the pleasure to the presence of God the more you will realize what an incredibly delightful thing the presence of God is.

Think: In what areas has love for the world crept into your heart?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God  (part 10)

Meditation #15: Satisfies with His Face (Presence)

Psalm 17:6-8,15 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. 7 Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings… 15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.[9]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he face of God stands in the center of this verse like a brilliant, glowing jewel. In the first half David speaks of his access (through righteousness), and his goal (to see). In the latter half he speaks of the result (satisfaction). It all revolves around God’s face/presence. All that matters in life are those things that either lead up to or result from being in God’s presence. That is all life is. What else is there? What pursuit is of any value at all if it does not lead you closer to God’s presence or result from the experience of being in His presence? If you thoroughly study and memorize every verse in the Bible, but it does not lead you into His presence, what good is it?

You have opened the mouth of Your servant, dear Lord, and placed real food in it, and I am satisfied. I am utterly satisfied with knowing You even if there is nothing else. If you took away my marriage and kids and home and family and friends and money—I would be satisfied sitting here with You.

The pleasures of the world give thrilling feelings, but never satisfaction. Apart from God’s presence, they just keep intensifying the lust more and more until Satan has achieved his goal, and then the anxiety-driven lust gives way to painful regret, emptiness, discouragement, and depression. Sin feels good, but it does not satisfy. When enslaved to inward passions for this world your mind and spirit become agitated, perplexed, and discontented. But in His presence you are at rest in wonderful peace.

15 …when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

What a wonderful condition! To wake up already satisfied—before having done anything! When you first open your eyes in the morning, realizing you are in the presence of God and being satisfied— any other good thing that happens that day is gravy!

And if that is true of literal sleep, surely the principle also applies to waking up out of a period of stupor in your life. We have periods of spiritual dullness and dryness, neglecting fellowship with God and loving God with weak affections. Only God can awaken a person from that, and when He does wake us up to the beautiful vision of His glory, we become satisfied with seeing His likeness.

And how much more does the principle apply to the resurrection! Oh, that glorious Day when God will appear in all His glorious majesty and we will see Him face to face with our physical eyes—unhindered by the limitations of our faith, and we will be like Him as we see Him as He is!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the face of God today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Seeing God by faith means perceiving and experiencing His attributes. This is exactly why these daily meditations have sections titled “What is wonderful about this attribute” and “Experiencing this attribute.” Use these meditations each day to rivet your attention on what God is like, meditate on the passages of Scripture, and pray fervently for Him to open your eyes to what is delightful about Him.

Lord, let the experience of seeing Your glory through faith now be so wonderful that it creates insatiable, eager longing for that Day when I will see You face to face.

Think: What could you do in your morning routine to make enjoyment of His presence your very first action each day?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 17:15 I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #3 The Filler of All Things

Meditation #16: The Source of all Enjoyment

Ephesians 1:23 [the church] is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

J

esus is called the one who fills everything in every way. The fullness of a thing is whatever good that thing has to offer. The fullness of a farm is the abundance of food it can supply. The fullness of a lake is its ability to satisfy thirst, to provide beauty, recreation, food, coolness, etc. Whatever good thing something has to offer, that is its fullness. And the fullness of all things comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.

God delivers His grace and the goodness of His presence to us in many ways, sometimes directly and sometimes through the fullness of earthly pleasures such as sleep, companionship, food, sex, etc. The joy we receive from those things does not really come from those things—it comes from the presence of God through those things.

If you have a lot of joy after a day of skiing, it is natural to assume it was the skiing that caused the joy. It was not. It was the favorable presence of God. That is why you can ski another day on the same slopes under the same conditions and walk away with no joy and with your soul unsatisfied. The same goes for all your favorite activities and people. None of them can guarantee joy and satisfaction because joy and satisfaction only come from God, and they come through earthly things only when God decides to grant closeness to His favorable presence through those things.

The psalmist calls God “the joy of my rejoicing.”[10] All rejoicing in life—whether it comes from a ski trip or an afternoon with your best friend or a worship service or a satisfying meal—the source of any joy that comes through those things, the author of all the fullness, is God. He is the joy of all our rejoicing.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

If the source of joy were people and earthly pleasures, we would not have access to joy much of the time. There are times when you cannot afford to go skiing, or your best friend is not available, or you do not have time to engage in your favorite activity. Furthermore, if earthly pleasures were the source of joy, then in those times when the earthly pleasures do not bring joy and leave you unsatisfied, there would be no hope for joy at all. What is wonderful about the fact that God is the source of all joy is 1) His presence is always available, and 2) there is never a time when it will not satisfy.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the source of enjoyment today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you experience any joy of any kind, remember that the source of that joy is the presence of God. That feeling of happiness is a sample of what His presence is like, and a more direct experience of His presence would result in a greater sensation of joy. Pleasure is designed to teach us how to delight in God. Learn to use all the pleasures of life to train your soul to crave His presence more.

The way into God’s presence is light and truth (Ps.43:3). You experience God’s presence only when your eyes are opened to what is so marvelous about some truth in Scripture. This requires diligent study, extended meditation, and earnest prayer. Unbelievers can understand the meaning of the words but they cannot cause their hearts to delight in that meaning. Figuring out the context and syntax of all the sentences, by itself, will not thrill your heart in God. The meaning communicated by those sentences must lead the reader to God’s dwelling place.

Father, teach me from Your Word, so I have a deep and rich enough understanding of Your goodness to be able to rejoice in it when I receive it through the fullness that You supply in created things.

Think: Recall a past delight and consider the fact that the joy came only from God. Imagine the exact same event without any joy at all and teach your soul that that is what it would have been like without the presence of God.

Promise to trust today:

Acts 14:17 He has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.

Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #3  The Filler of All Things (part 2)

Meditation #17: Not Dependent upon Earthly Means

I

f we think of joy as being like water and our soul’s craving for joy as being like thirst, the question becomes, “What is the water source?” It seems like the answer would be, “There are many sources—prosperity, fun with friends, good food, marriage, entertainment, recreation...” But in reality none of those are actually sources of joy, which is why sometimes they bring no joy at all. God is the only source of joy, and those things are all means God uses to deliver joy to our souls.

Earthly pleasures are not water to the soul—they are drinking straws. God is the water. A person who has never drunk directly from the glass, but has only received water through those straws, begins to think the sensation of the straw in the mouth is what will satisfy the cravings of thirst. Whichever straw is biggest is thought of as the greatest source of joy, and the thought of living life without that straw seems unbearable. Since our largest helpings of water have come from that straw, we think we could never be happy if that straw were taken away. But God wants us to understand that the straws are not what quench our thirst, so from time to time God will allow us to put the straw in our mouth without any water on the other end (you go on a vacation or spend time with a friend or eat a meal and you walk away unsatisfied and without joy in your heart).

God is pleased to give us the water of His grace through the straws of earthly pleasures because they make it easier to receive. However, when we slip into thinking that the straws are what satisfy (rather than the water they carry), then God may allow our straws to dry up, so we remember what truly satisfies.

Psalm 4:7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

In an agricultural society, grain and new wine abounding equals prosperity. For our culture it would be like saying, “You have filled me with greater joy than when they have money coming out of their ears.” Wealth can be a big, wide straw, but God can give you water with or without that straw because He is the water.

Psalm 63:3 Your love is better than life.

The water is better than the straw.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

In other words, “Even if you took all the straws away from me, if I could still have the water I would be fully satisfied.”

Isaiah 9:3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.

You have given them joy that is every bit as delightful as when they drink from all their favorite straws.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

People in the world have to live in constant fear that they might lose their favorite straws. On those days when all their straws have no water they have the hopeless despair that comes from longing and aching for joy that is out of reach. But the child of God always has access to the Spring. It is not easy access, and often finding it takes a long time (God wants to know if we will wait for Him or give up and turn to some alternative), but if we keep seeking, we will receive the water in soul-satisfying measures. We never have to live with the fear: “Perhaps joy is going to be unattainable.” Nor do we have to spend our energy guarding our straws. We are free from the anxiety of having to worry about our access to joy and from the worry that perhaps that access will be lost. What a delightful way to live!

Lord, when I am reminded of things I want but cannot afford, remind me that You are the Vendor that sells for free. Let me enjoy the fact that what I need from You is NEVER out of my reach. Thank You, dear Lord!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the source of enjoyment today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Sipping from the straws will increase your love for God only if with each sip you remind your soul that what is satisfying is the water, not the straw.

Set aside some extended times to be alone with God. Take your Bible, a notebook, some worship music, and a variety of good devotionals that open your eyes to what is wonderful about God. Find a comfortable, quiet place. Pour out your heart to God. Read a psalm as slowly as you can—searching for glimpses of God’s glory and goodness like a woman searching every square inch of her house for a lost wedding ring. Write a psalm—a carefully crafted prayer that expresses the longing in your heart to drink directly from the Spring. Listen to some worship songs. Stay as long as it takes until you experience the nearness of God and the joy and satisfaction of soul that He promised we can find if we seek it with all our heart. There are no rules for how long you have to remain at a buffet, but it is crazy to leave before you are full! Do not leave your place of prayer until you have felt the joy of communion with Him—until you have actually been moved by His Spirit, the Spirit of adoption—the Spirit of wisdom and revelation who enables you to know Him in a deeper way.

Then spend the day tasting the little samples of His goodness in every earthly pleasure you experience so that you will build up enough thirst to really seek hard after Him in your next extended prayer time. Make every moment of your life one of two activities: either tasting (that which generates or increases desire for Him), or feasting (that which satisfies desire). The satisfaction comes when you experience one of God’s attributes with an acute awareness of His favorable presence.

Think: No time to fit a regular schedule of seeking hard after God in an extended time of prayer? What are you doing in your life that is so important that it cannot be adjusted to make room for this?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #4 The God Whose Presence is

Preferable to the Pleasure of Sin

Meditation #18: Enjoying Earthly

Pleasures as Worship, Not Idolatry

I

f earthly pleasures are enjoyed without reference to God they become idolatry. But if they are enjoyed as an expression of God’s love, the very enjoyment of them is pleasing and acceptable worship that honors God.

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world … to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Psalm 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 28 For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.[11]

The psalmists who spoke of God as their only desire and who said there is nothing else on earth they wanted, also spoke of numerous other desires. They desired water when they were thirsty and rest when they were tired and a thousand other earthly pleasures. If their only desire was for God alone, and yet they desired earthly pleasures, then they must have found a way for their desire for earthly pleasures to be expressions of their single desire for God alone. So instead of desiring food plus God, their desire for food was part of their desire for God. The same was true for every other earthly desire.

Should we enjoy earthly pleasures? If so, how much? Should we be careful not to enjoy or desire them too much, lest they become idols? Imagine a woman whose husband is at war overseas. When he sends her a letter, does he want her to be excited when she sees the mailman approaching her house? It depends. If she is excited to see the mailman because she knows he is carrying a letter from her husband, then yes—the more excited she is the more her husband is honored and loved. However, if she is excited because she is interested in the mailman himself, and pays no attention to the letter from her husband, that would be adulterous and would grieve her husband. We can think of every earthly pleasure (that is not forbidden in Scripture) as a mailman carrying a message from our Husband in heaven. If we become enamored with the mailman (the earthly pleasure itself), we commit adultery/idolatry. But if our hearts are thrilled at the sight of the mailman because of how much we love the Sender of the message; if we enjoy that earthly pleasure because we recognize it as a letter from heaven that reads, “I love you, and here is a sample of My love,” then the more we enjoy that sample, the more we honor God. It is wrong to use God as a means to gaining earthly pleasures. But it is a good thing to use earthly pleasures as a means of enjoying God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What is wonderful about this attribute, then, is the fact that God does not call us to self-denial for the sake of self-denial. There are plenty of times God calls us to give up various earthly pleasures, but only in contexts where those earthly pleasures are competing with God for our heart. Some religious systems promote the denial of earthly pleasures as a virtue in and of itself. Such teachings are harshly rebuked in Scripture.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

Remaining single or abstaining from food can be a good thing in certain contexts, but to simply promote them across the board as though God were somehow pleased when we reject His good gifts and make life hard on ourselves is to paint an ugly (and false) picture of what God is like.

When we indulge in earthly pleasures with our back to God—without thinking of Him, but enjoying the pleasure instead of Him—that is evil. But when we see that pleasure as an expression of His love, such that our hearts respond with gratitude toward Him, that consecrates that pleasure and makes it a holy thing (verse 5). How different God is from the gods of the false religions! He provides countless earthly pleasures and then invites us to enjoy Him through them!

Learn to enjoy God’s presence through His presents. The purpose of His gifts is for us to use them to experience His grace and nearness. The earthly pleasure is like the box and the wrapping paper. The gift is the favorable presence of God and the grace we receive through that. Do not be like a baby who is more interested in the box and the paper than the gift. Be like an adult, who appreciates the paper and is thrilled at the sight of the box, but only because of a faith and confidence in the goodness of the giver that assures that something wonderful is in the box! The food you will eat today is not the gift; it is the box. Enjoyment of your family is not the message from heaven—it is the mailman. The earthly pleasure is the straw, not the water.

Our idolatry-prone hearts so easily fall off the horse on one side or the other—either failing to see the goodness of the gift so that we have no great response of love to the Giver, or falling in love with the packaging/mailman while ignoring the Giver. At the natural level those appear to be opposites—not getting excited about the gift/message or getting very excited about the gift/message; but they are really exactly the same thing—an ignoring of the Giver/Sender.

O dear Lord, when I think of how many messages I receive everyday from heaven in the form of fulfillments of my desires, how can I miss the message? How is it that my soul is not so elated with joy every moment of every day that I would frequently burst into shouts and song? How can I go hours at a time without communing with the blessed Author of all these messages? How could I prefer surfing the web or reading the news or watching a game or thinking about some inane thing to communion with my blessed Savior?

Think: What was the last big joy in your life? Was the happiness in your heart worship or idolatry? What is the next happiness you are likely to experience today? Which will it be?

Promise to trust today:

Hosea 6:2-3 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."[12]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #4 Preferable Presence  (part 2)

Meditation #19: Waiting on God vs. Forfeiting Grace

Psalm 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 28 For behold, those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who commit adultery against you. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.[13]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

e can always count on God’s grace being more wonderful and satisfying than anything in the world! In the airport one day I overheard a woman talking about how disappointed she was at a Michael W. Smith concert because it was so boring. She said she expected some costume changes, dancing, and a light show; not preaching. “I paid big money to be entertained; I don’t want to be bored.” The splendor of the gospel is not enough for her, but a light show would do the job. She prefers a costume change to the majesty of heaven. When I heard her talking I was struck with two things—1) what unbelievable insanity, and 2) Oh, how like her I am! I know intellectually that God is more marvelous and more satisfying than a costume change (or a seductive image, or watching TV when I should be about His work), but my heart is drawn to the worthless instead of Him. In my free moments so often the last thing on my mind is, “Oh good, I can spend a couple extra minutes with God.”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s preferable presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

How do you know if you are using God to get earthly pleasures (idolatry), or using earthly pleasures to enjoy God (worship and love)? One way is to watch what happens when there is a choice between earthly pleasures or the presence of God. When the husband comes home from war, and his wife can enjoy his presence directly, she should lose interest in the mailman altogether.

This is what makes the existence of sinful pleasures useful—they present us with a clear choice so we can see what our hearts prefer because choosing the sin means forfeiting nearness to God.

Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

If David would have preferred closeness with God over sexual sin God would have given David more and more until it was enough to satisfy David (2 Sam.12:8). The term “would have” is tragic. By preferring sin David forfeited that which would have been plenty to satisfy him.

So when there is a clear choice between earthly pleasure and God’s presence and we prefer the earthly pleasure, then we know our enjoyment of that earthly pleasure is both idolatry and adultery against God. Food, physical pleasure, rest, fun, amusement, prestige, respect, interesting thoughts, pleasant company—all are mailmen carrying wonderful messages about what the great Sender is like, and all are paramours that draw us into unfaithfulness if we enjoy them without paying attention to the Giver.

O Lord, forgive Your idolatrous, adulterous servant! Have mercy upon me. Do not give me over to those evil desires. Depose and crush the idols of my heart that I might be fully devoted to You. Make me a one-desire person. Open my eyes to the truth that there exists only one desirable thing—only one reality that can actually satisfy my soul.

And let that result in an intensification of my desire, that I might be consumed with desire for You. Let every hunger pang, every sexual urge, every impulse to do or get or take anything; increase my desire for You. When those desires are fulfilled, let that make me long more deeply for the Fulfiller behind them. When they are not fulfilled, let that make me long more deeply for the only One who can and ultimately will fulfill them.

Think: When you resist temptation, are you only rejecting evil, or do you do it as an act of preferring (wanting nearness to God more than you want the pleasure of that sin)?

Promise to trust today:

2 Samuel 12:8 I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #4 Preferable Presence  (part 3)

Meditation #20:  Worth Waiting For

Psalm 130:5-6 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hen you pass up the pleasure of some sin in order to wait for an experience of the presence of God, the resulting experience of His nearness will turn out to be far more delightful and satisfying than the sin—no exceptions. And it is only when your soul is fully convinced of that that your hunger and thirst for His presence will be intense enough to drive you to seek after Him with all your heart and soul—yearning for His presence with the intensity of a watchman longing for morning during a long nighttime shift.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s preferable presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

This matter of preferring the presence of God to earthly pleasures is where waiting on the Lord comes in. Waiting is eagerness of anticipation and refusal to accept any substitute. One way we fail to wait is by seeking out some alternative source of joy. When the presence of God can be enjoyed through some earthly pleasure—enjoy God! But when the earthly pleasure cannot be a means of enjoying God because there is sin attached to it, wait—wait for the Lord to come and satisfy your desires with good things. Trying to satisfy your desires through forbidden pleasures is a failure to wait. It is a turning to Hagar instead of waiting with Sarah (and the result is Ishmael rather than Isaac).

Another way we fail to wait on God is by not caring much about the anticipated arrival of grace or by becoming so engrossed in the present that we are not thinking about the future. If there is no eager anticipation, then you are not waiting. Anytime we are not enjoying fellowship with God there should be a longing and a pining in our hearts—like a kid waiting for Christmas morning with an eagerness that is even painful. It is ironic—if there were no gifts under the tree, there would be no pain. The pain is caused by the anticipation of something wonderful.

Let me know that pain, dear Lord—the pain of a child who looks forward to Christmas so eagerly that he can hardly stand it.

Kids get excited about gifts only because of past Christmases. They remember how good it was. The psalmists had such intense longing for God because they had experienced times with Him that were so delightful and satisfying that they could hardly wait for the next time.

Think of what a wonderful thing it is that God calls us to wait. You might expect that when faced with some sinful pleasure He would simply tell us to deny ourselves. Just say, “no.” But instead He tells us to wait, which implies He will satisfy the desire in His way if we look to Him and wait. We do not have to leave the appetite unfulfilled!

Lord, each time I experience a desire of any kind today, let that remind me of the Object of my desire and the only Satisfier of desire. And let me enjoy being the child of such a God! Each time one of my desires is fulfilled—even if it is as small as the scratching of an itch, let that remind me that the pleasure of that fulfillment is a mailman, and wrapping paper. Help me to look beyond it to the message and the gift that my heart might be enthralled by the Giver/Sender. And each time I have a desire that is not fulfilled let that turn my attention to the One who is so fulfilling and desirable that He is worth waiting for. Let the intensity of my evil desires be transformed into intensity of desire for You, as I am reminded that only You can fulfill and satisfy.

Those little moments of emptiness—when tiny things irritate and depress you, or when you feel down for no reason—those are indications of the longing of your soul for satisfaction that cannot be found in this world. The pettier the thing that bothers you the less petty the longing is. (If a slight touch to your skin was so painful it dropped you to your knees, you would know something serious was wrong with you.)

Lord, let those moments be translated into intense longing for the next time of close fellowship with You.

Think: What are you waiting for right now? Is your heart full of joyful anticipation, and are you refusing any substitutes?

Promise to trust today:

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #5 Splendor and Majesty

Meditation #21:

Psalm 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Psalm 104:1 O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

Splendor (HADAR)—to be thought of and treated with distinction, honored, regarded as dignified, powerful, and impressive. Used often in lists with glory, strength, power, honor.

Majesty (HUD)—very similar to HADAR. Impressiveness, magnificence, awe-inspiring qualities.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

ome things are big and powerful but not beautiful. Others have beauty but not power. The combination of both in God is an especially wonderful thing. He awes and delights at the same time. His terrifying presence attracts us.

God made us with a need to be awed. Without awe our souls atrophy and shrivel in mind-numbing boredom. That feeling that comes from standing at the foot of some breathtaking majesty so grand that it moves the soul is something that people will spend thousands of dollars just to experience for a few moments. But no created thing is awesome enough to give us the awe we need. After you have looked at the Grand Canyon for a while the awe fades and you are ready to move on. The appetite of the human soul for awe is immense—so immense that the entire universe is not enough to satisfy it. Only God Himself is enough.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s splendor and majesty today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God’s splendor and majesty are attributes that we will experience in fullest measure on that Day when we see Him face to face. However, we can also experience them now in significant ways. Psalm 145 connects them with God’s works and mighty acts. Each generation will experience them and tell about them to the next generation.

The creation is not awesome enough to give us the awe that we need. It can, however, be a vehicle for experiencing God’s awesome greatness if we have a conscious awareness of the breathtaking works in the creation as coming from the hand of a majestic, splendorous God—and then realizing that they are but the fringe of His glory, the faint whisper of His power (Job 26:14).

It is difficult to have much of an experience of God’s splendor merely by thinking about it in abstract terms. Sitting indoors and contemplating a high mountain or brilliant sunset does not have the same effect on the heart as actually beholding them. Being outdoors touches all the senses with a cumulative effect, assisting the soul in worship. The smell of pine trees, feeling the breeze, hearing the sounds of nature, all that is taken in by the eyes—the combination of sensations touches the soul in a way that simply thinking about such things cannot. At a moment when the soul is staggered and awed by the creation, the soul is more able to experience awe in the presence of God by realizing that God is far greater, far more beautiful, far bigger, far more threatening, far lovelier than what is currently creating feelings of awe.

Simply watching something awesome in nature and thinking that God is greater, however, is not necessarily an experience of the splendor and majesty of God. It is possible to think about God without actually paying attention to God. Experiencing someone’s presence is a personal interaction, not merely a theoretical series of thoughts.

Even for those blessed to live in a beautiful place, awe is a very rare experience. We throw the term out on a daily basis, but few if any are actually awed on a daily basis. In fact, our appetite for awe goes mostly unfulfilled. We long to be awed, but almost never are. Hardly anything in this world has what it takes to awe us, and even those things that do—if our attitude, attention, or mood is not quite right, we are left untouched.

Oh, how I look forward to seeing You face to face, dear God, that I may be awed to the very core of my being every day! You are unlike anything in this world in that You always have what it takes to awe me. No one would ever behold Your glory and be disappointed because it was not awesome enough. The only way to look at You and not be overcome with awe is to look at You with blind eyes. Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of Your awesome glory, power, majesty, and splendor! Thank You that You will always be awesome enough to stagger my soul.

Think: When is the last time you were truly awed? How could you seek an experience like that with God?

Promise to trust today:

Jeremiah 33:9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #6 Magnificence

Meditation #22: Awe

Psalm 8:1 For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. O Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent[14] is your name in all the earth!

T

he word translated magnificent is ADDIR—that which is superior; mighty, powerful. Splendid, used of a magnificent piece of pottery. Awesome, creating wonder. God’s name (that which He has revealed about Himself) is mighty, awesome, magnificent, expansive and splendorous in all the earth.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Usually when we think about attributes of God that fulfill our needs we think of attributes such as mercy, strength or wisdom. We are acutely aware of our need to be guided or protected or strengthened. But there is another deep need in the human soul that is rarely thought of as a need—the need to be awed. God has planted deep within the human soul an appetite for awe. People travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to go see something awesome, like the Grand Canyon. We crave the feeling of being dwarfed by something huge and awe-inspiring.

That is a God-given appetite and can only be fulfilled by God Himself. The Grand Canyon is impressive, but after looking at it a little while the awe is gone. The wonders of the creation can serve as samples of awesomeness, but by themselves they are not enough to meet the need of the human soul to be staggered. We flock to theaters where an attempt has been made to create artificial awe through spectacular cinematography, but only the most withered, shriveled-up soul is satisfied with pretend awe. We need something real. The longer we live with the mundane and non-glorious the more shriveled and small our souls become.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s awesome magnificence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The greatest tool for experiencing the awesome, magnificent, majestic ADDIR of God is the Creation. Those things that are massive beyond our comprehension that God made with His fingers assist our hearts in imagining the greatness of our God.

God could have made creation such that man was one of the biggest created things. But instead He made things immense beyond our ability to even understand or contemplate. That is a gift. It enables us to understand immensity. Simply standing next to a rock that is twenty-feet high has an effect on us. It has strength and weight beyond what we can really conceive of. But a twenty-foot rock is not even visible when set next to one of the foothills, and the foothills are not even bumps when compared to the mountains. And the Rockies are nothing compared to the Alps. And the grandest and most staggering of the Alps does not even appear as texture to the smooth, round earth as seen from the moon. And the earth itself is a pea compared to Jupiter, which is dwarfed by the sun, which is a speck in the galaxy, which is a point of light from the billions of other galaxies. And all of it sits on God’s little finger. It is obvious God wants us to understand what “awesome” means.

Psalm 76:4 You are resplendent with light, more ADDIR than mountains rich with game.

Psalm 93:3-4 The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, more ADDIR than the breakers of the sea—the LORD on high is ADDIR.

Lord, my world is tiny, grey, dark, unimpressive. My eyes are not open to much magnificence. What I see and think about is mostly small and drab. You have made Your name glorious before the face of Your servant, and yet I have preferred to mostly focus away from Your name on the most nonglorious of things. I prefer trivial details of life over communing with You in prayer and hearing from You in Your holy Word. Lord, awaken within me a thirst for the awesome and splendorous—a thirst so powerful it will drive me to turn away from trivia and seek Your glory with all my heart until I see enough to move my soul to awe. Lord, I do not want to be amused by Your glory. I want to be staggered and rattled and shaken to my core by it. I want to be changed forever by the experience of it. I want to see Your majesty so I can have a foretaste of seeing You as You are and thereby become like You.

Think: Is there something in your life that is contributing to the shrinking of your soul, so that your appetite for awe can be staved off by pathetic substitutes for true glory? One of the most soul-shrinking things in existence is television. What else in your life reduces your appetite for true magnificence?

Promise to trust today:

Ezekiel 36:23 I will show the holiness of my great name.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #6  Magnificence (part 2)

Meditation #23: Superiority

Psalm 8:1 O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your splendor above the heavens.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

O

ne of the keys to understanding the meaning of the word majestic (ADDIR) is the concept of superiority. That which is ADDIR is superior to its rivals. The superiority of God is what enables us to appreciate His greatness. A twenty-foot rock has an intimidating effect when you stand next to it because of its superiority to you in size. The moment that rock is set next to a hundred-foot rock it loses that effect, and the other rock takes it over. Nothing is really impressive until it is seen as superior to some other thing. That is how goodness is measured in this world. We cannot really measure something by how it compares to God, because then everything would fall infinitely short and be infinitely bad. But everything is not infinitely bad. And that can be seen by observing the superiority of a finite thing over some other finite thing.

All things in this world, then, are measured in terms of superiority or inferiority. Something that is superior to nothing is not great in any way. And the more things that something is superior to, the greater it is. The greatest intellect in your hometown is nowhere near as great as the greatest intellect in the United States. Those who are the greatest in the whole world at something are so good at that thing that when we see them we are astonished. (Although when it comes to everything else, those people are usually just average. The world’s greatest chess player probably cannot dunk a basketball, and the world’s greatest musician would likely lose even a local beauty pageant.)

One would think the universe would be massive enough to satisfy our hunger to be awed. But it does not. Even the universe, vast as it is, falls short and often leaves us unmoved and un-awed. The most awesome parts of the creation are not enough, but praise be to God, He is superior to the creation and He is enough!

Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Psalm 89:6,8 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? 8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

Psalm 35:10 My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, O LORD?”

And not only is God infinitely superior; He can also be thought of as somewhat superior. We need that, because we cannot conceive of infinity. We need both. We need to know that God is a billion, trillion times greater than the greatest thing we can see, but it often has more meaning to think of Him in terms of being ten times greater, because that reduces the perspective down to a level that can be imagined. Scripture speaks of God holding all the waters of the seas in the palm of His hand. That image reduces God down to only several times the size of the oceans—an image that is smaller than the sun. In other places God measures the heavens with the span of His hand. That is a much, much larger image but still reduces God way down from infinity down to only several times larger than the universe. In His grace He has allowed us to think of Him in these terms that, compared to His infinite greatness, reduce Him to relative puniness so we can get a glimpse. It is a wonderful thing that God is not only infinitely greater than your problems; He is also ten times greater.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s superiority today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience this attribute by realizing that the things in the creation that are impressive are samples of the magnificence and superiority of God, so that instead of merely being impressed with those things, your heart will be pointed heavenward toward the One whose magnificence is so much greater. And when something in the creation disappoints, realize that it disappoints because it lacks ADDIR, and let that train your heart to appreciate and crave the never-disappointing ADDIR of God all the more.

This will not only enable greater experiences of God’s magnificence, but it will protect you from idolatry, covetousness, and lust. Those created things you are tempted to look to for your joy in life will become pointers to God, rather than competitors with God. When you are drawn by the beauty of a new car or a big house or a beautiful woman, let that instantly set you to thinking about the fact you are drawn to that beauty because of the superior glory of that woman or car or house, and that superior glory is vastly surpassed by God’s. And if it would be so pleasing to experience that lesser magnificence, what kind of insanity would forfeit an experience of the far greater magnificence to which it is designed to point?

Father, today, each time I notice that something is good, let me see the superiority that makes it good, and let the moment from thinking from the inferior to the superior pole-vault my mind past that to see Your superiority to the superior thing. And let me feast on that—take it in and experience it and enjoy it and be changed by it. Each time I notice something is bad, let me see the inferiority that makes it bad so that my thoughts return again to Your ADDIR.

Think: What created things are you likely to encounter today that will be magnificent or impressive? And which things are likely to be upsetting or disappointing today because of their lack of magnificence? How could you prepare your heart now so that as soon as you see those things your heart will turn heavenward toward the true magnificence?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 4:7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #6  Magnificence (part 3)

Meditation #24:  Adorned with the Creation

Psalm 8:1 O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your splendor above the heavens.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hen God displayed His wonders in the creation, He not only made the sizes, distances, heat, speeds, energy, beauty, and complexity all incomprehensible; but He made them incomprehensible by orders of magnitude. The distance to and size of the sun are already unfathomable to the human mind. We are so puny and our brains so limited that we cannot relate to such immensity. We can say true things about them mathematically, but the numbers are beyond experiential meaning to us. So all God had to do to create unimaginable, unfathomable grandeur would have been to create our solar system. But He did not stop there. Imagine some pagan god, who is the supreme god of the pagans—so massive and great that he can hold the entire world in his hand, so that to him the earth were the size of a grapefruit. Such an unimaginably massive god could fathom the fifty-foot diameter sun, and even the forty-mile trip out to Pluto. But even if there were such a god, and even if his mind were as much superior to ours as his size, still he would not even begin to be able to fathom the size of the Milky Way—which, even on that tiny scale, would be four billion miles across! And if that massive god worshipped a much greater god; a god of such unfathomable size that he could hold the entire solar system in his hand like a grapefruit; maybe he could understand the size of the Milky Way, which to him would be like twelve thousand miles. But even that massive-to-the-second-power god could not begin to conceive of the distance to the nearest cluster of galaxies, which, if our solar system were the size of a grapefruit, would be seven million miles away, or the farthest object we can see from earth, which would be another fourteen billion miles beyond that. And what is the relation of the twenty-four billion light year span of what we can see to the actual universe?

One would think all of that would be splendor enough to satisfy our appetite for awe. But it is not. Our God-given need to be staggered and floored by that which is awesome is so immense that even the universe itself only partially satisfies it. Something deep within us craves even greater magnificence than that of the heavens. So God has set His splendor above the heavens. The most massive galaxies and farthest expanses of the universe are less than a speck of dust in God’s great hand.

Psalm 113:5-6 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

Magnificent Creator, You have set Your splendor above the heavens. Your glory is vastly superior to the most glorious reality we can see—the very heavens. You are higher than the highest heaven. When we get lost thinking about billions of light years and the vastness of space, and the incredible thought that wherever the “end” is, what about just past that? Whatever is long past that still falls infinitely short of your expansiveness. The most glorious of sunsets is a blank screen compared to the tiniest fragment of Your glory. Oh, the folly of those who worship the creation! Lord, my heart breaks for them. They have to worship something that is not enough—something that does not have all-satisfying glory. Poor wretches! Their highest reality is not high enough! O Lord, open their eyes. Open the eyes of thousands to see the inadequacy of all their false gods that they may turn to and embrace and exult in Your superior, sufficient glory! Especially let that happen in my heart, Lord. My heart is still so drawn to the inadequate, leaky cisterns of this world. Let all inadequacy serve to turn my eyes upon You.

Job 40:9-11 Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his? 10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. 11 Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low.

Psalm 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

This glorious creation, and all God’s mighty, wonderful works are like garments for Him. Clothes demonstrate and accentuate the glory of a man. God’s splendor, as reflected in His creation (the focus of Psalm 104), is given to show His magnificence. The psalmist did not say “Bless the creation, O my soul.” A tuxedo on a hanger is impressive to no one. All the greatness of this creation is nothing but fabric on a hanger unless it is seen as adorning the Lord. And the beauty of the one dressed up is an attribute of the dressed one, not the dress. Oh, the folly of the one who stares at the cloth and his wonder and marvel terminates on the fabric!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s adorning splendor today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Contemplate the wonders of the creation, and think of how they adorn the Lord.

Lord, open my eyes to see not Your adornment, but You; and not just You, but You adorned. Teach me to look at Your creation the right way. What incredible blindness is required for people to see the works of Your hands and not understand that this world is the work of a King. These are the solemn strokes of Your profound mind, the awesome touches of Your staggering attributes, the broad lines of Your inscrutable mystery, the deep shadings of overwhelming power—a problem never to be solved or traced out except by admitting that the One who laid it all out is above all and gives no accounting for what He does but rules everything according to His pleasure and will.

Think: Which of the wonders of the creation tend to be most amazing to you? Make much of the glimmers of awe you feel when you see those things, and let that train your soul for true awe.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 66:18 I am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #6  Magnificence (part 4)

Meditation #25: Personal Majesty

Psalm 8:1 O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic (ADDIR) is your name in all the earth!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

O

ne of the marvels of the majesty (ADDIR) of God is that it combines greatness and power with goodness and love.

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, 12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.

The combination of greatness and goodness is hard to find. We can conceive of incredibly mighty things. Jupiter is huge. And it has some degree of magnificence, but mostly it is a big round pile of matter that just sits there. It has no righteousness, no purpose or wisdom, no kindness, nothing particularly exquisite. The sun is mighty, but not loving or just. It would incinerate an innocent man just as fast as a guilty man.

Other things are beautiful, but not particularly mighty. A beautiful painting may be exquisite, but not powerful. A gourmet meal may delight our souls with satisfaction, but it cannot stagger our hearts with awe.

You, O Lord, are wonderful in the combination of Your mightiness and magnificence. The fact that You are magnificent and exquisite—in Your character and in Your glorious appearance, combined with the fact that You have infinite ability to make glorious the display and outworking of Your magnificence—what a promise! O Lord, hasten the Day when I will see that with unhindered eyes!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the combination of God’s greatness and goodness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

One of the chief ways God has given us to enjoy His personal attributes is by enjoying His people. God is working to conform His people to the image of His Son, so to the degree that a person has been conformed, we can enjoy those attributes of God in a very direct way as we experience them in that person. You cannot experience the combination of greatness and kindness in the stars or mountains or sunsets or waterfalls. Only in persons. The saints reflect many of the attributes of God, including His magnificence (ADDIR).

Psalm 16:3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious (ADDIR) ones in whom is all my delight.

In the previous verse the psalmist affirmed that there is no good thing apart from God. And yet here he states that all his delight is in the saints. This is not a contradiction, because he enjoyed the saints in such a way that his enjoyment of the saints was enjoyment of God Himself, as he saw God’s ADDIR in them.

As you walk through the day today, keep an eagle eye out for attributes of God reflected in His saints, and enjoy Him by delighting in them.

Think: Which saints are you likely to encounter today? And which attributes of God can you take delight in as you interact with them?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 33:21 The LORD will be our Mighty (ADDIR) One.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #7 Worthy to be Feared

Meditation #26: God is Huge

Psalm 33:6-9 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into piles; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

F

or man there is always a space between saying and accomplishing—a gap so large that often the accomplishing never happens even after much saying. But for God all speech is effecting speech. There is never any gap. He did not need millions of years to get the universe up and running. He spoke, and it happened. It was easier for God to create a fully functional universe than it is for you to think a thought. He accomplishes the unimaginable through nothing more than simply willing it.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into piles; he puts the deep into storehouses.

We may be able to conceive of greater things than the ocean, but it is questionable whether we can physically experience anything greater. How awesome is the sea! With much labor and sweat we can gather a few leaves into a pile in the front yard. God does that with the ocean in every storm. He powers a hurricane and makes millions of piles of water—violent, deadly, floating mountains a hundred feet high. All the forces of mankind can no sooner tame even one of those waves as raise the dead. The best we can do is build something that can simply ride on top of them and get tossed by them without being destroyed.

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

While the sea is the greatest reality we can experience, the sky is the greatest reality we can see. Thinking of the vastness of the heavenly bodies maxes the capacity of our minds. Before we even get to the moon we surpass our ability to conceive of the distances and sizes in a way we can relate to. After that they only have meaning mathematically. And eventually even that fails. The vastness of the universe is beyond imagination, and yet God can measure the entire Cosmos with the span of His great hand. He spoke and all of it was instantly flung into existence—fully formed, mature and in motion.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.

It is scary to be around huge, powerful things. If you were working around a machine that could move a mountain, you would be especially careful—get in the way of one single gear and you would be ground to powder. If there were a giant so big he could hold the moon in his hand, it would almost certainly be fatal to be anywhere near him, as a simple twitch from his finger could instantly destroy a city. That giant would be a speck of dust compared to the LORD.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness to be feared today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience this attribute by considering God’s greatness. You sit here before the Great King of creation and are right now in the presence of majesty. Only the infinite power of the righteousness of Christ keeps you from being instantly consumed by His glory. One tiny crack in that protective shield and you would be destroyed.

Awareness of His presence should at the very least bow our heads—if not drive us to our knees or on our faces before His greatness. It should make us tremble, but at the same time it should extract from deep within our hearts powerful joy—the wonderful feeling of being staggered by beautiful, awesome greatness.

Experience this attribute by using that which is frightening in the creation as training wheels to teach your soul how awesome God is. Use every sensation of fear you ever experience to preach to your soul about how worthy God is to be feared.

Think: What kinds of circumstances tend to be the most frightening to you? How could you prepare yourself so that those experiences remind you to think about the fear of the Lord when they occur?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:12-13 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #7  Worthy to be feared  (part 2)

Meditation #27: The God We Simultaneously

Fear and Desire

Hebrews 10:22,31 Let us draw near to God … 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Psalm 33:18 The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he God whose hands are a dreadful thing to fall into is the same God to whom we long to draw near. Those searching, penetrating, sin-exposing (and punishing) eyes are the same eyes we delight to have look upon us. God is so good, so wonderful, so delightful, so trustworthy, so gracious, so generous, so wise, and so compassionate that His gaze is desired even by those who are terrified of His chastisement. It is a holy gaze that reacts strongly against sin, and yet, sinful as we are, those who fear His displeasure also long for His gaze. We long to draw near and for Him to look upon us and turn His attention to us, and in this holy, dangerous God we place all our hope.

It is not uncommon for some Christians to balk at the idea of fearing God. Those who had a harsh, angry father growing up may take special delight in the love and tenderness of God and think of fearing one’s father as a bad thing. Having a hard, unloving, irritable father is indeed a bad thing! However, that is not the only kind of fear. There is a good fear and bad fear. Both kinds are mentioned in Exodus 20.

Exodus 20:18-20 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

When Moses tells them not to be afraid (verse 20a) he is forbidding the bad kind of fear. But then he immediately goes on to describe the good kind of fear in the rest of verse 20. The bad kind of fear caused people to withdraw from God. They stayed at a distance and did not want God to speak to them.

Another mark of the bad fear is that it has a paralyzing effect. When you think your father is impossible to please, and will be angry with you no matter what you do, it makes you want to do nothing. The wicked, lazy servant of Matthew 25:25 buried his talent in the ground and did nothing because he had the bad kind of fear—he was afraid of his master’s harshness. Any fear that pushes you toward laziness, disobedience, or reluctance to draw near to God is the bad kind of fear.

There is, however, a different kind of fear—a good kind.

Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

The good kind of fear makes you recoil not from God, but from sin. Just as the child who shudders at the thought of his father’s displeasure also longs for his father’s embrace, so we are drawn to the God we fear. God is a good Father—worthy to be simultaneously feared and desired. This is why there is no contradiction in today’s verse (Ps.33:18), which speaks of those who both fear God and who hope in His unfailing love.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness to be simultaneously feared and desired today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The starting place for experiencing the good kind of fear is to eliminate the bad kind of fear from your life. The bad fear is born out of wrong conceptions of what God is like. When our fear of God makes us want to withdraw from Him rather than draw near to Him it can only mean that our understanding of Him is distorted. Immerse yourself in the Psalms! Read one psalm each day, and make a list of every wonderful fact about God that you can find in that psalm (“God is…, God is…, God always…, God never…”), and then meditate and pray about that list. Spend time thinking about what an amazing thing it is to be near such a Being! Let the Word of God drive all wrong conceptions of God out of your heart.

Think: What attitudes or feelings do you have toward God that might reflect wrong beliefs about what He is like?

Promises to trust today:

Psalm 15:1,4 Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? …4 those who fear the Lord.

Psalm 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #7  Worthy to be feared  (part 3)

Meditation #28:  The Excruciating Rod

Psalm 39:1-3,10 A psalm of David. I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." 2 But when I was silent and still, it was to no good; my anguish increased. 3 My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue ... 10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od calls us to both fear Him and seek Him. We must be drawn to and thirst after the very One who is the most dangerous to us. We desire to draw near to the very One we fear because there are two parts to fearing God: 1) being afraid of chastisement and 2) enjoying nearness to Him so much that the prospect of jeopardizing that intimacy is terrifying. Tomorrow’s meditation will focus on the second principle, but today we consider the sobering reality of God’s excruciating rod.

In times of mercy we tend to think His scourge is no big deal. My mother has hanging on her wall a paint stick with a heart-shaped pillow on the end that says, “Grandma’s Paddle.” God is so patient with us and so merciful when we sin against Him that we can fall into thinking that the blows of His hand in discipline are like grandma’s paddle. After years of nothing but mercy and patience it seems like His rod, if it ever did come, would be easily bearable. So we do not take the threat of chastisement seriously. At the moment of temptation we think, I’ll just do this and then take my lumps from God, like an older child who is no longer bothered by spankings.

To have a proper fear of God we must understand that His blows, rare as they are, are excruciating when they come. Nothing is more painful than God’s displeasure expressed. David was a strong man who endured much, but the Father’s scourge overwhelmed him and reduced him to a helpless, broken, sobbing heap on the floor.

Psalm 39:10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

You can escape other kinds of suffering through various means—if nothing else by distraction or sleep. But there is no running, no hiding, no mitigating, and no postponing the rod of the Lord.

Malachi 1:4 Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish.”

Psalm 39:11-13 You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth—each man is but a breath. Selah 12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. 13 Look away from me,[15] that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."

Father, help me to believe that You can and will do that to me, and that when it happens it will last much longer than I expect—maybe years. Help me to believe, dear Lord. You can and will reduce me to nothing, and put me in such agony that I beg You to turn Your angry face away. O dear Lord, teach me to fear Your rod.

David’s final request was for God to look away—to turn His angry face from him, that the clouds might clear and blue skies might return to his life. And at the same time he is praying for God to listen, as David’s hope was in God (verses 7, 12). He wanted nothing more than to escape God’s anger, but the only refuge he desired was … God! The only refuge from God’s anger is God’s favor. There is absolutely no other escape anywhere in the universe. A little child whose father is angry might run away to his mother or a friend or someplace where he thinks his father might not find him, but when our heavenly Father is angry, there is only one place to run to escape, and that is right into His arms of love.

When the Lord lets you taste a drop from the ocean of His anger, and you feel the sting of His chastising whip, it feels unbearable. When that happened in my life for the first time a few years ago it rattled me to the core. I did not know that kind of pain existed, and I do not ever want to feel that whip again. Many Christians have never felt the searing pain of God’s severity. But be assured, it is possible. Provoke God enough, and it can happen. And that possibility should bring a deep sobriety to our lives and worship.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness to be feared today?

Experiencing this attribute:

All of our sin is the result of a lack of the good kind of fear (see yesterday’s meditation on the good and bad kinds of fear). When we think, I know this is wrong, but God will forgive me, what we are saying is, “The discipline, if there is any, will not be any big deal. I am not afraid of it.” But we should tremble at the prospect of being chastised by God.

1 Corinthians 11:29-31 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.

If God has shown you so much mercy that you find it difficult to really believe that severe chastisement is a possibility, how do you convince your soul that it is indeed a possibility? Through His Word. Study what God has said about the severity with which He deals with sin. Study and memorize passages like Proverbs 15:10, Psalm 118:18, Hebrews 12:7,11, Proverbs 28:9, Jonah 2:8, and Hebrews 10:26-27. Every step taken away from God provokes God to chastise (the word in Heb.12:7 is literally “whip”) us, and destroys intimacy with God, making His presence that much more difficult to experience.

Why, O Lord, do I fear You so little? I would pay attention if it were a lesser threat, like a bear or lion, or even a vicious dog. None of them can destroy both soul and body in hell. None of them can do me any real harm. But You can. At any moment You could decide to withdraw Your presence and favor from me—which is a real disaster even if it is only for a short time. Lord, teach me to fear that, so I learn to fear Your name. Remind me each time I begin to consider sinning against You, that at that moment I am in the presence of a Threat far worse than a pack of vicious dogs; lethal danger is right in my face—the danger of provoking Your rod, interrupting fellowship with You, and forfeiting future grace.

Think: Think back to the most severe suffering you have ever endured. It may have been something that, at another point in your life, was quite bearable. What makes a trial unbearable is when God removes His strengthening grace. If He removed a large enough portion of that strengthening grace, even the slightest trial would be unbearable. Fear the removal of His favor, not the trial.

Promises to trust today:

Proverbs 15:10 Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #7  Worthy to be feared  (part 4)

Meditation #29:  Fearing Loss of Closeness

Psalm 2:11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

2 Corinthians 6:18—7:1 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of fear for God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

e have seen in the last two meditations that when we have the good kind of fear it causes us to recoil from sin while at the same time wanting to draw near to God. The reason we want to draw near to the very One we fear is that fearing God involves not merely being afraid of chastisement, but also enjoying nearness to Him so much that the prospect of jeopardizing that intimacy is terrifying. This is the positive side of fearing God.

If some random person off the street is angry with you, that will not hurt nearly as much as if your father or your spouse is angry with you. The more you love someone the more painful it is to be estranged from that person. Our greatest threat, then, is whomever it is we love the most. And since God is the supreme object of our love, and since He is our only Provider, and since good can come from no other source but Him, losing His favor is the most dreadful possible calamity. He is our everything. Nothing matters except His pleasure or displeasure. This is why Isaiah argues that we should fear God alone and not men because of the fact that God is our only source of comfort.

Isaiah 51:12 I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men?

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness to be feared today?

Experiencing this attribute:

All the frightening warnings about chastisement should push us away from sin, but that, by itself, will not be enough to generate godly fear—the kind of fear that causes the heart to want to draw near to God. To stimulate that kind of fear it is necessary to develop such a dependence on nearness to God that the thought of risking or jeopardizing that in any way is terrifying. The most important way to increase this kind of fear is by multiplying wonderful experiences of closeness with Him. Every one of the meditations in this book is designed for the purpose of helping you enjoy God’s presence more. Follow hard after Him and seek Him with all your heart until you become “hooked”—dependent on daily nearness to Him. If it is not working, perhaps you are going too fast. Try staying on one attribute for as many days as it takes until you really do have a delightful, satisfying experience of that attribute.

The more you love and enjoy someone, the more dreadful the thought of being alienated from that person—even if it is only for a short time. Drink deeply of His river of delights so that when some temptation presents itself, the prospect of forfeiting nearness to God for the pleasure of sin will not be worth it.

O Lord, give me an intimacy with You that is so precious that the threat of losing it even for a moment is intolerable.

Think: Consider the relationship in your life that is the most precious to you and that would be the most distressing if it went sour. Strive to make nearness to God an even greater treasure in your soul than that relationship.

Think again: Which side needs the most attention in your life? The negative side (warnings about the rod) that push you away from sin, or the positive side (the delights of God’s presence) that pull you toward Him?

Promises to trust today:

Psalm 15:1,4 Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? … 4 those who fear the Lord.

Psalm 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #7  Worthy to be feared  (part 5)

Meditation #30:  Worthy of ALL our Fear

Isaiah 8:12-14 Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, 14 and he will be a sanctuary.

Isaiah 51:12 I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

A

ccording to James 4:4, loving the world is adultery against God because our love belongs to Him alone. And not only does our love belong to God alone, so does our fear. Just as it is unfaithfulness if we offer our love to another, so it is unfaithfulness if we offer our fear to another.

But what about real threats? What if a judge is about to take away your children? What if the lab results will likely show that you have terminal cancer? Is it wrong to be a little nervous if you are cornered by a mugger in a dark alley?

Just as there is a right way and a wrong way to enjoy earthly pleasures, so there is a right way and a wrong way to fear earthly threats. Enjoyment of a physical pleasure without reference to God is idolatry. But enjoyment of a physical pleasure as a means of enjoying God’s love is acceptable worship. In the same way, fearing an earthly threat without reference to God is unfaithfulness to God. But there is a way to use earthly threats to train our hearts to fear God. If a judge seems to hold your wellbeing in his hand, remind yourself that he does not. God does. If the ruling does not go in your favor, that can mean one of two things. It may mean that God is displeased with you and is using that unfavorable ruling as chastisement. That is something to be afraid of! You never want God to be displeased with you. But on the other hand, God may be very pleased with you, as He was with Job, and He is using the hard ruling as a means of testing and strengthening your faith, or positioning you for future blessing, or using you to display His glory in some special way, or helping you overcome pride, or preparing your heart for greater faith, or any number of possible blessings. So the actions of the judge or the mugger or the lab results should be feared only if they are expressions of God’s disfavor.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s exclusive worthiness to be feared today?

Experiencing this attribute:

If you meet an African lion, you should fear…God. If you are cornered by thugs in an alley, do not be afraid of them hurting you—be afraid of the possibility of their hurting you as a tool of God’s displeasure with you. If your employer fires you because God is displeased with you and is using the loss of your job as a tool of His chastisement, that is to be dreaded. But if the Lord is pleased with you and allows your boss to fire you for some other purpose, that is nothing to be afraid of. Only God is worthy of our fear. If men gather their forces against you, fear God. And if Satan himself confronts you with the entire demonic host, fear God.

This principle applies even to consequences of sin. When we sin we face both the displeasure of God and various other consequences of our sin. But after we repent and confess our sin to God and receive forgiveness from Him so that His face is no longer turned away from us in anger, there is no need to be distressed about the other consequences. When you have God’s favor, even if other painful consequences remain, you have no reason to fear them because you have certainty that those consequences are all loving, corrective chastisement giving you exactly what you most need and are perfectly tailored so that any part that is not absolutely necessary for your good is trimmed off.

Think: What are you most tempted to fear in this world? How can you use that to train your heart to fear God alone?

Promises to trust today:

Psalm 31:19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #8 Generosity

Meditation #31: The God who Gives to the Point   of Satisfaction

2 Samuel 12:8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

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od told David that if all His gifts were not enough to satisfy David’s soul, God would have given more. God is so generous, so limitless in His supply of grace, and so able to satisfy the human soul that He can actually promise that He will keep giving to us until we are satisfied.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

When my kids are not satisfied with what I give them, I am inclined to take it away from them for being ungrateful. But there is no limit to God’s generosity. He gives unfathomable gifts, and then offers more—as much more as it takes to satisfy us! The only “catch” is that He only offers more of Himself. He does not offer more of rival pleasures (which would be to assist in our unfaithfulness to Him—Jas.4:3). He does not offer more of some cherished idol in our hearts. He offers only His presence.

Giving to the point of satisfaction is something we are utterly incapable of doing. If we want to give lavishly to our kids we can give them all we have, borrow money and give them still more; but we can never guarantee they will be satisfied. If we gave all we had and they still were not satisfied, we would not be able to do anything about it. Only God can promise to give to the point of full satisfaction. Only He can say, “If you wait for Me, you will be happy—guaranteed!”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s satisfying generosity today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The sad part of this passage is the phrase “would have.” God would have given David enough to satisfy his soul had David not tried to satisfy his own soul through sin. The implication is that by seeking satisfaction through sin David forfeited the (guaranteed) satisfaction he could have otherwise had from God.

Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

To experience God’s satisfying generosity we must wait for Him to provide it. Failing to wait on Him and taking a shortcut to satisfaction results in forfeiting the grace that could have been ours.

In the next verse God asked David, “Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?” The word despise means to think little of. To receive this “more” from God we must not think little of His Word. If God’s Word (and the will expressed in that Word) is our highest treasure He will keep giving until we are satisfied.

Father, You are enough for me. Your grace is sufficient. Your nearness supplies me with more of every good thing that I could possibly enjoy throughout eternity. This world has nothing to offer me. Sin also promises to satisfy me, but it leaves me miserable. Whenever I am tempted, teach me to wait for you. Remind me that if I only wait, and refuse any substitute for Your grace, You will give until I am satisfied. Keep Your servant from the insanity of forfeiting that grace!

Think: Think of a recent example of grace that you forfeited. Imagine the greater level of satisfaction of soul you could have had right now had you not forfeited that grace.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 81:10 Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

13 "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, …16 you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

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Attribute #8  Generosity (part 2)

Meditation #32: God Supplies Much More Than What We Need

Psalm 23:5 You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he supply God gives always overflows our capacity to receive it. If we do not have enough of something we need, it is never because God failed to supply enough. That means there is no limit to how much enjoyment we can have! All we have to do to receive more is increase our capacity. When there is an unending fountain, the drinker can have more simply by enlarging his cup. There is never a chance of getting a container too large to be filled.

This is why our joy will increase forever in heaven. It is not merely that we will be joyful forever, but our joy will never stop expanding. God is infinite and we are finite, so even though our knowledge will be perfectly accurate on our first day in heaven (1 Cor.13:12), we will not on that day (nor ever) be omniscient, knowing everything. We will not have infinite joy or infinite anything else, which means since there is an infinite supply, we will be able to increase forever. After twenty billion years of ever-increasing, unmixed joy in heaven you will come around a corner and experience a view of God’s glory more fantastic and thrilling than any you had ever experienced before, and be more joyful still. That will never end.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s unlimited grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

In your happiest moments in life, when your heart is full to the top, remember that there is much, much more joy to be had. Even when you are at your happiest, still there are capacities of joy infinitely beyond what you are experiencing. And as you grow in the Lord your capacity for joy expands. Your cup enlarges, which means in the future you will be able to be even happier than you are now. Babies never cry for joy because they never experience happiness profound enough to move them to tears. If you give them the shallow pleasure they desire right now—a cookie or toy or being held, their enjoyment of that is the extent of their capacity for joy. It is a joy that lasts only a moment, that pales in comparison to even mild pain, and is quickly forgotten. The kind of joy a man has the moment he says, “I do,” or when he sees his first child come into the world, can move him to uncontrollable tears—no amount of cookies and toys could generate that in the soul of a baby. The capacity is simply not there yet.

All of us, in this life, are like that baby. Even when we are moved to uncontrollable tears of joy, compared to where we are headed, our joy is shallow and momentary. The joy of marriage or fatherhood or some great success or the deepest love—the joy you have in those things now is small and weak and short-lived compared to what is coming!

Father, as I move through this day, remind me whenever I have a sense of want or lacking (not enough time, not enough money, not enough sleep) that You are a God who over-supplies. Thank You that at any moment of any day—no matter how satisfied or unsatisfied I am, I can be delighted by the thought, “There is more than this. There is greater joy to be had, and it is coming!” Expand my soul, dear God, to have greater capacity for joy that I might glorify You more by rejoicing in You more. And guard me from the love affairs I am prone to have with this world that have the effect of shrinking my cup and reducing my capacity for true joy.

Think: What is your current capacity for joy? Is your soul capable of profoundly deep joy, or have the cheap thrills of sin shrunken it to be so small that you rarely even experience any deep joy?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.

Psalm 4:7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

Isaiah 66:14 Your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.

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Attribute #9 Refresher and Restorer of the Soul

Meditation #33: Refreshment

Psalm 23:3,5 He restores my soul. … 5 You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

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nointing with oil was a practice that had to do with refreshment (Mt.6:16,17). God anointing us with oil is a picture of Him bringing renewing, revitalizing grace to our souls.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

In our frailty and weakness we are constantly running out of everything. We run low on strength and need rest, we run low on hope and get discouraged; we run low on faith and become fearful; we run low on joy and become enamored with the world’s cheap substitutes; we run low on love and become self-focused; we run low on humility and develop inflated self-importance. Everything we need in life we tend to keep running out of. Every grace God has given that can come in measures runs down to empty if it is not refilled.

But God renews us with refreshing, rejuvenating oil. He is a God who delights to revive us from our states of weakness, discouragement, fear, boredom, etc. He restores your soul. He re-enlivens you when you have started to wilt and wither. He brings refreshment when you have started to dry up. He is not only a God who gives and sustains life, but He is pleased to revive and invigorate faltering, weary, fading life.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s refreshing, restoring grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Each time today when you do anything for refreshment (sit or lie down for a rest, get a drink of water, or just put your face in your hands and close your eyes for a moment), let that remind you that God is a God who refreshes. Strive to thoroughly enjoy the experience of this attribute: that God is a Refresher of the weak and weary.

And whenever you feel lively, invigorated, or motivated even in the slightest degree, remind your soul that it is coming from God’s presence. It is not a fluke or that you just happen to feel good today or that you had a good breakfast. If God withdrew His presence a little bit you would be dry, depressed, bored, unmotivated, weary, faltering, and fading. So to the degree that those problems are not present, rejoice that you are experiencing the nearness of His presence.

You, O Lord, are the source of my life. When You turn Your face away the process of death overtakes the process of life, health, vitality, and growth, and in small ways and big ways I begin to die. When You turn Your face toward me the decay of death is reversed and I enjoy increasing life. You, O Lord, are my very life. I desire and delight in health and strength and vitality—let that be delight in and desire for You.

Think: How is your soul today?

- Are you bored, dry, weary? What you need more than anything is an experience of the re-invigorating, life-giving grace that comes from nearness to His presence.

- Are you energetic, motivated, or invigorated in some measure? That is a taste of what it is like to experience this attribute. Enjoy it and seek more of it.

- How could your eyes be opened wider to this attribute today?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:3,5 he restores my soul. … 5 You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

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Attribute #9  Refresher of the soul (part 2)

Meditation #34: Your Best Days are Ahead of     You

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od is the kind of God who restores life to the lifeless, who renews vigor and strength, who repairs and refreshes the souls of His sheep.

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

For many of us, with regard to the body, our best days are behind us in this life (and for all eternity for the unbeliever). The older we get the more this painful reality catches up to us. But not in Christ! If you have a Father whose mercies are new every morning, your greatest days are still ahead of your! While the elderly of this world look backwards and grieve the passing of their youthful strength and health physically, a Christian of any age can look forward to the days of increasing spiritual health and strength. By God’s promises our best years are ahead of us, both in this life and in the life to come (both spiritually and physically).

We have much to look forward to even in this life—satisfaction and renewal that surpasses even the greatest joys of our past! And in the next life, greater still! Our best years are ahead of us, as are our best millennia. And after ten million years we will be able to look forward to better days still!

Thank You for that hope, dear God. You satisfy me, and you renew my youth like the eagle. Teach me to seek this satisfaction and renewal that is always available to me, but that so often goes forfeited in my case because I become enamored with some bread that is not bread or some leaky cistern that cannot satisfy and I seek joy from an empty source.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the hope of God’s restoring grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Father, each time I turn the key in my ignition, let it remind me (and cause me to enjoy and rejoice in the fact) that You are a God who brings to life the lifeless.

When I am reminded of the fact that the outside man is wasting away, let that fuel the flame of hope in my heart over my best years, which are upcoming.

Think: Which tends to be more powerful in your heart—the discouragement of your declining mind and body or the encouragement of the promised renewal?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psalm 110:3 From the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.

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Attribute #9  Refresher of the soul  (part 3)

Meditation #35:  Recovery from iscouragement

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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od is the restorer of our souls. Our constant wandering into the wastelands and desolation, and our frequent efforts to feed upon the dirt and poisonous shrubs of the desert of this life would be lethal to our souls if our loving Shepherd did not guide us back into the right paths and restore life to our faltering souls.

Think of those days when you have been deeply discouraged. Waves of despondency overtook your heart and you felt powerless to fight them. In times like that you understand how utterly impossible it is for you to lift yourself out of depression. And yet think of how many times you have recovered—how many times God has lifted you out of the “Slough of Despond.” Any time you have ever gone from faltering to not faltering it was God who restored your soul. There is no explanation for your recovery from those times other than God’s reviving hand.

He is the kind of God who restores life to the lifeless, who renews vigor and strength, who repairs and restores the souls of His sheep. Rejoice in being the child of such a God!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s restoring love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Even on our best days we are in need of some measure of restoration. Seek renewal, strength, vigor, and newness of life from Him today. God loves it when His children look to Him for renewal. When the environment around you is a dry desert, turn to the Fountain of living water living in you (the Holy Spirit) and drink deeply.

Take some time to think about all the times God has restored vitality to your life (or supplied ongoing vitality so that restoration was not needed). Every moment of strength and health—physical, mental, or spiritual; has been a direct experience of His favor.

Exalt Your great name in me today, Lord, by restoring my soul and leading me into righteousness.

Think: In what areas is your soul in need of restoration today?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Hosea 6:1-3 Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.[16]

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Attribute #10 The Generous Vendor

Meditation #36: Supplier of Both Need and Luxury

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

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he natural state of man is a place of death—a vast, desolate, lethal desert wasteland. A dry and weary land where there is no water or food—nothing to sustain life. God appears in this text as a vendor standing in the middle of that infinite desert calling out in a loud voice for anyone and everyone to come get water and food and milk and wine. No one can live unless he comes to the great desert Vendor, who sells His feast for free.

The water is that which refreshes, satisfies, and gives life to the thirsty soul—none other than the presence of God.

The rich food is that which is needed to sustain life and give strength and satisfy the hungry soul in a delightful way. Again, the food is the presence of God.

Wine is the drink of festivity, celebration, and joy. It is the pleasure of life—the presence of God. God is the joy of all our rejoicing (Ps.43:4).

The milk is that which nourishes and strengthens the heart - the presence of God.

And it is all free.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

God describes Himself as cool, refreshing water; rich, satisfying food, joyful, festive wine; and strengthening, nourishing milk—everything from necessity to luxury. And He stands in the middle of the desert of this universe as the only Oasis and shouts to all who will hear, “Come! Buy and eat without cost!” The only requirement is that you be hungry and thirsty and that you pay nothing. We are permitted to offer Him nothing but the emptiness of our cup.

Psalm 116:12-13 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

A spring is shown to be wonderful not when we bring a full cup and dump it in, but when we bring an empty cup and fill it.[17] We glorify God by always looking to Him as our Benefactor, never our beneficiary. How marvelous it is to be the child of a God who needs nothing and requires nothing that He Himself does not supply! There are earthly joys that cannot be experienced unless we have adequate resources. If you do not have hundreds of discretionary dollars, you cannot spend a week on a cruise ship. Unless you have a young, strong, healthy body you cannot enjoy the thrills of extreme sports. The delights of marriage are out of reach if you do not have a spouse. Many people even starve to death because no food is available to them. The great majority of pleasures in this world are unavailable for most of us most of the time. But for the child of God the greatest joy—in fact the only real source of joy—is available all the time, and there is never a circumstance in which you do not have enough resources to gain access to Him. Experiencing joy in Him requires all that one has, but never more than one has. If we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him, and when we find Him we will enjoy Him as the water, food, wine, and milk that our souls crave.

Thank You, dear Lord, for this invitation. I know I could never come in to the banquet if not invited, and I could never merit an invitation apart from the Suffering Servant who bore my iniquities and carried my sorrows and who took upon Himself my sin so that by His wounds I might be healed. Thank You, Lord Jesus!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the generous desert Vendor today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The invitation is extended to all who are thirsty. Who is that? The thirsty are those who have longing for satisfaction of soul. Usually in Scripture hunger and thirst of the soul refers to both appetite and desire for God—conscious awareness of God as the object of desire. In this context, however, the thirst refers to a confused, ignorant desire; like a baby crying because it is tired but refusing to close its eyes and sleep, not knowing what is wrong.

All of us are thirsty, but most of us think that what we need to be satisfied is something besides God—some earthly pleasure. Consequently we are prone to spend all we have to get satisfaction from that which will not satisfy (why spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?).

The longings, groaning, and dissatisfaction of the human soul in general are appetites for God. However, the wires get crossed and appetites for God get twisted into desires for other things. So we try to satisfy the appetite for God with earthly pleasures resulting in ongoing dissatisfaction. When we feel restless, bored, lacking in joy, lonely, weary, scared, depressed, unfulfilled—those are all pangs of hunger in the soul that come from our appetite for God. And when we respond to those things by seeking satisfaction in people or things or sins it is like being thirsty for water and trying to satisfy that thirst with sawdust.

The goal, then, is to correct our desires so that we desire that which will satisfy our appetites. This should be the constant prayer of our lives. Just as the sensation of dryness in your mouth is interpreted by your brain as exactly the same thing as desire for water, so we must learn to interpret the sensation of inner restlessness as exactly the same thing as desire for the nearness of God.

To bring about this reversal in affections and to repair the dysfunctional taste buds of the soul we must cry out to God for healing, and we must spend a great deal of time carefully meditating upon God’s Word—especially the Psalms. Nothing will do more to correct the mixed-up desires of our soul than the Psalms.

Secondly, we must repent of our idolatry in seeking satisfaction from earthly things (if God is the source of all joy and satisfaction of the soul, then seeking final joy and satisfaction in some created thing is to treat that thing as if it were God—and that is idolatry). The verses from Isaiah 55 about coming to God for food and drink appear in a chapter that is a call to repentance.

Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Before God can be enjoyed as a rich banquet and satisfying fountain we must first let go our grip on any earthly thing we have been looking to for satisfaction (Jeremiah 2:13 calls them broken cisterns that cannot hold water in a context that labels such a pursuit as idolatry). In Proverbs 9 both Folly and Wisdom offer a banquet and both promise to satisfy. A person cannot sit at both banquet tables at the same time. We must choose either the world’s delicacies (Ps.141:4) or God’s river of delights (Ps.36:8). In those moments of loneliness, boredom, depression, fear, pain, or any other kind of soul-thirst; our flesh wants to run to some earthly pleasure (friends, music, food, sex, fantasy, recreation, shopping, reading, etc.). Repentance requires that we stop running to those leaky cisterns—give them up as sources of satisfaction, and run instead to God, the eternal Spring of living water for our joy.

Throughout this day, moment by moment, each time you make a transition from one activity to another ask, “Am I about to partake from the Lord’s river of delights or eat of the world’s delicacies (Ps.36:8, 141:4)?

Here I am this morning, Lord. I have come to You. I sit here now in Your presence with the empty hands You require. I want what You are offering—water…milk…wine: refreshment…nourishment…joy, pleasure and celebration. I am here, Lord, ready to have my soul lavished by Your Spirit. Here’s my cup. Glorify Your name by filling it up, Lord, for I seek satisfaction from You alone. Forgive me for trying to be filled by bread that does not really satisfy and thus is not really bread.

Think: Where do you tend to run when your soul is thirsty? What would repentance look like in your case?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #10  The generous Vender (part 2)

Meditation #37: His Generosity Enables Yours

Isaiah 55:1-2 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

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epression, boredom, sadness, discontent, restlessness, loneliness, fear, and inner pain are all expressions of the thirst of the soul. They are the dry mouth and parched throat of the inner man. God calls the sinner to forsake his efforts to satisfy those thirsts with anything other than God Himself. He is the water that refreshes, satisfies, and gives life to the thirsty soul; the rich food that sustains life and gives strength, the wine of festivity and celebration, pleasure and joy; and the milk that nourishes and strengthens the heart. And all of it is offered to us for free. God requires only one thing from us—our thirst.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The fact that it is all free means we can pour our resources into other things besides self-fulfillment. It is easy and enjoyable for the child of a rich king to be as generous as he wants to be, because he never has to worry about running out of resources. A child of a wealthy and kind father, when he gets an allowance or earns some money at a lemonade stand, does not have to go out and get groceries to survive. Nor does he have to go to the city utility and purchase water so he can live. He can get all he needs and more at home for free, so he can use his money for something special rather than for necessities. Our money, time, labor, effort, and abilities—the things man is normally inclined to use to purchase spiritual necessities, we are free to give away generously to others, because we have all we need at home.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s generosity today?

Experiencing this attribute:

No matter how rich and generous your father is, if you spend your lemonade stand money to purchase utilities and groceries under the illusion that you are the one who must provide for your own needs, as long as you are doing that you will never be able to enjoy the richness and generosity of your father.

Dear Father, give me the faith I need to trust in Your promises to generously and lavishly supply my needs, so that I can be free to use my resources to give generously and freely to others. When I am tempted to be stingy with my time or energy or money, remind me that hoarding what I have will cause me to miss out on the joys of being the child of a rich, generous king. Forgive me, dear Lord, for living like the child of a poor man. Teach me how to see generosity to others as a means of accessing the joy of being the child of a rich King.

You are the desert Vendor, the only Oasis in the infinite desert of the Creation, standing in the center calling me. You do not let me wander and die; You let me know where the oasis is. And You are generous. The banquet is lavish. If You charged even a penny for them I would be hopeless, as I am penniless as I wander in this desert.

Think: Does your level of generosity show the richness and generosity of your Father? Do you see giving as a loss, or as a means of taking advantage of the joys of being the child of a rich, generous King?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 37:25-26 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Matthew 6:25-33 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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Attribute #11 Giver of Strength

Meditation #38:  Don’t Waste Your Weakness

Psalm 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you strengthen their heart, and you listen attentively.

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ll the strength you have ever experienced, both physical and spiritual, came from God’s grace. When you have been able to weather disappointments, criticisms, humiliations, losses, attacks—all of those would have destroyed you had it not been for His strengthening love.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What a treasure is a strengthened, established heart! It really doesn’t matter how big or small a task or a trial is; it only matters how big it is in relation to your level of strength. As long as your strength is greater than the task or trial, the burden is never overwhelming. But if there is not sufficient strength, even the tiniest burden is overwhelming. The little sufferings and tasks in your life that you have forgotten because they seemed to you to be no big deal—they would have reduced you to utter despair had God not provided the strength that He provided.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the giver of strength today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you get sick or injured, or just tired, don’t waste your weakness! Let the weakness cause you to long for and treasure His strength. Let the pain cause you to rejoice over the perseverance it is producing (Jas.1:2), and over the eternal weight of glory it is bringing about (2 Cor.4:17), and over the paradoxical strength that it is (when I am weak, then I am strong – 2 Cor.12:10). Let it remind you of your creatureliness and dependence upon God. Let it make you a little more humble—humble in a way that translates into gentleness toward God’s people. When people see you, let them see a lowly man or woman—their servant who washes their feet and bows low before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Think: Take a few minutes to think of some trials and tasks that you recently encountered for which the Lord provided strength. That was an experience of an attribute of God—you were in His presence!

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #11  Giver of Strength (part 2)

Meditation #39: Giver of Effort-Enabling Strength

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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trength is crucially important in the Christian life. Some teach that putting forth effort is legalism or works-righteousness. That is a misunderstanding of grace. We do not seek grace instead of putting forth effort; we seek grace that will enable the right kind of effort—effort that is the vehicle of divine power. God dispenses His grace through our spiritual gifts, but your spiritual gift is something you need to develop, nurture, train, and fan into flame. So in that sense seeking grace from God is kind of like Popeye eating spinach. It gives you ability that you do not otherwise have. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul speaks of his hard work, and at the end of the verse he says, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. It is not Paul but God’s grace that did the work. But does that mean Paul was dormant, or that his efforts did not really matter? No—exactly the opposite. Look at the first half of the verse.

1 Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them…

What was the effect of God’s grace on Paul? It enabled him to work harder than everyone else. The more you trust in the resources of the fire department, the faster you will run to the phone when there is a fire. And the more you rely on the power of God, the harder you will strive to receive that grace. You will spend yourself completely in order to get it, because you know the effect of that grace will be the power of God working through you.

Colossians 1:29 …I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Grace is both the cause and an effect of hard work. In order to work hard we need His grace, but it is also true that if we want to experience His grace we must work hard.

The effect of grace on the human soul is earnest effort and hard work resulting in supernatural outcomes. The man or woman who loves God is not content just to see God’s work done. If you really love God you will want the experience of His grace, power, and love flowing through you. That is why we are eager to serve Him.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the giver of effort- enabling strength today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God gives you some measure of strength every day. To have a conscious awareness of it you need only awaken yourself to what is happening. Periodically remind your soul that the ability you have to work in the Kingdom of God is a direct action on your heart from God. God did not wind you up and let you go. He made you in such a way that if He withdrew His strengthening grace even for a moment you would collapse. He is here—right here with you right now strengthening you to read this page!

Forgive me, dear Lord, for taking strength for granted. Forgive me for imagining it is a strength of my own. All the strength I have enjoyed has come from You. Thank You for the strength I have right now. My ability to endure the things I am now enduring is the direct strengthening work of Your blessed hand on my heart right at this moment. Thank You, dear Father.

O God in heaven, please give grace to Your servant that I might work hard in Your kingdom. And also, give Your servant enough desire to experience Your grace that that desire will drive me to work hard.

Think: Think of some of the tasks you anticipate carrying out today for the Kingdom of God, and rejoice in anticipation of what it will be like to be strengthened by God to do those things!

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #11  Giver of Strength  (part 3)

Meditation #40:  Strength Through Quiet Trust

Isaiah 30:15 In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength

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ormal human strength is from God. It is God who enables our hearts to keep beating. But there is also a kind of strengthening that God promises that is only for those who trust Him.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Increased strength is when the same amount of effort produces a greater result. A man who strains as hard as he can to lift fifty pounds is weaker than the one who strains the same amount and lifts a hundred. When God strengthens you, you go from inability to break free from the chains of some enslaving sin, to victory over that sin. You go from trying your hardest to teach your children about God and utterly failing; to trying and having success. You go from straining to build a great marriage and having it collapse in disaster, to straining and having success. You go from making every effort to encourage someone who is brokenhearted and ending up doing more harm than good, to making every effort and seeing the person become greatly encouraged by God’s power.

The fact that God’s presence has a strengthening effect on our souls is a wonderful attribute because it touches everything we do. God does not strengthen us for no purpose. He supplies strength in areas where we need strength in order to accomplish some end or overcome some obstacle, or endure some difficulty. He gives just the strength we need.

People who do not know God have the anxiety that they may face something they should do and find themselves unable. There may be a trial coming that will be too much for them to handle. There is the possibility that they will not be strong enough to build a great marriage or succeed in their work or even provide for their family. Life is a navigation through a maze of powers far greater than any individual. We are like ants in a world of humans who can, at any moment pick us up, move us to another place, fling us into the air, or squash us into nothing. The movements of the creation, the economy, politics, our employer, diseases, and a thousand other powers far greater than us are like huge cogs in a machine that, if we get in their way, will grind us to powder. The unbeliever has no assurance that his life will not be ruined by a random collision with some greater force. But the Christian can rejoice, because the Lord has promised power equal to anything He has in mind for us to face! God does not just shelter us from trouble. He is both our refuge and our strength. Sometimes He shelters us and other times He empowers us to stand out in the storm and withstand it. He does not treat us only as infants, but often as adults—men and women who can go out into the storm and achieve great things through God-given power.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s strengthening grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Today’s verse is very clear about how to get this strength from God. It comes by turning to God and resting in quiet trust. God made this promise in the middle of a chapter in which He was rebuking the people for their confidence in themselves. They had no need for God because they had swift horses. But God judged them by making their enemies’ horses even faster (Isa.30:16). Self-reliance results in disaster. The strength we rely on will crumble to powder (Isa.30:14). When we prefer our own ingenuity to the Word of God, the result is fruitless toil. God will not supply strength, and our efforts will come to nothing. But when we rest from that kind of toil and trust God, He supplies strength. That is not to say you sit and do nothing—it is a different kind of quiet rest. The man whose confidence is in God can rest in quiet trust even while laboring hard for Him. It is the quietness of heart that comes from knowing the efforts are going to be successful.

If two men are handed a shovel, and one is told, “You can keep as much of this pile of gold as you can shovel into your truck,” and the other is told, “if you start digging here you may or may not find some gold,” the second man probably will not work as hard because of the possibility that his efforts may prove not to be worth it. But the first man will work with enthusiasm because he knows that every shovelfull enriches him a great deal. His heart is at rest, which drives him to work harder.

Think: Take a few minutes to consider all the strength the Lord supplied you just yesterday. Think about what it would have been like to have been too weak to handle what happened yesterday. Let your memory of each instance of strengthening delight your heart in God.

Promise to trust today:

Is there anxiety or stress in your life that comes from the fear that your efforts might come to nothing? That kind of a stress comes from a failure to trust and rest in promises like…

1 Corinthians 15:58 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

2 Chronicles 15:7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

1 Corinthians 3:8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #11  Giver of Strength  (part 4)

Meditation #41:  Eternal, Supreme, Tireless, Unsearchable, Strengthener of the Weary

Isaiah 40:27-31 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.[18]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hen we fall into worry, complaining, or despair it is because we are assuming that our way is hidden from God (He has stopped watching over us and attending to us), and that He has disregarded our concerns. If we really believed that He had regard for our concerns and was watching over us, what cause would there be for worry or despair? So Isaiah makes an argument based on the nature of God for why such an attitude is irrational and unfounded. In verse 28 he describes some attributes of God, and then in verses 29-31 draws the conclusion, based on those attributes, that the weak will be strengthened. The solution to the problem of worry and despair, then, is to understand and believe in God’s credentials as a strengthener:

“The everlasting God” (Eternal and Tireless)—God is the source of His own sustenance and it is therefore impossible for Him to run out of strength or to be low on supply. He keeps Himself going. God has an infinite track record of never being depleted in any way. If He declined at even the slightest rate He would have run out of strength altogether in eternity past.

“Creator of the ends of the earth”—The source of all the power there is. Anyone else who attempts to make you strong is dependent upon other sources of strength. A personal trainer cannot simply impart strength to you. He can give you vitamins or a special diet or a plan to help you sleep well, but he is dependent upon the nutrients, sleep, and the natural processes of the body and soul to bring you to a point of strength. As the Creator, God depends upon nothing. He can give you any amount of strength He pleases without any secondary means.

“His understanding no one can fathom” (Unsearchable)—It is impossible to interpret His actions apart from whatever interpretation He reveals. So any apparent disregard for your wellbeing must be interpreted according to what He has said, and He has promised never to disregard the wellbeing of His children. When we interpret circumstances otherwise we are like a little child who looks at the circuitry of a supercomputer and judges it to be a worthless mess.

“He gives strength to the weary”—God is the giver of strength to the well-rested also, but there is something about His character that makes Him especially the giver of strength to the weary. That tells us two important things about what God is like. First, it shows that God’s strength-giving is independent of your getting rest. You can be exhausted, going on three days without sleep, depleted emotionally, taxed, fatigued, and spent—and even in that condition God can supply an inner strength that enables you to accomplish great things. Spiritual strength can propel you even through times of physical and emotional weakness.

Secondly, it shows that in God’s heart there is a special concern for those who are tired and weary. He is the Father of compassion, and His great, infinite heart feels for you when you are weak. Your great High Priest has experienced weakness and fatigue, and His heart of compassion for you causes Him to be eager to grant you strength—a strength that is better (stronger, longer lasting) than the strength of young men.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as giver of strength today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The Lord grants strength to His children, however, He does not grant it automatically or immediately. In order to receive it the weary one must wait for God (verse 31). Waiting involves two parts: 1) eager anticipation and 2) refusing any substitute or alternative. We must look to God alone for our strength. Strength does not come from food or sleep or any other source besides God (which is why sometimes you can get nine hours of sleep and still have no energy or motivation). We must never fall into the error of thinking, “If I could just get rest, or if these circumstances would just change, then I could have strength.” We must always think, “If God grants me strength I will be strong—period. And if He does not I will not—period.” (That is not to say we should not try to eat well, exercise and get adequate sleep; it is only to say that in doing those things we must always remember that strength will come to us through those things only if it is granted by God, since He is the only Source.)

So look to God alone for your strength. Consider the attributes in this passage. Think long and hard about them until you feel a sense of hope and eager anticipation for the experience of being strengthened by God that He has promised. And then keep your focus on that, and refuse to forfeit it by reverting to some sin or by trusting in some other source of strength, or by quitting on what God has called you to do. Just wait in enthusiastic, glad confidence until the promised strengthening comes.

It is also very important in the times when you are strong that you do not attribute that strength to anything but the direct gift of God. It is crucial that we train our souls to connect the wonderful sensation of being strong with God’s grace, so that in times of weakness the thought of receiving grace will be a delightful, hope-generating thought.

Think: In what ways are you most in need of strengthening from God? How could you apply the principles of this passage to your need for strength in that area?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 40:31 Those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.[19]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #12 Giver of Success/Prosperity

Psalm 1:2-3 His delight is in the law of the LORD … 3 Whatever he does prospers.

Meditation #42: What is Prosperity?

F

rom a temporal point of view, success or failure in an endeavor depends on a thousand contingencies. Even if a person possesses all the necessary resources to complete a task, many things could still prevent it. An interruption could occur at a crucial moment. Something could interfere, or undo the work that has been done. Even the most brilliant scientists sometimes make a basic arithmetic error in an equation despite their most careful efforts. Success is never completely within our power to attain. It is something God grants or does not grant. And when He does grant it, that is a direct experience of God Himself, because it is an experience of His success/prosperity-giving grace.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

God’s promises of success go far beyond mere ability to achieve a goal. God gives prosperity. The Hebrew word[20]includes the ideas of flourishing as well as realizing good, beautiful, beneficial outcomes. Mere success, by itself, can be disastrous. If the goal is misguided, success can be worse than failure. Prosperity, however, is compared to the flourishing of a tree and is contrasted with the desolation and barrenness of dried-up chaff that blows away in the breeze (Ps.1:4). Even the best-laid plans can go either direction. God decides whether the outcome will be a fruitful tree or a dried-up wasteland.

How wonderful it is to know a God who is in control of prosperity of outcomes! A person who does not know God can become the most brilliant and wealthy human being on the planet, develop the most ingenious plan ever, pour all of his resources into it, and have it result in catastrophe. But we, even in our ignorance, weakness, and poverty, can simply delight in God’s will revealed in His Word, and enjoy prosperous, thriving, flourishing, God-glorifying, joy-producing, eternally significant successes in our endeavors!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s prosperity-giving grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

In Psalm 1 God promises prosperity to those who delight in His Word and prefer it above human wisdom and the ways of the world. The key to success is not education or strategy or resources; it is loving God’s thoughts and will and desires as expressed in His Word. That kind of love will take you down paths that lead to prosperous success.

Do you believe that? Deep down in your affections does your heart operate as though this principle were as sure as gravity? And do you take delight in that fact?

It seems to us as though success or failure depends on secondary causes (plans, resources, circumstances, effort, etc.). We must come to the point where at the very core of our being it really seems like that next endeavor, big or small, is doomed to fail unless God grants prosperity. We know we are trusting God when it really feels to us like there is much greater chance of success if we pray fervently and seek God’s favor.

Use every instance of prosperous outcomes as an occasion to preach to your soul about the fact that the success came from the grace of God. Without that special favor it would have resulted in failure—a dried-up wasteland.

And use every instance of failure as an occasion to preach to your soul about the fact that the failure was due to the lack of His grace, so that next time your soul will be more desperate to seek grace from God.

Forgive me, dear Lord, for imagining that my successes have been due to my skills or wisdom. I know that You work through skill and wisdom as secondary causes, but You are the only first cause of success. Forgive me for my lack of earnestness in praying for success in matters that seem like I have the power to succeed on my own. Teach me desperate dependence upon You.

Think: What are the next couple tasks you will do when you are finished with this prayer time, or any other tasks that are upcoming today? What would prosperous outcomes look like? What would unfruitful outcomes look like? And what would it be like to enter into that task with a heart fully persuaded that the difference between those two outcomes is determined 100% by whether you enjoy special grace from God or not? How would it affect the way you pray?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 1:2-3 His delight is in the law of the LORD … 3 Whatever he does prospers.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #12  Giver of Success/Prosperity (part 2)

Meditation #43:  Success Through Faith

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s success-giving grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

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he most important way to experience this or any other attribute is through faith. If you want to experience the success/prosperity-supplying properties of God’s nature, trust in Him for all your success/prosperity.

Job 31:24-28 If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,' 25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, ….28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

Job lists the sin of trusting in his money alongside sins like adultery, deceit, and idolatry. Such a wicked sin, and yet so common in most of our lives. How do you know when you are beginning to trust in earthly resources more than God? One way is to examine your fears and joys. Fear comes when the object of our faith is in doubt, and joy comes when the object of our faith seems certain.

O Lord, teach me to trust in You alone for success. Teach my heart to have a moment-by-moment attitude that thinks and feels, “Apart from the Lord’s favor this resource will not be able to bring about good outcomes.” When I rise in the morning, remind me, dear Lord, that all that I plan to do that day will come to naught unless I find Your favor. Let success come through my clinging to Your promises of favor.

When I enter in to my morning prayer time remind me that unless You turn Your face toward me the effort will end in failure—my eyes will be blind to Your glory, I will not have insight into (nor delight in) what I read in Your Word, my mind will be so distracted that my prayers will not be prayers, and ultimately my soul will not come away satisfied when my prayer time is over. Let success come by my clinging to Your promises to turn Your face toward me.

Before I start the tasks of my work day today, make me aware of the fact that all that I am trying to accomplish will be unfruitful without Your blessing. And let success come by my clinging to Your promises of blessing. Alert my heart to the fact that without enabling grace from You all those hours of effort will be a chasing after the wind—like trying to dig a hole in a body of water—total futility. Let success come from my clinging to Your promises of enabling grace.

When the battle with the evil one and the world and my flesh starts to heat up, or when I am hit by the first surprise attack of the day (why are these routine, daily attacks still surprises?)—then remind me that no matter how small and easy to defeat this attack appears, apart from strengthening from You I will certainly fall. The enemy will make short work of me and sift me as wheat. Let success come from my clinging to Your promises of strengthening.

When I turn my attention to my family, let me pause first and rehearse the fact that unless Your Spirit comes upon me in power I will not have desire for or delight in my wife and children, and my efforts to love them and rejoice in them will fail. Let success come through my clinging to Your promise that You will give Your Spirit to those who ask.

When I seek to refresh myself through entertainment or recreation, O Lord, what dangers lie in wait! How frequently entertainment weakens my vision of You, deadens my desire for Your delights, and increases my appetite for the world. The result is the opposite of the goal. Rather than being refreshed and rejuvenated I come away anxious, greedy, lustful, covetous, discontent, irritable, unsatisfied, and unhappy.

O Lord, help me to see when I really need recreation and when I do not. And when I do, teach Your servant to enter into it with all my defenses up and with full alertness. Let the goal be clearly in mind, and let there be an acute awareness that without nearness to You that goal will not be realized. And let success come through my clinging to Your promises of renewal, rest, and rejuvenation.

When I eat, as I bow my head to give thanks, remind Your servant that my goal of learning to take delight in You through the emblem of the pleasures of food will not be reached without Your special help. Let me enjoy success through clinging to Your promises of help.

And when I lie down in my bed at night hoping for a good night’s rest and a tranquil, peaceful heart, let me realize success through trusting in promises like Psalm 4:8—I lie down and sleep in peace because You alone make me dwell in safety.

Think: Pick two major activities coming up today, and think about what it would look like for you to enter into those activities fully trusting in God’s promises.

Promise to trust today: (pick one)

Deuteronomy 15:10,18 Give generously to [your needy brother] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 18 Do not consider it a hardship … and the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

Psalm 118:7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #13 Giver of Satisfaction and Enjoyment of Work

Meditation #44:

Ecclesiastes 2:22-26 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. 24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity … I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

f a man enjoys his work, that enjoyment does not come from the work itself. The natural experience from work is what writer of Ecclesiastes experienced in verses 22-23—ceaseless toil, pain, and grief that seem to have no meaning. It is only through a special act of God’s favor that a man can find satisfaction and enjoyment in his work. So the enjoyment really is not enjoyment of the work itself, nor does it come from finding meaning in the work. It only comes from the presence of God. Apart from that special grace you would be miserable all day every day.

If we could learn to make our work a time of fellowship with God as it should be, oh, how we would treasure that time at work! It would bring such massive delight and joy to our souls! Then we would be like the psalmist who had joy “all day long” (Ps.89:16).

This attribute is especially wonderful because for the one who experiences it, happiness is not dependent upon the type of job he has or the circumstances at work. Joy is available all the time!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as Giver of satisfaction today?

Experiencing this attribute:

As you work today be on the lookout for even the slightest tinge of enjoyment or satisfaction from your work, let that remind you that at that moment you are actually on the receiving end of special, intentional, direct grace and favor from God! Enjoy that grace as you bask in His presence in those moments. And then consider this: Did the joy come from a conscious pursuit of fellowship with God? Or did it happen in spite of the fact that there was no such conscious pursuit? If it was the former, rejoice! You are learning how to have fellowship with God while you work! And if it was the latter, rejoice! God did not leave you to yourself, but gave you a grace you did not even seek to remind you what you could have more of if you sought after Him more.

Think: Is there any sense in which what you do at work during the day could be construed as seeking God with all your heart? If not, what higher priority could you possibly have than to make it so it is a time of seeking God? What do you have to lose—besides joylessness?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 3:10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.

1 Timothy 6:17 Hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #14 Vindicator

Meditation #45:

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

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od has promised to vindicate us in the sight of our enemies. All those times when there was a conflict and you were in the right—God will someday make it known that you were in the right. And He will do it by means of personal association and blessing. He will show you to be in the right by standing by your side and blessing you in the presence of your opponents. When the time is right God will let those people see His favor upon you, and He will do it in a way that will make your cup overflow with joy.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

This attribute is wonderful for at least two reasons. First, because God will vindicate you. All the times of unfairness in your life—when you did not receive the credit you deserved, when you were blamed for something that was not your fault, or when you were in the right but others were convinced you were in the wrong—God will make all that right. He will make your rightness in those cases shine as clearly and conspicuously as the sun in the sky (Ps.37:6). And He will undo the damage that was done by your accusers.

Secondly, God will do this in a marvelous way. He will do it not just by making an announcement or sending out a memo, but by drawing you close to Him in family fellowship, honoring you by bringing you into His own house and seating you at His own table, and by pouring out favor and blessing upon you in front of everyone. He welcomes you into His home with the refreshment of oil and the hospitality and generosity of a cup filled to overflowing. God has promised to honor you by drawing you close to Him and acknowledging you as a servant with whom He is greatly pleased. What a marvelous way to be vindicated! With His great hand on your shoulder He will announce to everyone: “He/She is with Me!”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s vindicating love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Two important aspects of experiencing this attribute stand out. One is waiting and the other has to do with interpreting times of favor.

With regard to waiting—we experience this attribute of God by trusting Him to do it, and by taking delight in the fact that we can trust Him to do it (Ps.37:1-11). The alternative to waiting is to attempt being in charge of your own vindication. If you focus on making sure everyone thinks well of you right now you may forfeit what God promises. Just be patient, and let the Lord worry about repairing your reputation.

Secondly, interpret times of vindication (favor and blessing) for what they are. When there is fairness in your life—you receive the credit that is due, or are vindicated in some way; instead of just accepting it as a matter of course, realize that it is an act of God. You are, at that moment, experiencing one of the attributes of God! And if you enjoy it as such you will be having fellowship with God—fellowship that will increase your love for Him.

Think: Spend a few minutes thinking of some instances of fairness that you have experienced—when God showed others that you were in the right, or when you received credit you deserved. Those were experiences of this attribute of God.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 37:5-7 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #15 The Father of Compassion and God of All Comfort

Meditation #46: Compassion Like a Father

Psalm 103:13-14 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he LORD is the God who listens and cares, not just like a king but like a father. What force in this world is more powerful than that of the concern a father has for his children when they are in real trouble?

As imperfect human fathers we sometimes fail to realize how fragile our children are at certain points. We forget that they are weak, and we impose burdens on them too heavy to bear. We expect them to be more than dust and we are disappointed when they are not. God is not like that. He never forgets that we are dust. He never overloads you or fails to give you strength equal to your task on a certain day. We worry and fret over getting everything done when we are behind in our work, and we feel we cannot possibly do all that we should. But that is not true. God does not call us to do that which we cannot accomplish by His grace. He is the very essence and definition of gentleness and tenderness. He knows exactly what you are made of and what you can do.

Lord You have compassion on me when I am confused, and You teach me. You have compassion on me when I am tempted and You provide a way out. You have compassion on me when I am tired and You give me strength. You have compassion on me when I am deceived, and You give me light. You have compassion on me when I am in pain, and You comfort me and heal me. You have compassion on me when I have done irreversible, horrible damage through sin and rebellion against You, and You forgive me, separating my sin from me as far as the east is from the west. You have compassion on me when I am wronged and You bring justice. What an amazing thing that the Almighty King of the universe would feel pain in His heart over my little trials!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s fatherly compassion today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Learn to enjoy God’s compassion. The world thinks it is better to be envied than pitied. But anyone who thinks that has never felt God’s pity or compassion. It would be better to suffer the severest pain and torment with God’s pity than the greatest thrill or pleasure apart from His pity.

Beware of the enemy’s lies. Satan will try to tell you that you have failed too often and God’s compassion is growing thin. But if our children get sick or injured that causes us to have more compassion, not less. God does not get frustrated with you when you are needier. It only increases His compassion. The needier you are the more glorified He is as His infinite resources are seen all the more gloriously. The sicker the child the more tightly the mother holds it to her chest. So boast all the more joyfully about your weaknesses. When you are weak, then you are strong. Better to be sick and held to His chest than well anywhere else.

Like a loving father, God is pleased by our inadequate efforts. A father teaches his three-year old son to shoot a bow, the kid pulls with all his might on the string and sends the arrow only a few feet, yet he is praised by his dad. We long to grow and mature and send that arrow much further, and we joyfully anticipate the day when His Spirit will enable us to do that, but for now enjoy His pleasure in your little three-foot shots!

When a toddler first learns how to talk, the father listens with utmost intensity to what he says. And he praises the child even for the most improper syntax—just for being able to say a word or string two or three together. As you are learning to pray, enjoy the fact that you are praying to a Father like that. We should not remain babies all our lives, and we should strive to learn to really converse with Him in deep ways as we pour out our hearts to Him, but for right now learn to revel in the fact that you are the son of a God who listens like a father. Let the hunger and thirst for that draw you to prayer more and more. Work hard, like a child who is so eager to learn to communicate with his parents.

Think: Recall a moment when you had deep compassion for someone. Now think about that feeling amplified to the greatest extreme you can imagine and take delight in the fact that God feels that for you right now.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 103:13-14 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers we are dust.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #15 Compassion and Comfort (part 2)

Meditation #47:  Enjoying God’s Pity

Psalm 25:16-18 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am alone and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. 18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he psalmist simply requests that God look at him in his distress. He is like a child who gets hurt and comes running to his mother to show her his wound. As soon as she sees it and shows compassion by kissing it, he is satisfied and runs off to play. The pain of the wound is bearable to him as long as he does not have to bear it without his mother’s kiss of compassion. As long as he knows that she has seen his affliction and is aware of how much it hurts and feels for him, he is strong and can bear the suffering.

God’s compassion is so much better than that of people. Their feeling sorry for you may feel good, but it is not the grace you need for life. God’s pity is over real suffering. And while some of the things for which people might feel sorry for you are things that do not elicit pity from God’s heart (because He knows they do not really hurt that much) there are other things that God knows are hard for you, but that no one else would feel sorry for you for at all. On a day when you are especially tired and unmotivated, it may be a considerable hardship for you to just get up and go to work. That will not make anyone feel great compassion for you, but God knows how hard it is for you on that particular day. He knows everything. He understands your thoughts from afar. He considers your sighs and meditations. He knows how you feel when you do not even understand how you feel. He has compassion on you when you feel oppressed and overloaded, even if you have no reason to feel that way.

What a Friend You are, Mighty God! You are the Ancient of Days, but You are my brother who walks close by my side and attends to my thoughts and feelings every moment.

The psalmist just wanted You to turn toward him and look upon his plight. He just wanted to be looked at by You. You are so wonderful, so gracious, so powerful, so merciful, so kind, so loving, so beneficent; that to receive great benefit all I need to be looked upon by You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s compassionate look today?

Experiencing this attribute:

There is something built into our souls that longs for empathy and pity. When we have hardship, something in us just wants someone to know about it. But it has to be someone who loves you. You are not comforted at the thought of your enemies being aware of your suffering. It has to be someone who will have compassion toward you.

Dear Lord, keep my sinful, idolatrous heart from desiring and enjoying empathy from people more than empathy from You. That look of pity from You would be better than relief from my suffering. It would be better to be hurt and receive Your compassion and comfort than not be hurt at all. Teach me to seek Your compassion. Teach me to enjoy Your pity. When I do receive it from other people, let me enjoy that as Your pity expressed through them, so that I learn to so enjoy Your compassion that I will begin to desire it from You.

Sometimes the reason we want others to see our affliction rather than just desiring that God look upon it is that people can see the suffering without being aware of the immense blessing that we are also receiving. We know that if God looks at our suffering He will see that it is not really suffering. Some things for which people will offer us empathy are things that do not really even hurt—they just seem like they would. The desire for people to see that kind of “suffering” is nothing but a desire to deceive—to make them think we are suffering when we are not. And in a time like that we are willing to inflict suffering upon them (compassion hurts), through deceit, for our own benefit!

O Lord, please forgive Your servant. Take away this heart of deceit. Make me truthful about my blessing. Lord, if people see the enormity of my blessing, and as a result no human being ever feels sorry for me again, Your compassion would be enough for me. Father, I believe that; help my unbelief.

Think: Is this a time when you are enjoying God’s look of compassion (so that your main task is to realize that your current blessings are due to that look), or is God’s face turned away from you right now (so that your main task is to seek His face as the psalmist did in this psalm)?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

Psalm 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #15  Compassion and Comfort (part 3)

Meditation #48:  His Comfort is Enough for Joy

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hat a beautiful description of God: “The Father of compassion and God of all comfort.” All compassion has God as its source and gets its characteristics from God. Any act of mercy, any soothing of the troubled soul, gets its DNA from God—whether it comes directly from God or through a person or event. The same is true of comfort. It is God’s nature to restore peace and joy to the anxious heart.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s compassion and comfort today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Comfort in times of distress is not automatic. Many Christians have begged God for comfort for years and are still in the depths of despair. So the question of how to experience this attribute is an important one.

Perhaps the most common reason we fail to receive comfort from God lies in our failure to wholeheartedly seek Him. We so quickly revert to the band-aids of temporal comforts. We use the pleasures of life as anesthesia to deaden the pain. Food, sleep, TV, books, relationships, hobbies, pills—anything we can find to distract our minds from the pain.

Comfort and joy are like water, and a distressed soul is like a dry throat. The only spring capable of satisfying the thirst of the soul is the presence of God, and anything else we look to for comfort (food, TV, etc.) is a dry cistern that cannot hold water (Jer.2:13). Those things can mask the pain with some momentary pleasure, but they cannot satisfy the thirst of the soul. They are like taking aspirin for cancer. They can deaden some of the pain, but they do nothing to solve the problem.

The problem of a despairing or dried-up soul, like every other problem, is solved only by drinking deeply from the presence of God. And for that reason it is a great gift when God sends suffering—suffering that is painful enough that it opens your eyes to the bankruptcy of all the dry cisterns of this world and drives you to seek after nearness to God with all your heart and all your soul. Very often the normal aches and pains of life are not enough to drive us to desperate seeking. We are content to simply endure them, and continue on with minimal joy. But profound, acute, deep pain is like thirst that cannot be ignored even for a moment, and that drives us to find water at absolutely any cost.

Interpret pain in your life as an invitation to come to the Fountain. God is calling you to draw near, and He is promising mercy, compassion, and comfort. Pull out all the stops in seeking Him with intense, focused determination. Go to a special place with your Bible and a book or two that will help you draw near to Him. If possible, make it a place where you can experience the beauty of the creation. Make a day or weekend of it. Bring some worship music. Write a psalm that expresses the deepest longings of your heart and offer it to God like a sacrifice. Fast, and let each hunger pang remind you that the food and drink you are seeking right now will be so wonderfully satisfying to your soul when you find it.

It is not always possible to get away for an extended time of seeking God (though it is certainly worth making some sacrifices for). When you cannot get away, do all you can to seek nearness to Him in your daily routine. The presence of God is always available to the believer, and it is always sufficient to give you a joy that is greater than your trouble—always. So let every feeling of anxiety remind you of the sufficiency of God’s presence for joy. Let each feeling of anxiety or distress trigger this thought process: “God is right here with me at this moment. What else do I need besides Him? Why is His being near me right now not enough to satisfy my soul? It is only because I am not attending to His presence.”

O Lord, I believe Your presence is more than enough to satisfy the thirst of my soul and to give me real joy. Help my unbelief. These things that are bothering me—annoyances, inconveniences, inconsiderate or hostile people, sins committed against me, irritations, unfaithful people, shoddy work, lack of _______________; dear God—of what importance are those things compared to Your glory? If I have You I do not need the removal of any of those things to be happy. You are enough. I am unhappy right now only because I am blind to Your presence. Please, dear Lord, open Your servant’s eyes and make me able to appreciate the marvelous wonder of what I have right now—the living God right here with me right now.

Think: What do you think God wants you to do today to increase your enjoyment of the Spring of living water?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.[21]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #15 Compassion and Comfort (part 4)

Meditation #49:  Why it is so Important to Find Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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ery often when you receive comfort from God it comes through the love and faithfulness of some person who is being used by God. And it is a delightful experience indeed to be the person God uses for that purpose. The deepest kind of joy comes from being the pipeline through which God’s grace flows to those who are in need.

This is one reason it is so important that you find comfort from God when you are suffering. You must succeed in finding comfort in order to be able to show others the way to comfort. Sometimes we read the passage above and assume that the mere fact that we have been through a certain kind of suffering means we will automatically be able to comfort others who go through it. That is not the case. If you go through some suffering and do not find comfort from God in it, you will not be able to comfort others who go through it. If all you do is find ways to mask the pain for a time, then that is all you will be able to help others do. It is essential that you find true comfort from God Himself during your suffering so you can lead the way for others to find what you found.

This is another reason suffering is such a gift. When we try to help people find comfort in their suffering, very often we come up with solutions that are not especially helpful. They sound to us like they should work, but in reality they do not. And when they do not work we are prone to either blame the suffering person, or throw up our hands and say, “Oh well, I tried to help him.” But when you are the one suffering, you are never satisfied with superficial solutions or anything unhelpful. Your pain drives you to keep studying Scripture, keep asking advice, keep praying, and keep seeking hard after God until you find comfort that is real comfort. It is only then that you will be able to help others. When you meet someone who is suffering in that same way, you will bypass the superficial solutions that did not work for you and go right to the solution that succeeded in bringing you near to God.

God’s attributes are appreciated in proportion to our suffering and neediness. No one has the capacity to love and delight in God’s compassion and comfort more than the person who has been deeply hurt. No one can rejoice in God’s guidance more than the person who has been hopelessly lost or confused, and then received guidance. It is when we are unfairly treated that we can appreciate God’s justice. It is when we are crushed by guilt, or when others refuse to forgive us that we can most delight in His forgiveness. When we are fatigued beyond the breaking point we can truly understand how wonderful His rest, refreshment, and strengthening are. Those who have been through terrorizing danger can see most clearly the glory of God’s shelter and refuge.

All of our sufferings are keys to unlock wonderful truths we could never otherwise find. There are principles in God’s Word that can only be found by the most earnest seeking, and in many cases the only thing capable of driving us to seek with sufficient earnestness is intense pain. So when God gives us pain we can look forward to the sermon or study that will have the truths that will be unlocked by that particular key of suffering. May we not lose the keys by salving over the pain with some kind of anesthesia that derails His purposes in our pain.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s comfort today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you suffer, remind yourself that it is crucial that you find joy in God not only because that glorifies God as the great Satisfier of the soul, and not only because God calls you to live a life of real (not pretend) joy, but also because the joy of others in the future is riding on whether or not you have success in finding comfort in this suffering.

Think: What suffering is there in your life that you have not yet found the way to joy in God that is greater than the suffering?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 50:15 Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #16—The Cause of All Good Desires

Meditation #50:  The Source of Your Desires

1 John 2:15-16 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the boasting of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.[22]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he reason we are not to love this world is the desires involved in doing so are from the world and not from God. One might have expected John to say that such desires are from the flesh or from ourselves. But John only seems to recognize two possible sources of our desires: the world or God. Each time you have a desire, that desire exists because of something God said (and that you believed) or because of something the world said that you believed.

Worldliness is not mainly an issue of behavior. It is a value system in the heart. The unbelieving culture gives you messages designed to persuade you of the value of temporal things apart from God. Happiness will come from a car. Joy is a product of recreation. Having a relationship with some wonderful person of the opposite sex will satisfy the appetites of your soul. When you watch enough of their commercials, immerse yourself deeply enough in their conversations, read enough of their magazines or websites, or spend enough time window shopping in their malls—over time your soul will be persuaded by their message: Yes! Joy is to be found in temporal things in and of themselves. And when you indulge those desires and experience pleasure as a result, you confirm and solidify that belief in a very powerful way. Each time you experience pleasure by indulging worldly desires you preach a powerful, persuasive sermon to your soul that says: “Temporal things really are the source of satisfaction of the soul.”

The other possible cause of desire that John mentions is God. God also gives us messages about what will satisfy the cravings of the soul. He tells us that fellowship with Him is the only thing that can satisfy, and that the pleasures of this world, apart from nearness to Him, are shallow and will ultimately leave you empty. And when we are persuaded of those messages the result is a different set of desires. We will crave the experience of nearness to Him.

The fact that desires are not built into you, but are a product of outside sources is wonderful news! It means you are not stuck with your current set of desires. You are not doomed to a life of saying “no” to your desires and forcing yourself to do things you do not desire. That is not the Christian life. The successful Christian life is to have good desires, and then for God to give you the desires of your heart.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as Giver of good desires today?

Experiencing this attribute:

If godly desires are a product of being persuaded of the messages from God about what is good, the obvious way to experience that is to do all you can to be persuaded of those messages. Expose yourself to them every day. Listen to preachers present them in persuasive ways. And whenever there is a glimmer of belief in your heart, make much of that.

And do not forget the experiential aspect. Your flesh did not become persuaded to believe the world’s message through arguments alone. The arguments get you to try some worldly delight, and when that results in sensations of pleasure—that is what cements the belief in your heart that this thing really is a source of joy. Use that same strategy for good desires. When you have experiences of the presence of God that are delightful, make much of that in your mind. Make sure you draw the connection in your heart between the joy (or comfort, courage, strength, rest, peace, etc.) that you feel and the presence of God. It will do no good to experience peace or joy and assume it is just because you got a good night’s sleep or because of some favorable circumstances. Realize that any joy you feel is due to His presence. Use that to preach to your soul about the supreme value of the grace of God.

Think: What is the most persuasive avenue the world has into your life that persuades you to desire what the world offers? Friends? Commercials? Internet? The mall? A habit? Or something else?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Write your own prayer

Part 2 GOD AND OUR SIN

Attribute #17 Compassion

Meditation #51: Meditation: Appeal to His Compassion

Psalm 51:1-2 A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had come to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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efore David mentions his sin he appeals to God’s mercy, love and compassion. His eyes are fixed on God’s attributes. Oh, what a welcome sight is the Lord’s mercy to the broken sinner! Forgiveness is a function of compassion. God is motivated to show mercy because He feels compassion for us. Our sin offends, angers, and repulses God; but it also generates real sympathy in His heart as He sees the horrible disease with which we have infected ourselves. God actually feels sorry for us because of our plight of having to be the object of His displeasure!

The appeal is to God’s great compassion. His love and mercy and compassion are so vast, so deep, so high, so wide—though your sins outnumber the hairs on your head His mercy outnumbers the stars in the sky. It is vast both in quality and quantity. He shows mercy over and over as we keep repeating our sins. And the depth of His compassion reaches far beneath even the lowest and most base of our sinful motives and rises far above even the highest, most scandalous evils.

The pain of guilt is a marvelous gift and an important key to joy because the more broken we are over our sin the more delight we take in His mercy. It enables us to receive it as the priceless treasure that it is.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s compassion toward sinners today?

Experiencing this attribute:

There is a time of chastisement and consequence for sin during which God deals with us more according to His displeasure than His compassion. But part of what may bring that time to an end sooner rather than later is a heartfelt appeal such as David makes here. It is good to plead with God to deal with us according to mercy and compassion in a time when we have provoked Him to deal harshly with us.

We will not do so, however, unless we have a sense that God is indeed displeased and dealing harshly with us. To experience the sweetness of restoration we must feel the sting of broken fellowship. When we sin against God it is important that we interpret the resulting distance from the nearness of His presence for what it is—the expression of God’s displeasure over our sin. When we seek after Him in prayer and do not receive the joy and peace and delight that come from the nearness of His presence it should sober us to think that He has turned His face away. It is easy to endure pain when at the same time you are enjoying close fellowship with God and the experience of His presence. But pain that comes as a result of God’s displeasure is excruciating. And when we interpret it for what it is, we will cry out in heartfelt desperation for God to cut short the time of discipline and once again let His compassion be the dominant aspect of His dealings with us.

Another way to experience God’s compassion is to let that very compassion flow through you to others. When we see people sin we must be filled with compassion toward them. There is a place for righteous anger, but we know our anger is not righteous if it is devoid of genuine feelings of compassion toward the sinner.

Think: God is mostly pleased with His children, yet there are times when He is displeased. Have you fallen into the rut of thinking God is always (or never) displeased with you? How do you think God feels toward you most of the time? How about right now?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 30:15-19 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. … 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help!

Isaiah 54:7-8 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.

James 5:11 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #18 The God Who Forgives for His Name’s Sake

Meditation #52:

Psalm 25:10-11 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 11 For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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ote the word “for” in verse 11. It is because of, not in spite of, the magnitude of his guilt that David appeals for mercy. The reason we can use the greatness of our guilt as an argument for why God should forgive is the fact that God forgives for the sake of His name. If God forgave for lesser reasons He would not be as glorious. If He forgave out of fear of man or out of laziness in not wanting to deal with sin or out of some façade or pretense that a relationship is something that it is not—all that would be evil. That is often the way we “forgive.” But God’s motive for forgiveness is the highest and best—His own glory.

This is the logic of grace. Our prideful, human reasoning would expect something like, “Please forgive me because my sin is small” or “Please forgive me even though my sin is great.” That is the logic of works. But the logic of grace says, “Forgive because my sin is great”!

Lord, today I am in great need of Your empowerment and strengthening. Show me Your favor, dear Lord, because I am so weak and so sinful and so needy. Turn to me, because I need You to turn to me.

The greater your need the greater your occasion to request mercy. And the greater your sin the greater God’s glory when He forgives it. This is why God’s mercy on sinners is connected to God’s goodness.

Psalm 25:8-9 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Notice the word “therefore.” God is so good, it is His nature to bring about more good—which requires starting with something not good –something that needs an increase in goodness. Bringing sinners down the path of goodness is conduct consistent with the goodness of His character, so the fact of sin only makes it more certain that He will do this. It is our sin that makes us so needy of His guidance into goodness, and it is our failures that can produce the humility that will make our hearts receptive to that guidance.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s self-interested forgiveness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The wrong way to experience this attribute would be to sin more so that His name will be honored more. While His forgiveness of sins brings Him great honor, our committing the sins brings Him great dishonor. The right way to experience this attribute is to 1) understand the logic of grace, 2) understand the magnitude of your guilt, and 3) trust Him to act according to the logic of grace.

1) The Logic of Grace

Any time you have an impulse that makes you reluctant to seek mercy and grace from God, realize that you have a drastically warped and incorrect understanding of the nature of God, and run to His Word to correct that. The logic of grace thinks like David: “The greater the sin problem the more dire my circumstance which means the more of a candidate I am for mercy.”

2) Pray for insight into the greatness of your own guilt.

He who has been forgiven much loves much. If your sin is small in your eyes then your sorrow will be small and your understanding of His grace when He forgives will be small.

Lord, show me the greatness of my sin. Help me to be able to see it even in times when I have not done something other people see as scandalous. Help me to understand the enormity of my guilt and the evil within me every day.

How great is my iniquity before You! Every sin I commit is a great evil because it is committed against such a great God. Every one of my sins is a sin against great holiness, great goodness, great power, great mercy, and great patience. The longer You have been patient with me the greater the evil when I prey on that patience and use it as an occasion for further evil.

My sin is great because it is sin against great light and revelation. You have shown me so much from Your Word; You have revealed to me so much of Your glory—that for me to sin against You is to sin from a position of enlightenment, which makes my sin great indeed. To prefer garbage to Your glory is bad enough, but to have a grand view of Your glory and then to prefer garbage dishonors You a hundred times more.

My sin is great because of my continuance in it. I confess it and return to it, confess it and return, confess and return—day after day, week after week, year after year. The clinging of my soul to evil shows my evil to be exceedingly great. Moderate evil might stumble into occasional sin. But it takes great evil to cling and continue and lean toward sin year after year.

My sin is great because of the frequency and number of my sins. I sin continuously. I have sinned the same sin against You thousands of times. My sins, piled up, would make an unscalable mountain.

My sin against You is great because I have done so much of it in the face of resolutions not to. I have committed to make changes, and then have returned to my sin. I have sinned against my very baptism—that day when I publicly resolved to forsake sin.

My sin is great because of how it reigns in my heart. In many cases I have voluntarily re-enslaved myself to sins from which You had already freed me. I have turned to them as my master, preferring them over You!

My sin is great because of its source. The fact that it springs from deep within me—from my very heart, makes my condition exceedingly evil. If I relax and stop fighting tenaciously, and I just follow my impulses for a while and do whatever I feel like doing—I do things that lead away from You. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the Lord I love.

My sin is great because it aids and abets Your greatest enemy’s attacks against Your name. I know that pain of having my friends join with my enemies. Lord, so often I have done that against You!

My sin is great because of how much it has hurt others and even drawn others into sin—compounding the dishonor to Your name.

My sin is shown to be great because of the level of Your wrath against it as seen in the massive price that had to be paid for it. Oh, how unfathomable must be my guilt if it requires nothing less than the death of Your precious Son to pay for it!

Have mercy on me dear Lord, for my sin is great. I am an ideal candidate for You to display Your mercy, Father, because of the exceeding wickedness within me. I do not come pleading based on my merits, but on Your mercy. Lord, You who are called merciful—be to me what You are called. Make good Your promise of forgiveness and restoration from sin to this sinner—for the sake of Your fame and renown and for the glory of Your great name; forgive my great sin and deliver me from it, Lord.

Even while praying this very prayer, the prayer is contaminated by sin in my heart. My greatest acts of piety need to be repented of. And yet You accept me and make promises apply to me so that I can trust fully in Your faithfulness to those promises. Lord, You are so gracious and kind!

Lord, I rejoice in the fact that You have made forgiveness of my sin a matter that is connected to Your own glory. If it were not, what hope could I have for forgiveness? You have no interest in doing things that bring no glory to Your name. So the only way I could ever enjoy Your mercy is if You design things in such a way as to connect my receipt of Your mercy with the glorification of Your own name. And that is what You have done! I bless Your name, O glorious God.

Now, teach me to experience this and enjoy it more. Teach me to understand the wonder of it far more than I do. I like the thought of it now, after a time of meditation. But in my day-to-day living my thoughts about Your forgiveness are so abstract and theoretical—they have very little effect on me. Lord, open my eyes that I might see and enjoy Your name-glorifying forgiveness even with a moment’s thought.

3) Trust Him to forgive for His name’s sake!

Never blaspheme God by assuming He will not follow through on His promises.

Think: Have you downplayed your own guilt—either in your own mind or before others, in order to save face? If so remember, the less serious you make your sin and guilt the less motive God has to be merciful. One reason it is important to confess not only to God but also to one another is so others can see how merciful God is being when He forgives you.

Promise to trust today:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #19 The God Who Forgives Through Jesus’ Intercession

Meditation #53:

Psalm 51:7,9 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.

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he hyssop branch was used to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice. David knows that neither the branch nor the blood of an animal actually covers the sin (verse 16). David was looking not to the ritual, but to the act of divine cleansing of which the ritual was a picture.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

We understand that the real atonement (payment, covering, cleansing, and forgiveness) of our sin comes through the death of Jesus Christ, but the application of that atonement is not automatic. Just as the blood of the animal had to be applied in a specific way (hyssop), so Jesus’ blood must be applied to us in a specific way.[23] The hyssop that applies the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice to our specific sin is the current, present tense intercession that Jesus Christ is carrying on right now before the Father on your behalf.

1 John 2:1-2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.

The word “propitiation” points to Jesus as both the priest who offers the sacrifice and the lamb who is the sacrifice. And the word “advocate” points to Jesus’ work as an intercessor between us and God in which He pleads for our forgiveness on the basis of His own sacrifice on our behalf.

Why does Jesus have to constantly plead our case before the Father? Is the heart of God the Father toward us different from Jesus’ heart? Is the Father reluctant to forgive while the Son is more merciful? No! Their desires and nature and will are identical. The reason God has chosen to apply the blood of Christ to our sin only through the specific pleading of Jesus Christ on our behalf is this: the Father wants all of His mercy toward us to be given as an expression of love to the Son. The most important thing is not for us to be forgiven. The most important thing is for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be exalted and glorified. So God has made it so that the only way mercy can ever come to us is if it comes from the Father as a favor to the Son. That way the main issue in our salvation is not God’s love for us, but the Father’s love for the Son, who is utterly worthy of love and favor.

Therefore, when Jesus pleads your case, the Father is not a reluctant judge who must be persuaded by a more merciful advocate. Quite the opposite. The Father hears and accepts Jesus’ pleading willingly, eagerly, enthusiastically, and with great joy and delight in His heart.

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your willingness and eagerness to forgive! Thank you for blotting out my sin instead of blotting out my name!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience Jesus’ intercession and the Father’s eager acceptance of it today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The condition for receiving forgiveness and cleansing is repentance—turning from the darkness back to the light. That involves confession (acknowledgement of the truth about God and about your own sin), and a wholehearted embracing of God’s way (which is accompanied by a deep grieving and brokenness over having offended and dishonored God, and resolve to close the doors to that sin).

1 John 1:6-9 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say, "We have no sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.[24]

Psalm 51:16-17 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.[25]

Whenever you confess your sin remember—the only reason your request can (and will) be granted is the exuberant, enthusiastic, infinite love the Father has for the Son; and because of how utterly deserving Jesus is to have His requests on your behalf granted (as well as because of Jesus’ willingness to make those requests on your behalf).

Remember also that Jesus did not die just to forgive your sin. He also died to prevent it. According to Titus 2:11 He died to purify a people of His very own who are eager to do what is good. Whenever you confess your sins and are reminded of Jesus’ work of intercession on your behalf, let that motivate you toward that eagerness to become what He gave His life for you to become.

Think: Satan’s plan is to discourage you with your sin by keeping the entire focus on you, not on Christ. When your works reproach you, turn your attention to His works!

Promise to trust today:

1 John 2:1-2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #20 The God Who Thoroughly Cleanses Us

Meditation #54:

Psalm 51:3-5 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Behold! I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.[26]

H

ow massive is our guilt before God! We are shot through with sin at a level that is not superficial. It goes down to the core of who we are. It was in our spiritual DNA from the very start. It is a virus that has infected every cell of our being.

David’s prayer here was not for removal of the consequences; he just begged to be clean.

Psalm 51:1,2,7 …according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The reason it is important for us to understand the enormity of our guilt is so we can have insight into the vastness of God’s mercy and the staggering amount of grace that is poured out on us when we are forgiven.

Sin is defiling. The Old Testament pictures associate sin with the most disgusting things there are—excrement, a decaying corpse, leprous boils—all the grossest, most sickening things in life. Sin is filthy to think of, filthy to talk about, filthy to desire, filthy to do. It is utterly detestable and offensive to God, and it contaminates your entire being.

But God takes all that and makes us whiter than snow. Snow is already completely white. How could something be whiter than white? God makes us so pure that only hyperbole can describe it. He makes you pure like the snow—not just white on the surface; you can dig down as far as you want into snow and it is just as white.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s cleansing grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience deep and thorough cleansing from God is the same way David did—by desperately and earnestly crying out to God for it. The reference to hyssop points to the divinely-prescribed method of seeking cleansing from God (through the death of a sacrifice offered in your place). We must abandon all illusions that our efforts to cleanse ourselves are worth anything. Only God can cleanse us. That is not to suggest we put forth no effort. Just the opposite! We are to put forth the greatest possible effort, but that effort must be wholehearted seeking after God, not an attempt to redeem ourselves from past sin.

We will seek hard after cleansing from God only when we 1) are convinced of the enormity of our guilt, and 2) when we truly believe His great and precious promises about forgiveness. It is good to think deeply and often about the cross, because the enemy is forever trying to whisper in our ear: Your sin is too big, too ugly, too frequent, and too inexcusable to be forgiven. And our sin is indeed so big, ugly, frequent, and inexcusable that we will be persuaded by that lie unless we have a good grasp of the unfathomable price that was paid.

Lord, the dye of my sin is the most indelible there is, and I have laid in it for so long it has soaked into every part of me. I am filthy to the core of my being and need the deepest kind of cleansing. Scrub and scrub and scrub, dear Lord, until I am clean. And like David, teach me to long for true cleanness. Do not let me be content merely with clean clothes, like the hypocrite. Let me be satisfied with nothing less than cleanness of heart. Open my eyes to sin’s filthiness. Show me how severely I have defiled myself, and how vile and loathsome is my sin, that I may be more concerned with cleansing than with mere relief from earthly consequences.

Think: Which is in most need of being deepened—your awareness of your guilt, your awareness of the promises of cleansing, or your understanding of the vastness of the price Jesus paid and His ability to more than cover your guilt?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Write your own prayer

Attribute #21 The Re-Creating God

Meditation #55:

Psalm 51:10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.[27]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

in had so destroyed David that he had to call in none other than the Creator Himself. He had wreaked such devastation and destruction within himself that only the One who can call a universe into being by a single word is capable of the kind of restoration he needed. The same is true for us.

In our natural thinking it does not seem like sin does that much damage. It seems like our sin is just a slip-up, and all that is needed is for us to be more careful next time (as if sin were a mere mistake). The truth is, when we sin there is a bomb that detonates inside our soul and the devastation that results—especially the damage done to our affections—is staggering. After the detonation we desire God and His Word less, sin is more attractive to us, heaven seems like a distant, irrelevant mirage; righteousness losses its appeal, the world gets big and God gets small in our eyes. The city of our heart becomes so decimated that the only chance of restoration is the Creator Himself.

But God is not only the Creator but the re-Creator. He repairs what is broken and “restores the years the locusts have eaten” (that is, He undoes the damage inflicted by His own judgment). That is not to say the damage is a small matter. When the bomb goes off the damage is exceedingly painful, and the restoration may be a long time in coming; but when it does come, there is never a life so devastated that God cannot fully redeem it and make it beautiful. He makes all things beautiful in His time.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the re-creating grace of God today?

Experiencing this attribute:

David experienced the attribute of God’s re-Creation by beseeching God for it. In one of the most earnest, desperate prayers ever recorded David begs God for it as if it were the only thing that mattered to him. The damage and devastation in your life can be redeemed—not just patched up or turned toward some small good, but fully restored into something more beautiful than it ever was before. When we turn our lives into rubble God delights to glorify Himself by showing His re-Creative attribute. The more hopeless the mess, the greater the glory when He redeems it.

But that glory is marred and obscured if He brings that restoration in a context in which it will not be obvious where the restoration came from. And so very often God withholds the restoration until we cry out to Him with the kind of desperation David had in Psalm 51, so that when the restoration comes there is no chance at all that we will believe the lie that we pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps, or that the instruments God used to restore us (other people, circumstances, etc.) were the source of our restoration.

Help me remember, dear Lord, the damage I inflict upon myself when I sin. Create a new heart in me right now, dear Lord. I have set off multiple bombs in recent days. Create my heart anew this morning. Restore the image of You that I have so marred. Demolish the ruined affections and rebuild godly affections. Tear down fleshly, temporal fear and rebuild fear of You. Remove idolatrous/adulterous loves, and rebuild faithful love for You alone. Wipe away reliance on worthless human wisdom and restore full confidence in Your wisdom alone. Oh, blessed exchange! Love for love, wisdom for wisdom, affection for affection, fear for fear—in each case the worthless for the priceless. What an amazing thing that I can even ask for this! For free no less! You are such a rich, wealthy, generous, gracious God!

Think: Recall a recent sin that has damaged your affections (made God seem less attractive and spending time with Him less desirable—or that made His truth more difficult to believe). Think carefully and thoroughly about the damage done by that bomb, and about the magnitude of miracle it would take to undo the damage of the explosion. Then pray hard for that restoration. Take some time also to revel in and enjoy the amazing works of restoration God has already done in your life.

Promise to trust today:

Joel 2:25 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten … my great army that I sent among you.

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #22 The One Against Whom All Sin is Committed

Meditation #56:

Psalm 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

O

ur sins hurt other people, and we are responsible to seek their forgiveness. But ultimately what is sin but a violation of God’s law? Sin against people is only wrong because it is sin against God. And the people we sin against are deserving of good treatment only because God loves them and desires good treatment for them.

When our sin hurts other people, that helps us see the depth of the wickedness of it. The tears of our loved ones are a visual aid that helps us understand the evil of our sin, but we must understand that the visual aid is just that and no more. It merely illustrates on a small scale what is true on a much larger scale. Our guilt is not limited to the pain we cause others. As egregious as that is, our offence against God is far, far worse.

Most of the time we get it backwards. We feel worse about hurting people than about dishonoring God. Most of us, if we have a day when we keep the second half of the Ten Commandments (sins against other people); we feel we have had a pretty good day, regardless of how well we did keeping the first half (sins directly against God). What an indictment on our love for the Lord! Think about it. If you were to commit murder or adultery, you would lay your head on the pillow at the end of the day racked with horrible guilt and sorrow. But on days when you place another god before the LORD by preferring some created thing to fellowship with Him, but you “keep your nose clean” in every other respect, is the sense of guilt less than when you commit the more “scandalous” sins against people?

Or think of it this way—which would be harder for you to confess to your small group: that you struck your spouse in anger, or that you had idolatrous attitudes in your heart? The fact that we are more ashamed of sinning against people than of sinning against God shows how meager is our understanding of God’s holiness!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The only thing that is bad about any sin is that it is sin against God. This is a wonderful reality, because if we repent we can always be forgiven by the One whose forgiveness matters most. Sometimes it is possible to sin against someone, repent completely, and yet remain in the “doghouse” with that person, remaining alienated and estranged with no remedy. But God always restores the repentant sinner, and since all sin is ultimately against Him, He is always in a position to restore you from any sin.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the only One against whom sin is ultimately committed today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you confess your sins to God, take some time to consider this marvelous truth. Imagine what it would be like if some sins were outside the scope of what God could forgive—if God sometimes said, “I cannot do anything about that sin—only that person you sinned against can forgive that sin.” If that were the case there would be many times when forgiveness would be impossible for us to obtain. (It is necessary to seek forgiveness from the people we sin against. If we do not we are proving our repentance is not genuine. However, our restoration and standing with God is never held hostage by their unwillingness to forgive). Experience this attribute of God by appreciating it in times of confession. You always have access to the One with whom things must be made right.

Lord, teach me to be like the psalmist, who asked for forgiveness rather than relief from his suffering. Make me one who would sooner be forgiven than relieved—who prefers cleansing to comfort. If You would just look upon me with pity, dear Lord, the cleansing and grace that would come to me are all I want.

Think: What is the sin that seems to you to be the least forgivable in your life? Rejoice over the fact that since that sin is ultimately a sin against God, God can restore you!

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 57:15-19 For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—the breath of man that I have created. 17 I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, 19 creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."

Psalm 130:3-4 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #23 Crusher of Bones & Restorer of Joy

Meditation #57: Deep Joy through Deep Sorrow

Psalm 51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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avid is so utterly devastated that he likens it to having all his bones crushed. But instead of merely praying for survival or even healing, he goes all the way and asks for joy and rejoicing and singing—a ridiculous prayer anywhere but before God’s throne of grace. And ridiculous there most of all if not for the blood of the One who came and died so that His bride could be filled with His joy (Jn.3:29, 15:11). Before God’s throne of grace the true penitent can ask for the highest joy that his linguistic abilities can possibly articulate and he will get it, because that is the effect God’s presence has on His children. The prodigal need not merely ask to be a slave in the household. The Father has invited us to ask for the full rejoicing and celebration of heaven when we turn back to Him.

That is not to say it comes instantly or easily. We do not know how many months or years David prayed this prayer. But we do know that God brings fullness of joy in the fullness of time, such that the joy is the greatest it can be if we will only wait for it and reject all substitutes.

Dear Lord, teach me to wait for You. I believe your presence would give me exuberant joy. I believe; dear Lord, help my unbelief.

One reason the Christian can have greater joy than the world is we have the greatest kind of grief and sorrow. The world’s sorrow is over temporal things—temporal dangers, threats, losses, and sufferings. But when God brings someone to the knowledge of Him, God opens his eyes to the eternal dangers, threats, losses, and sufferings. The Lord shows him the infinite horror of being one who has offended and sinned against a perfectly good, perfectly just, wrathful God. He opens the person’s eyes to the fact that he is in the worst imaginable strait. And then He delivers him from all that into the greatest imaginable blessing. The world’s griefs, in comparison to true grief, are superficial. Those griefs drive them to despair nonetheless because they have no real joy to enable them to endure even superficial grief. Their joys are even more superficial than their griefs, so they drown in an inch of water.

The imagery David uses is striking—“the bones You have broken.” As we hold one of our precious children in our arms the most unimaginable thing we can conceive would be to break one of their bones. And we are sinful, evil parents. If it would be hard for us, being evil, how much harder must it be for God? God, who loves us far more than we love our children, and who gave His Son to die so that our bones could be guarded and protected. God who protects us from injury every moment of every day—what vastness of offence it must take to move Him to take His great hands from protecting us, take a firm grip, and to snap our bones. Oh, what a great matter our sin is! What an ocean of evil must be required to cause the great Fountain of infinite love to do that to His child, whom He loves! And what astronomical good must come from that breaking of our bones to make such a loving heavenly Father willing to go through the agony of watching His beloved child suffer.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as crusher and restorer today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God can restore what He breaks. He can set the bone and heal it and make it stronger than it was before. And great benefit comes when He does that. But never presume upon that, thinking that you will just sin and then be restored by God. Consider the excruciating pain of the crushing of your bones, and the agony of the re-setting, and the great amount of time it all takes before you are back on your feet—and worse than all of that, the horrible pain of experiencing all that at your Father’s angry hands—the pain of knowing He is displeased with you. The pleasure of that sin measured against the agony of God’s discipline, the anguish of feeling His displeasure and anger, the prolonged grief of repentance, the painstaking process of restoration, the difficult procedure of breaking free from the resulting enslavement to the flesh—it is the most lopsided, rip-off transaction there could possibly be. No one in his right mind says, “I will just break some bones now because they can be healed later.”

Think: How great a benefit would have to result in order for you to be willing to inflict severe pain on your own child like God has given you? God loves you more than you love anyone, which means for Him to put Himself through the torture of watching you suffer, the purpose must be marvelous beyond comprehension!

Promise to trust today:

Lamentations 3:32-33 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #23  Crusher of Bones and Restorer of Joy (part 2)

Meditation #58:  Suffering Teaches us to Pray Earnestly

Psalm 88:1-3 O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. 3 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

f God is so compassionate, why doesn’t He simply remove our suffering? The truth is, it is precisely because of His compassion that He does not remove our suffering. Very often it is suffering that enables us to seek Him earnestly. When we are not suffering, our prayers tend to become flat, lifeless, and passionless. Our eyes remain dry, and our faith and love cool. In times like that suffering can be the greatest gift God could give us. The arrow of prayer has little power unless the bow is pulled all the way back, and it is the agony of deep suffering that pulls the bow to capacity. Even the prayers of the Lord Jesus Himself came with loud shouts and tears as His humanness was racked with suffering and death. God gives us suffering for the same reason a compassionate surgeon cuts with his scalpel. It is the pain required for restoring health.

Teach me to embrace suffering all the more, Lord, as I am reminded by it that it is the very thing that brings me what I most long for—passion in my prayers and humble dependence in my spirit before You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s hard compassion today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Psalm 63:1,8 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you… 8 My soul follows hard after you.[28]

The Hebrew word translated “earnestly” means “persistently” or “insistently.” You do not earnestly seek something that is easily found. Nearness to God is not experienced apart from energetic, wholehearted seeking. God will not dishonor Himself by allowing Himself to be found by halfhearted seekers.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Earnestness in our prayers, then, is a priceless treasure, and nothing teaches us earnestness like suffering.

Think: Sometimes it is hardest to seek wholeheartedly after God when life is going smoothly. What change could you make now that would prevent the need for God to send agonizing suffering to draw you into earnestness in seeking Him?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #23  Crusher of bones and Restorer of Joy (part 3)

Meditation #59:  The Purpose of Joy—Praise!

Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

D

avid was crushed to powder by God’s mighty hand of chastisement. He had committed adultery and murder, was exposed, and his baby died. Those lips that had uttered some of the greatest praise ever known were now glued shut. A heart broken that severely cannot sing for joy. So he prayed and asked God to open his lips of praise. True praise requires true joy in the heart, so this was in essence just another way of saying, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation.” He was asking for the kind of joy that bursts forth in praise. “Make me happy enough in You that my joy will break forth out of my mouth.” Praise is simply the activity of joy. It is what happens when you are happy. Statements like, “I will praise You” are more like affirmations of faith in future joy than they are mere vows of duty. The point is not “I will force myself to sing,” but rather “I will be so happy it will make me sing.”

What a wonderful way to ask for joy! Instead of just asking to feel better he asked to feel such that praise would spring out of his mouth. The purpose of joy is praise. We should ask for joy with the motive of wanting His name to be joyfully praised.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Only God can open the lips of praise. David knew a lot of great psalms, he knew the verbiage and terminology—he could craft all kinds of excellent statements of praise; but he could not open his own lips in true praise. Saying the right words is within our power. Generating enough joy and delight in God for true praise to come out of our mouths is not within our immediate control. It is a work of God. There are certain things we must do to place ourselves into a position to receive it from God (such as seeking Him with all our hearts and preferring Him above any other treasure), but only God can reveal Himself and open our eyes and satisfy our souls such that we will be truly happy in Him.

No other treasure can do this. Those earthly things that seem to be such great pleasures—in times of bone-crushing sorrow they are powerless to bring forth song from despairing lips. Only God’s presence is delightful enough to guarantee that if it is experienced it will bring joy greater than any suffering.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as restorer of joy today?

Experiencing this attribute:

It is a big prayer for David to say, “Let the bones You have crushed rejoice.” But it is an even bigger thing to ask, “Let the bones You have not crushed rejoice.” When life is smooth we are prone to assign all the good that is happening to circumstances. And that handcuffs our heart’s ability to rejoice in Him. Being deeply crushed brings us to the point of realizing that nothing but the presence of God will be enough to restore joy. Take care never to minimize sin such that you sidestep the pain of brokenness in guilt. It is through that brokenness that we are driven to the Lord with enough intensity to find fellowship with Him. His design is for us to descend into the depths of sorrow over our sin before He lifts us to the heights of joy. It is not His design to leave us in those depths, but neither is it His design to bypass those depths.

God is not the only one who can open our closed lips. Anger, pride, selfishness, etc. can pry them open too. When they do it, evil comes out, because they use the crowbar of sin. When God opens our lips praise comes out because He uses the crowbar of joy.

Think: Which tool has most often been used to open your lips recently—the crowbar of sin or the crowbar of joy?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 57:17-19 I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, 19 creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."

Write your own prayer

Attribute #24 The God Whose Discipline Is Only Redemptive

Meditation #60:

Hebrews 12:9-11 We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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od metes out punishment on unbelievers that is strictly punitive. It does not change them or benefit them. In fact in some cases it drives them into even deeper rebellion. It is designed not to restore but to punish. But for us, 100% of what God does in response to our sin is remedial (corrective). It is never mere punishment. It restores and corrects us. If you are a Christian, God has nothing for you but mercy and grace. NOTHING!

Romans 8:1 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Even when He turns His face away from you, it is 100% redemptive. In fact, the purpose of God’s chastisement is precisely to protect you from His judgment.

Your chastisement is exceedingly precious to me, dear Father, because it opens my eyes to new vistas of Your glory I could never see any other way. I kiss the hand that holds that whip. I rejoice in the good that could have only come from that chastisement.

1 Corinthians 11:32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

When God tries to produce a harvest of righteousness (Heb.12:11), does He succeed? Yes! God disciplines so that the person might share in the very holiness of God and produce a harvest of righteousness.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s redemptive correction today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When a person proves himself to be a horrible sinner our tendency is to discard him as worthless. But God is the great recycler of ruined souls. He not only accepts them, but in His accepting He renews them and takes what is worthless and makes it a work of eternal beauty.

There is a joy that continues even when we are crushed in sorrow over our sin, because His purposes in redemption are bigger even than our sin! Your fall is temporary. His promises are eternal. His perfect plan cannot be derailed even by sin, and He has promised to restore us.

The rod is excruciating. It is acute pain that is so severe that it is to be more frightening to us than anything the world can do to us (and the world can inflict tremendous suffering). In fact, fear of chastisement is the motive that drives us to persuade people to become Christians, because our fear of discipline makes us realize how utterly fearsome hell is and sparks compassion in our hearts for those who are headed there.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.

I bless Your name, dear God, for being a God whose chastisement of His children is always redemptive. Thank You, Lord, that I can trust You to give me exactly what I most need, perfectly tailored so that any part that is not absolutely necessary for my good is trimmed off. Thank You that in the moments of my most excruciating pain I can be certain that it is all for my good. Not even a little bit of it is sheer punishment with no redemptive, restoring effect. Thank You, dear God, that You restore me. You renew my soul and refresh me. When I rush headlong into death and destruction You bring new life and restore my soul. You heal me. It is painful to be under Your scalpel when surgery is needed, but I can delight in the knowledge that when I feel that pain it is always, always the Surgeon’s scalpel and never the mugger’s switchblade.

Think: How seriously do you take God’s chastisement? Scripture says we should have great fear of incurring it (fear that keeps us from sin), and great joy when it does come knowing that it is only redemptive. The fool does the opposite—takes it lightly and has little or no fear of it, and when it does come curses it.

Promise to trust today:

Micah 7:8-9 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

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Part 3 CARE FOR US

Attribute #25 Mighty Hand

Meditation #61:

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.[29]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hen God brings hard circumstances into our lives, that is His “mighty hand.” God allows us a great deal of freedom—countless choices and options in life. But sometimes He blocks off a particular way. We try to turn down a path and are stopped in our tracks as we slam into the immovable, mighty hand of God, which is blocking our way. God plants His great hand firmly in front of a cliff or miry pit or lake of fire, and when our rebellious will cannot see the danger, and decides there is something good in that direction, it slams headlong into the hardened steel wall of God’s mighty hand.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s mighty hand today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God’s mighty hand is painful, but often the pain comes only because of our desires for harmful things. We see a cliff and mistake it for a paradise, so we keep trying to fight through the merciful, mighty hand of God that is keeping us from the suicidal desire. We resist His way like a tired baby resisting sleep—struggling against the grip of a firm, loving father who holds him tight. The more the baby resists, the more tightly the father’s “mighty” hand has to hold him, creating more discomfort for the baby. But if he would just rest and submit, he would have all he needs to feel better (sleep).

We claim to love God’s will. We are forever asking Him to show us His will for our lives so we can make good decisions. But as excited as we purport to be over His plan for our future, why do we so often fight and struggle against His plan for us in the present? We pepper Him with our negative commentary on what He is doing, “Shoot!” “Bummer!” “Darn!” God plants His mighty hand in front of us to keep us in His will, and we resist (what are those words but expressions of our disapproval for what God is doing?)

All pain in the Christian life is the good guidance of His mighty hand. Humble yourself under it and He will lift you up at the right time and will always care for you and take care of those things that worry you.

What a wonderful act of fellowship with God—the act of casting our cares upon Him—consciously, intentionally placing them in His hands to worry about, trusting that He will not let the trial overwhelm you or do ultimate harm to you, refusing to think about that over which you have no control, entrusting that fully to Him.

Lord, teach me to submit. Teach me to humble myself under Your mighty hand, and wait on You for the suffering to pass. Fill me with hope for the time when the painful part will be done and You will lift me up. Teach me to cast all the anxieties and cares that arise from Your mighty hand upon You, knowing that You have care concerning me. Thank You, dear Lord, for caring about me. Whenever I get worked up with cares (worries and anxieties), let that remind me that You get worked up about me.

Think: What care is on your heart now that needs to be cast upon Him? In what ways are you feeling His mighty hand, and what would it look like for you to let go and submit to it?

Promise to trust today:

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.[30]

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #26 The Living Counselor-King

Meditation #62:

M

artin Luther was a man who was prone to depression, and one morning when he was particularly down his wife Katie came downstairs dressed all in black. Luther asked why she was dressed for a funeral, and Katie said, “Because God has died.” In predictable fashion Luther explodes, “What are you talking about? God has not died! He reigns on His throne!” And Katie responded: “Then why are you acting as if God were dead?” She may have been reading Micah 4:9.

Micah 4:9 Why do you now cry aloud—have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

When we grumble and complain because of circumstances, or worry about the future, or cry out in despair or hopelessness; we are behaving as though we had no King. We are acting as though our Counselor were dead. When you are tempted to grumble, remember how many of God’s attributes you are experiencing at that moment. Preach to your soul: “Why are you troubled, O my soul? Right now, at this very moment…

- You are being watched over and cared for by a God who is an ever-present help in trouble (Ps.46:1-2), and who waters His garden by the moment (Isa.27:3).

- You are being sheltered and protected from a thousand horrible fates that would seize upon you in an instant if God allowed so much as a crack in His fortress around you (Eph.6:12).

- You are being rejoiced over by a God who feels about you the way a newly-married man feels about his bride (Isa.62:5).

- You are being listened to and attended to by the One who hears the very desires of the afflicted (Ps.10:17).

- You are being strengthened and sustained by the Source of all power and energy (Isa.41:10).

- You are being delighted in by the One who rejoices over the works of His hands (Zeph.3:17).

- You are being used in the service of the great King of kings (Heb.9:14).

- You are being led by a good Shepherd who has promised to make you lie down in green pastures and lead you beside quiet waters and restore your soul (Ps.23:1-3).

- You are being carried by the One who never stumbles (Isa.40:11), and whose heart toward you is like that of a woman toward her newborn baby (Isa.66:13).

- You are being tutored by the Giver of all wisdom (1 Jn.2:27).

- You are being wept over by the Father of all compassion (2 Cor.1:3). Despite all the marvelous benefits you are receiving, He sees this current pain or discomfort and He really does feel for you. His compassion is so vast that His pain over your suffering is greater than yours. And your sympathetic High Priest, who has personally experienced this kind of pain and weakness Himself, is so understanding that He allows you to complain—provided you complain the right way (see  tomorrow’s meditation).

Given all this, why is your soul troubled? If your eyes were opened to these things surely your heart would be full of joy right now.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your living Counselor/King today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience God as the living Counselor and King by turning to Him when you face circumstances that normally get you down. But do not turn to Him merely as a means of getting the circumstances changed. Seek to enjoy fellowship with Him in the midst of those circumstances—fellowship that is so pleasing and satisfying to your soul that it has a greater impact than those circumstances.

Think: Think of the circumstances that may arise today that are most likely to push you into feeling and behaving as though God were dead. Look again at the bullet list above. Which two points would be the best reminders for you to prevent you from having the wrong reaction to those circumstances?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #27 The Only Solution to Trouble

Meditation #63: The Only Worthy Object of Complaint

Psalm 42:9 I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"[31]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

P

eople who grumble and complain are rebuked harshly and even put to death by God in Scripture. And yet there is a godly way to complain. The wrong kind of complaining is evil and detestable to God and dishonoring to Him. Never question God’s goodness or justice or power!

But in the midst of great suffering there is a kind of “complaint” or lament, that honors God. Even the Lord Jesus groaned in the garden and cried out, “Why?” on the cross. This psalmist asks, “Why?” but he does so while taking refuge in the Lord as his rock. It is not a cry of unbelief, else why would he be taking refuge in God? It is a complaint of lack of nearness to God. That is the one thing we are permitted to complain about. When we complain about lack of comfort or lack of some earthly pleasure or security, we dishonor God by making those things a higher desire than the will of God. But when we complain about our lack of intimacy with God, and our lack of ability to see His glory, that holds Him as the greatest treasure to be desired and it honors Him.

The basis of the psalmist’s complaint was the memory of God’s past kindness. The basis of wrong complaining is the forgetting of past kindness. Righteous complaining is like a husband telling his wife, “I can’t stand being away from you!” Unrighteous complaining is like when he says, “I don’t like the way you are doing things.” The good kind of complaining is a movement toward God in love and desire. The other kind is a movement away from Him, rejecting His work.

Amazingly, the good kind of complaining is appropriate even when the calamity is due to our own sin! When God turns His face away because of sin, it honors Him when we cry out, “How long O Lord? My heart yearns to be restored to closeness to Your presence.”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the only solution to trouble today?

Experiencing this attribute:

What should you do when sorrow and despair overtake you? Complain! But be sure to do it in the right way. Grumbling because you do not have different circumstances is idolatry. When you do that, you assume circumstances, rather than God, are the source of joy. Never be like the thousands of Israelites God killed in the desert for grumbling about circumstances.

Complain in a way that glorifies God. Complain that you do not have a greater experience of His presence. Complain about nothing but your lack of nearness to Him. Lament nothing but your own blindness to His glory and dullness to His perfections. Cry aloud for nothing but deeper knowledge of Him.

Psalm 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

Psalm 142:1-7 A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. 4 … I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." 6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

Dear Lord,

May all my complaints cause greater, never less thirst for You.

May all my complaints cause greater, never less desire to come and meet with You.

May all my complaints cause me to remember, not forget Your past kindnesses.

May all my complaints cause greater delight in Your commanded love, never to make my soul downcast.

May all my complaints cause me to pray to You as the God of my life, never to drift from You or reduce my zeal in prayer.

May all my complaints cause me to take refuge in You as my rock, never to seek some other refuge.

May all my complaints be made to You as the only solution and only relief, never viewing You as a means of some other relief.

May all my complaints cause greater desire for Your light and truth and Your holy presence.

May all my complaints draw me to Your altar—the place where blood is shed for my sin—the place where I am reminded of the horror of my sin as well as the place of forgiveness. May they never cause me to forget or minimize my sin.

May all my complaints cause me to look to You, and never to mere relief, as the joy of my rejoicing.

When I suffer, teach me how to groan in a way that magnifies You and draws me close to Your heart.

Think: What sort of adjustments would have to be made in your thinking and affections in order for your natural response to suffering to be the good kind of complaining?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 91:15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.

Psalm 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #27  The Only Solution to Trouble (part 2)

Meditation #64:  A Proven Ever-Present Help

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (lit. a help in troubles He is found to be greatly)

Dear Lord, show me Your glory and satisfy my soul this morning by opening my eyes to the wonders of this marvelous combination of Your attributes: refuge, strength, and tested/proved, great help in trouble.

What is wonderful about this combination of attributes:

E

very morning you can go into your prayer room and meet with God and find peace, joy, encouragement, motivation, love, and strength. When temptation is powerful, when people mistreat you, when circumstances are especially hard, when your mood is down, when you have family problems, work problems, health problems, relationship problems; any time you feel pressure, pain, or fear, you can come before Him and find rest and relief and safety—refuge. Some threats seem to say to us, “You can run but you cannot hide.” But if you are a child of God no one but God can ever say that to you. You are never like a child who can’t quite make it home before the bullies catch up to him. You can always run into His refuge.

And the safety of His refuge is not merely like a child running into his house and being safe. It is a safety that comes also through strengthening. The Lord is your strength. He gives power to your feeble soul. He enables you to fight and stand your ground against the mighty enemy (all the rulers and powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, and Satan himself). He emboldens you and gives you both strength and courage to face any opponent as long as you are faithful to Him.

Most of the time we do not even think about the strength we have. We do the things we are able to do and it does not seem like we are receiving any special enablement. But every bit of strength you have is from Him. When someone treats you roughly and it does not bother you or you handle it well, that is special strengthening from God. When you can endure the loss of some possession, or mistreatment, or physical pain, or disappointment—those are things that in some cases would get you down. So when they do not it is a special working of God’s refuge-providing, strengthening grace.

In addition to His being a refuge and strength-giver, He has also “been found” (been proved) to be a help in abundant measure. God’s propensity to be a great help in time of trouble has been proved again and again and again by millions throughout the ages. God has never failed anyone, ever. Think of how many times His presence has been a balm to sooth your soul when you have been in turmoil. If you are comfortable and at rest right now here in His holy presence it is because you are experiencing this very attribute. God has been found to be a great help millions of times in the past, and once again right now.

Psalm 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

There is a kind of strength from God that enables you to keep going even when your physical weariness and weakness persist (2 Cor.12:10). And there is a kind of spiritual fatigue that will have a suffocating, paralyzing effect even in times of physical strength and health. Always remember that inner rest and strength of the soul is more important than physical rest and strength.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as an ever-present, strength-giving refuge today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience God as a tested and proven refuge and strength-giver is to seek both refuge and strength from Him. When we are weak or in trouble we naturally seek relief. But if we seek it from some source besides God we will not experience Him as a refuge and strength-giver. When you need rest and refuge, seek it not from a nap or a day off or a vacation or retirement, but from the Lord. Read a psalm and meditate and pray and do all you possibly can to experience His presence. If you do not feel rested or strengthened, then you have not yet found His presence—keep seeking. Perhaps the rest or strengthening will come through sleep or a vacation, but make sure your heart understands what the Source of that rest really is.

Think: What is your current level of inner strength? And what would it look like in your life if you were to seek more earnestly after God for rest and strength? (Be specific.)

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress,

Write your own prayer

Attribute #27  The Only Solution to Trouble  (part 3)

Meditation #65:  Interpreting the Thirsts of the Soul

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he psalmist specified that he longed for the living God. He did not merely want some benefit from God; he desired an actual, direct encounter with a personal God. Those who long for their cherished idols long for whatever feeling or benefit they think they can get from them, but they never get fellowship. All idols are either dead, non-personal things, or they are lying demons with whom any supposed fellowship is a deception. The psalmist does not focus on an earthly benefit as the ultimate object of his desire. He wanted fellowship with the living God—interaction with a Person. He wants to appear before God’s face.

What criminal longs to appear before the judge? Even though God, in His holiness, is the greatest threat and most severe danger in existence for an unholy being; still the longing of His people is to be in His presence because not only is He the greatest threat, He is also the only source of deliverance from that threat. God is such a joy that even though we fear Him as our Judge we long to appear before Him.

What an amazing thing that the King of the universe not only allows us to know about Him, and not only gives us countless gifts, but He actually interacts personally and directly with us as individuals!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s fellowship today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The psalmist longed to be with God—not like the kind of longing one has for a luxury, but like the longing a desperately thirsty deer has for water. A person can long for luxury, or for some wonderful possession or circumstance, and put that desire out of mind for a time—even forget about it most moments in the day. But in oppressive heat after many hours of exhausting work without a drink, that kind of thirst DRIVES a person to find water. That craving cannot be put out of mind even for a moment. He will postpone almost anything to get a drink.

O Lord, that I may long for Your presence like that!

We sometimes think seeking information about God from His Word is the same as seeking after God. It is not. Information alone is not fellowship with God, it will not satisfy the soul, and does not have the power to rescue you from sin. Never be content to merely receive information from God’s Word without actually seeking a personal interaction with Him. Instead of seeking after a God who wrote—a God who communicated thousands of years ago; seek after the God who is—the God whose face is there right now in your prayer room for the seeking. What He wrote thousands of years ago was written to enable you to experience fellowship with Him right now.

O Satisfier of my soul, I appear before Your face this morning hanging my head because of the lack of intensity of my desire for Your presence.

How does one increase thirst for God? By interpreting all of the thirsts of the soul for what they are—thirst for God. When you are aggravated because of being treated unfairly at work—that is a thirst to experience God’s attribute of fairness and justice. When you are tired, that is a thirst to experience God as a rest-giver. When you are afraid or worried, that is a thirst to experience God as a caretaker, refuge, and provider. When you are bored, that is a thirst to experience God as awesome. Learn to interpret all the pains, discomforts, frustrations, annoyances, suffering, and distresses of life as pangs of thirst in your soul for God.

Think: How intense is your desire for God? What thirst is there right now in your soul that you have interpreted as a thirst for some earthly thing rather than a thirst for God?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #28 The Source of All Blessing, Whose Favor is of Great Worth

Meditation #66:

Numbers 6:24-27 “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift his face up to you and give you peace." 27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

What is wonderful about this attribute:

B

lessing comes to us by means of God keeping us (taking care of us), His face shining upon us (a Hebraism for a smile), gracious love, His face lifted toward us, and peace (Hebrew SHALOM—general wellbeing). Those are the only things we need to be happy and fulfilled. When we have the Lord’s blessing we have all that is needed in life. No matter how much pain or difficulty may be present, with the blessing of God we have wellbeing and peace that is greater than our suffering. The only real calamity a believer can face, then, is lack of blessing from God. When we are unhappy, the solution is not anything in this world. The solution is more blessing from God. Nothing else is worthy of our desire. The greatest earthly treasure, apart from His favor, would be hell; but His favor, even in the most painful circumstances, is enough to fill you with exuberant joy. Everything that is wonderful flows from His favor.

Lord, teach my heart to attribute all of its joy to Your favor, rather than to nature or luck or man’s doings, or anything in this world.

Holy Father, I need You to make Your face shine upon me. I need Your smile. I need You to be pleased with me and not saddened or disappointed or angry. I need to sense Your favor. I am too vulnerable to sin—too prone to fall for the enemy’s simplest trick. I am too quick to forget everything I know when faced with a temptation. I do not have the overflow of love for Your people like I should. I do not have compassion for the lost like You have. I do not have the humility that should result from being in Your presence. I am so woefully lacking, God. I need so much from You today. I need more of You. I do not have a great enough experience of Your grace, of Your presence, of Your love, of Your face, of Your blessing, of Your SHALOM, of Your name. I desperately need to be in Your presence. Please, come into this room. Open my eyes to see Your glory and to experience Your power. Lord, I want to take my sin seriously, but I do not want to dishonor You by frowning when You are smiling at me. Let me see clearly Your smile.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s blessing, keeping, smile, grace, uplifted face, and SHALOM today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The beginning point of experiencing God’s blessing is realizing the countless ways He is already blessing you. He has given so much!

Secondly, seek favor from God. There is a fine but very important line between seeking to experience God Himself, and trying to use God to get some other treasure. One way to discern when that line has been crossed is when you find that you cannot be happy unless you get whatever particular form of blessing you have in mind. If our delight is in God Himself, we will be content with any form of His blessing.

I need all my lacking to be filled and fulfilled by You. I want to be prospered by You in whatever way is most glorifying to You. I don’t care if it means the loss of all my money, my house, my cars, my physical health, my legs, my sight. However You are pleased to prosper me, I just want what You want to give. That is all that is worth having. I want peace—peace the world cannot understand; peace that overcomes all worry and anxiety and fear. The peace of one loved by the Almighty.

I need You to bless me. Please, dear Father, excise all that is in me that prevents this. I want to glory and exult in being showered by Your goodness. I want to glorify You by that kind of supernatural happiness that transcends anything the world knows of. I do not want to dishonor You by being sorrowful all the time because I keep provoking Your discipline. Make me fit for blessing, and then bless Your servant.

Think: If you had to choose between the favor of God and the things in this world that are most precious to you, which would you choose? Is there anything (or anyone) you feel you must have in order to be happy? If so, that thing or person is an idol in your heart.

Promise to trust today:

Hosea 5:15-6:2 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." 6:1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #29 The God Whose Favor is Worth Any Price

Meditation #67:

Hebrews 12:2-3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

T

he implication of verse 3 is that if we do not follow the instructions of this passage we will grow weary and lose heart. And to avoid growing weary and losing heart when we suffer we must fix our eyes on Jesus and consider Him. In particular, we must consider His response to suffering. Jesus endured extreme opposition from sinful men, and He did it by a process in which the joy set before Him caused Him to scorn (think little of) His suffering. Jesus’ suffering was great, and He thought much of it. However, in comparison with the joy set before Him, Jesus considered His suffering small. Compared to how much He thought of the coming joy, He thought little of His suffering.

What was the joy set before Him? Being seated at the right hand of the throne of God (nearness to and favor from the Father). When we suffer, we have even greater favor with the Father, and the reason for that is explained in the verses that follow (verses 4-13). Suffering is, many times,[32] discipline from the hand of a loving Father—discipline that is designed to cause us to share in God’s holiness (verse 10) and to produce a harvest of righteousness and peace (verse 11).

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The attribute of the Father that strengthened Jesus and enabled Him to endure the cross was the fact that the Father is so wonderful, delightful, and satisfying that favor from Him is desirable and pleasing enough to make even the most severe suffering more than worth it to gain that favor. If our eyes were simply opened to how wonderful, satisfying, and delightful His favor is, we would gladly and eagerly endure absolutely any suffering to get it.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s favor today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Every time we suffer, whether it be the agony of torture for the name of Christ, or the irritation of an inconsiderate spouse, or an annoying hangnail—eventually our sufferings, both small and great, will cause us to grow weary and lose heart unless we take time to consider (and imitate) Jesus’ response to suffering. The next time your find yourself upset because you are treated unfairly, or you get sick or injured, or anything else that causes unhappiness; follow Jesus’ example.

1) Consider the joy set before you. Realize that nearness to God and favor from God are available to you! This suffering that has come to you from the hand of God, if you endure it in a godly way, will actually result in nearness to God and favor from God! (And responding in a godly way simply means submitting to what God is doing and preferring the presence and favor of God above anything—including relief from the suffering).

2) Scorn the suffering. Remind yourself how absolutely insignificant this suffering (or any suffering) is in comparison with the value of greater nearness to God and more favor from God.

3) Take a moment to just be delighted to be the child of a God whose presence and favor are 1) available, and 2) so wonderful that they are more than worth absolutely any price to obtain. Imagine how horrible it would be like to serve a God whose favor may or may not be delightful enough to eclipse the pain of your suffering.

Think: What is the next suffering you are likely to face that might threaten your joy? Prepare yourself ahead of time, so that when the irritation or pain comes it will serve as a memory cue to call to your mind this attribute of God.

Promise to trust today:

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #30 Shepherd

Meditation #68: MY Shepherd

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Psalm 23:1 my shepherd

T

his Psalm is in the first person singular. We are not to think of God merely as our Shepherd or the world’s shepherd; we should say to the LORD, “You are my Shepherd”! In Psalm 23, for a moment all the other sheep disappear from view and it is just you and your blessed Pastor.[33]

O Lord, what condescension! That the exalted King of heaven would come down and take up the lowly duty of tending such as I!

Without your Shepherd you would quickly perish. The starvation and exposure process would be cut short by even worse fates, as you would be stolen by the enemy and quickly ripped apart by savage wolves. A thousand fatal dangers lurk around every corner and surround you every second all day long. If your great Shepherd were to turn His head even for a moment you would be destroyed.

It is a delightful thing to realize that right now the great Shepherd is tending to your soul. He is examining it and strengthening it, and is working to remove the diseased portions. He will still be doing that an hour from now when you are not even paying attention to Him.

Lord, open my eyes to the horrible perils and threats from which You constantly protect me, that exuberant joy might well up from within me as I rejoice in Your protective hand. Please, Lord, let me see You as Shepherd. Let me see Your pastoral grace that I might rejoice in it and exult in it and joyfully proclaim it to others. Keep pressing it deeper and deeper into my heart until I begin speaking about it involuntarily, as an overflow of what is within me. Captivate my attention today, Lord, with what it means that You are my Shepherd.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the Lord as your Shepherd today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Psalm 23:1 I shall not be in want.

Scarcely an hour goes by in a day without us being tempted to think we are in want—lacking something we need. We think we must have relief from this pain or that pain, or from some distress or anxiety. We want proof of God’s provision regarding some future contingency. We feel we need resolution to some past problem. We imagine we need more rest or food or time or comfort than God has been pleased to provide.

The truth is we are not in any kind of want and never will be (except to the degree that we are in want of fellowship with God). Yes, we do lack things. We lack all the things we should not have right now. But everything we need for joy we either already possess or have free access to.

Why would anyone who has the Lord as his Shepherd ever worry? We look to the past and see nothing but abundant provision. Every one of the millions of seconds we have lived has added proof upon proof of His faithful love and care. And yet when our twisted hearts extrapolate that line into the future we so often fret and worry that perhaps He will fail to provide tomorrow! What lunacy! His faithful care tomorrow is more certain than the rising of the sun!

O Lord, I bless Your name for Your great and precious promises, and for Your tender care for Your little lamb. Lord, help me today to rejoice in the fact that I am not in want and never will be.

Lord, when I am tempted to covet that which You have not given me (even good things), remind me that I need not do that because You are my Shepherd and I shall not want. When I eat today, remind me of Your faithful provision as my Shepherd. When I enjoy something You have provided, remind me Lord that I have nothing that I have not been given, and that what I have was not bestowed from afar by some distant CEO dispensing bonuses or work incentives impersonally, but rather it is pasture that I enjoy right at the feet of One who would die for me and who did die to give me what I now enjoy.

Whenever I see an animal, Lord, remind me that You face the lion and bear as my Shepherd, and let Yourself be mauled as my Protector in order to provide me this rich pasture I so often take for granted.

Think: Think of something you especially love about being shepherded by God, and make that a focus of your rejoicing all day today.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

Isaiah 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #30  Shepherd (part 2)

Meditation #69:  Creation is His Rod and Staff to Comfort Me

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the deep darkness, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.[34]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hen you are in the deep darkness of life there is no comfort in that darkness until you receive comfort from the Father of compassion and God of all comfort. And then there is indescribable comfort! The darkness of the circumstances may still be hard, but His comfort brings a greater joy that outweighs even the bitterest sorrow. The brightest, clearest view of God’s glory my heart has ever seen has been in the midst of the deepest darkness of my life.

It is an amazing feeling to be utterly alone and then feel God standing with you and approving of you. It absolutely erases fear. Even if His chastising hand is not yet finished, still you need not fear because His rod and His staff comfort His sheep.

The implements of His shepherding are the security and delight of our hearts. The tools of His “trade,” the utensils of His shepherding bring joy and comfort. And when you look around you see nothing but those tools! What is God’s rod and staff but the very creation? Are not the clouds of the heavens His servants? Do not the rain and snow fall only at His bidding to fulfill His good purposes? Is not the breeze that moves the leaves—and the leaves as well, and the fence and the grass and the houses and mountains and this chair and that door and the ringing phone—are they not all His rod and staff, the implements of His tender care?

And how much greater the supernatural implements? His holy Word, and the Church!

The thing about a dark valley that makes it so fearful is the unknown. Nothing is more frightening than dangers that cannot be seen. His rod and staff protect us from all the unseen calamities of tomorrow. Omnipotent love would have to fail for any of those dangers to harm you.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s rod and staff today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you are in the deep darkness of life, resist the temptation of thinking that the solution is for your trials to come to an end. They could end and you would still have no joy at all if God does not provide comfort. And with the comfort of God you can have fullness of joy even if they do not end. Let all the pain of life cause you to thirst for the presence of God and nothing else.

And remember today that all the things around you are the utensils of His shepherding, which are protecting you from the dangers of the dark, deadly valley. If God uses all things in the creation to accomplish His work, then absolutely everything in existence is His rod and staff. Therefore absolutely everything in existence should comfort us when we remember this truth.

Think: Is there a trial in your life that is causing you to thirst for something besides God (such as relief)? Look around right now at God’s rod and staff. Are they comforting you?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the deep darkness, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.[35]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #31 Giver of Rest

Meditation #70: The God of the Easy, Rest-Giving Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

urveys of pastors have shown that a great number of pastors suffer from what the world calls “burnout.”[36] And the problem in ministry is not limited to clergy. Members of my own church have many times said to me that they need to take a break from all ministry for a while in order to find rest and rejuvenation. It is not uncommon for a pastor to take a vacation because of fatigue, hoping that he will come back refreshed and energized and ready to dive wholeheartedly back into ministry—only to come back from the vacation with even less energy for ministry than when he left. Spending a week on the beach resulted in the work of the ministry having even less appeal than it did before.

How can the widespread problem of fatigue and burnout be reconciled with Jesus’ words in Matthew 28? He promised a yoke that would cause one to “find rest” for his soul. Why is it that so many need to take a break for this rest in order to…rest?

The answer must be that if we are fatigued and in need of rest, we must not be experiencing the rest Jesus promised. The solution, then, is not to set aside the yoke for a couple weeks and then put it on again, but rather to shed the burdensome yoke forever and seek the yoke that brings rest to the soul. According to Jesus, that yoke is a continual source of rest and renewal. Ceasing activity has its place (see the next two meditations), however, there is more to finding rest than that. Ceasing activity will help a tired mind and body, but it will not rejuvenate a burnt-out soul, because a crucial component of rest comes from doing ministry in a way that produces rest and renewal.

How is that done? Jesus put it simply: Come to Me (verse 28). When we follow Martha’s example and carry on ministry that is something other than a coming to Christ, it will not only weary us but it can even cause us to resent Christ (Martha did not scold Mary; She scolded Jesus!). All ministry should be a seeking after nearness to Him. A coming to Christ. And you know you have succeeded in doing so when your soul finds rest and strengthening in the midst of the work. It is the presence of God, not the beaches of Hawaii that restores and refreshes the soul.[37]

God has provided us a long period of darkness each day to rest our bodies. And the principle of ceasing our work for a full day each week is modeled by the Lord Himself in the creation. But if your nightly sleep and weekly rest do not result in a rejuvenated, energized soul that is eager to plunge back into the fray of serving God in your calling, there is very likely something wrong with the way you are going about your work, because if your work is what it should be (a coming to Him), it will produce rest in your soul.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience His rest-giving yoke today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience the rest-giving peace of God by seeking to make all of your ministry a coming to Christ.

Before you begin the work:

- Remind yourself why and for Whom you are doing it.

- Take time to consider all the spiritual dynamics involved:

- the role of the Holy Spirit in activating your spiritual gift and in strengthening and enabling you

- the eternal benefits that the Lord promised will result

- the joy that will be brought to the saints through this work

- the rewards God will lavish upon you for it

- the dignity that belongs to one carrying out a direct commission from the King of kings

- the nearness to the heart of God that can be enjoyed when you are working by His side carrying out the desires of His heart

- the amazing experience of having the power of God working through you

While you are doing the work:

- Depend completely upon enablement from the Holy Spirit.

- Work by faith. Assess what you are doing not with a natural perspective, but through the lenses of God’s great and precious promises.

- If at any point you sense the “What a burden” attitude slipping in (Mal.1:3), stop and fight against that with the truths you thought through before doing the work.

- As often as you can remember, ask the Lord to enable you to so seek Him that each part of your work becomes a little act of fellowship with Him. Keep reminding yourself that the reason you are doing this task—the reason you are putting on this yoke, is that in doing so you are attempting to come unto Him who gives rest to the soul.

Think: Are you receiving rest from Him through your ministry? If not, what changes do you need to make in the way you serve?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #31  (Giver of Rest Part 2.)

Meditation #71:  Gentle Shepherd

Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od makes you lie down in green pastures. What a blessed image! Paradise rest.

Think of how much Scripture emphasizes the importance of rest. God not only gave us an example of rest in the very creation and commanded a Sabbath from the beginning, He also made rest the illustration of salvation and heaven. He makes the earth go dark every night, and designed us to spend a third of our lives asleep. He did not have to make things that way. Our hearts never rest. From before we are born until the day we die it pumps continuously without becoming fatigued. God could have designed the entire body like that, but instead He chose to make design us to become weary and constantly in need of rest.

God is relentless in both providing and commanding rest. Working for God is good, but resting in Him is just as good. There is a time to cease activity. God is so good, nothing is better than when His goodness is put on display; and nothing puts His goodness on display in a greater way than a person finding wonderful rest and repose in Him.

Give me that rest, O Lord. Teach me what it means to find that place in Your presence where the worries, anxieties, and turmoil of life are calmed and soothed into peace and rest in You. Show me how confident rest can coexist with urgency and earnest labor in Your service.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as rest-giver today?

Experiencing this attribute:

We sometimes neglect the virtue of finding rest in God. We take rest only when we feel we need it, as though the less time we spend resting the better. Sometimes when we go long enough without lying down in green pastures God makes us lie down! If we fail to glorify Him by failing to find rest in Him, He takes away a job or a ministry or our health in order to force us to find rest in Him.

But when He does so, oh, how sweet a place He puts us in to rest! Green pastures. When a sheep lies down in green pastures his bed is also his food. God makes us lie down in a bed of ideal and wonderful food! Our very lying down is nourishing to the soul. Our very resting is our being fed and growing and progressing spiritually!

Sometimes those of us who are teachers fall into just mowing the green pastures—bailing up the food and passing it out to the other sheep without feasting on it ourselves. We tell others to lie down in the pasture while we just keep driving the combine. If we persist in that long enough we provoke God, in His merciful love, to pull the combine out of our hands and destroy it utterly—taking away our ministry so all we can do for a time is lie down. Don’t provoke God to do that. Ministry to others is a crucial ingredient to fullness of joy in Him. Labor hard in ministry, take up His easy yoke, and find rest in Him.

Think: Are you committed to regularly finding rest, refreshment, and renewal from God? If not, how could you add this to your current lifestyle?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #31  Giver of Rest (part 3)

Meditation #72:  The Only Source of Calm

Psalm 62:1 A psalm of David. My soul finds rest (DUMIYYAH—silence, inactivity) in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

here is a kind of inactivity that is bad and a kind that is good. No one wants the boredom of dormant nothingness. But the rest David seeks is a desirable thing. It is a kind of stillness and rest that is compatible with the earnestness, zeal, spiritual fervor, hard work, passion and labor that characterize the Christian life. It is the kind of quietness of soul that does not fret over the successes of the wicked and that is not agitated or worked up with envy (Ps.37). It is tranquility of heart that is not upset with worry or distraction over anticipated hardship (Mt.6:25-34, Php.4:6-7). It is internal peace that cannot be distracted from God by the chaos of life. It is the calm that has no turmoil over trying to escape hardship. It is rest that prevents crippling fatigue. It is the serenity and steadfast confidence that enables us to go about our work without anxiety because we have a settled security in Christ. It frees us from constant second-guessing of decisions, languishing in regret over past failures, fretting over the possibility that we are in the wrong place or going in the wrong direction. It is the composure and poise that comes when there is freedom from the condemnation of guilt, or anxiety over inadequacy.[38] This kind of rest is found in God alone.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

One prerequisite to experiencing the peace-giving nature of God is realization of our own helplessness. When we give up trying to generate our own adequacy and throw ourselves upon Him as our only hope, that acknowledgment of helplessness brings peace and rest. Those things that are out of our reach are God’s concern, not ours.

There is a pride involved in ceaseless activity—an attitude that says, “It is more important for me to be busy right now than to stop and seek rest in God. My work accomplishes more than God’s help.”

Our need for rest should humble us. How weak and frail we are! We spend a third of our lives flat on our backs unconscious and utterly helpless. Every night in bed we demonstrate our neediness for renewal. Rest glorifies God by showing our dependence upon Him. If we do not need rest we glorify ourselves. When we do not slow down and rest in His presence, charging ahead every waking hour as though we needed no rest, we are pretending to have strength we do not have. We are failing to acknowledge the weakness that should drive us to the only green pasture whose lush grass and calm, refreshing safety will give us what we need.

If we believe true rest is found in God alone, we will seek it from Him alone. When our souls become overwhelmed or burned out and we seek renewal from television, a hobby, a vacation, a nap, or any other source besides God, we are looking to dry wells. God can give rest through those things, but in themselves they have no ability to renew the soul. Real renewal comes from being in the presence of God. Watching TV is not rest; it is fierce warfare. The programming is an all out assault from the enemy to drag our hearts from God, and only the greatest of efforts will enable us to watch without our love for God cooling off. The same is true for most vacations, where the routines of prayer are abandoned, church is missed, and the whole focus turns to temporal pleasures. There is a place for vacations and leisure, but they are not sources of soul-renewal. That comes only from the presence of God.

O great God of peace, my Shepherd who makes me lie down in green pastures, my soul finds rest in You alone. Let me sit before You, quietly receiving all You give, both stripes and embraces. Make me still before You as clay in the potter’s hand. May I never “strive with my maker.” A baby becomes tired and cries out of discomfort, but has no idea that what she needs is sleep. In fact, she resists sleep with all that is in her. Surely that is me, Lord. I cry to You out of pain and discomfort, and I know neither the real cause nor the solution. I think I do, and I strain and struggle against Your solution with all my strength, like an infant resisting rather than just laying her head on her mother’s shoulder, closing her eyes and going to sleep. Lord, let me rest in You. And let me trust You so completely that I never resist You.

Think: What is agitating (or threatening to agitate) your soul that God would have you seek rest from in Him today?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #32 Giver of Life

Meditation #73: The Meaning of “Abundant Life”

John 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.

W

hat is life? Is it just not being dead? Jesus talked about giving us abundant life—a whole lot of life. What does it mean to have a whole lot of not being dead?

Life is not just the opposite of being dead; it is also the opposite of the whole dying process. If we want to understand what life is we must ask, “If someone is dying, what is it that he is losing?” Whatever it is he is losing—that is life.

If a person is sick and dying, he is losing five things:

1. Strength - The ability to accomplish things and the ability to endure suffering diminish.

2. Health - His various parts are not working right and keep getting worse.

3. Growth - Life is a process of growth—both in physical and non-physical ways. Bones getting stronger, muscles getting tougher, mental capacity enlarging. This process slows or ceases as a person is dying. Part of life is making progress in the various functions of personhood. Life is an expanding progression. As a baby your whole world is a crib, then it becomes a house, then a neighborhood, then a school, then a city—all through life you keep discovering new things, going new places, being exposed to new ideas, new people, new tasks. God has given us room to explore in so many different categories—more room in each category than you could ever finish exploring in ten lifetimes. So part of life is the expansion of your world and your capacities.

4. Liveliness – Loss of energy, motivation, joy, hope, passion.

5. Sensation and sensitivity - Life and alertness go together. Dying and dullness go together. A person who is dying will begin to experience decline in sensitivity to the world around him. His eyesight will fade, his hearing, smell, taste—it all starts to diminish until, when death occurs, there is no sensitivity to any stimulus at all.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Life is more than just having a pulse. Life is human existence as it is supposed to be, which is why Jesus can talk about abundant life. Abundant life is a whole lot of liveliness, strength, health, growth, sensation, joy, energy, motivation, progress, and increase.

The Old Testament way of describing all that is with the concept of thriving or flourishing. According to Psalm 1 those who delight in the law of the LORD will be…

…like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  (Psalm 1:3-4)

Isaiah 44:3-4 I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as life-giver today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The Source of life is Jesus Christ. He is called The Word of Life (1 Jn.1:1). Every experience of life we have, then, is an experience of grace from the Lord Jesus Christ. Over the next 24 hours, every trace of liveliness, strength, health, growth, sensation, joy, appetite, energy, motivation, progress, increase, flourishing, or thriving that takes place—all of it will have come directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what the nearness of Christ is like.

But those experiences are not experiences of fellowship with the Lord unless you have conscious awareness of that life as coming from Him, so that your enjoyment of abundant life is conscious enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ. Enjoying those things with no thoughts of Him is not fellowship with Him.

Make it your goal today to receive all of the life He gives you today with an acute alertness to His presence, so that everything about life that is good amplifies your love for Him and enjoyment of His presence.

Think: What aspects of abundant life has He given you in the past couple hours or days? As you think about them let that cause you to enjoy Him more.

What aspects of life have not been so abundant lately? Are you looking to Him for that abundance in those areas, or to some other source (like yourself)?

Promise to trust today:

John 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Isaiah 58:11 He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land …You will be like a well-watered garden.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #32  Giver of Life (part 2)

Meditation #74:  Spiritual Life

John 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

A

full, rich, thriving life is not mainly about earthly things. So what does it mean to have abundance of life spiritually?

Increasing in spiritual life involves increasing in spiritual sensitivity. The eyes of your heart are opened wider to how beautiful He is, and Scripture goes from just being print on a page to being delightful, sweet, strengthening, comforting, encouraging, life-giving sustenance from God. Things that God says are true begin to seem true. You become aware of spiritual things that you were oblivious to before. Instead of good things making you a little bit happy they make you exuberantly happy. Instead of having faint inklings of insight, you have clear, vivid understanding of truth. You become more discerning—alert to realities that no one else sees.

Spiritual life also involves spiritual growth. Life in Christ is a life of ever-expanding exploration of the wonders of God’s goodness. Your joy enlarges, your experiences of God increase in both frequency and intensity, your usefulness expands. When life is not abundant there is stagnation. Too much sameness makes life so boring that it is hardly life. When life stagnates and comes to a standstill it is more like death than life. Abundant life is expansive, increasing, improving life. It is marked by spiritual progress. If you are not making very much spiritual progress the problem is not enough life.

Another part of life is spiritual health. Abundant life from Christ is when all the parts of you are in good working order. Your mind has the right amount of interest and curiosity and intelligence. Your memory retains the right things and dispenses with the things that are not worth remembering. You remember God’s Word and forget people’s faults. Your imagination is in good health—it gravitates toward wonderful things and penetrates to the depths of the things of God. Your soul craves the nearness of God above all things. Your heart loves what God loves and hates what God hates. Your inner man treasures what is truly treasure and despises what is worthless.[39]

With spiritual health comes spiritual strength—unstoppable spiritual power from God in your life. Power to accomplish mighty tasks in His kingdom. Power to withstand unspeakable pain and suffering with joy. The abundant life is a life of strength.

And when you have all that, you have spiritual liveliness. You have motivation (2 Cor.5:14, 1 Cor.9:16), energy (Col.1:29), zeal (Ro.12:11), and joy (Ps.16:11).

It is a truly marvelous thing that it is God’s nature to give abundant life to the human soul!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as live-giver today?

Experiencing this attribute:

John 10:9-10 I am the gate (to the sheep pen); whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance.

Having life is like being a sheep and going in and out of the pen. The sheep were brought in for safety at night, and were taken out during the day to find pasture. Spiritual life is like being safe, finding rest, enjoying food, and being taken care of.

When you have that sort of experience with Jesus Christ, when you run to Him in times of trouble and actually experience Him as a refuge, and you look to Him to satisfy the cravings of your soul (cravings for peace, happiness, guidance, meaning, awe, joy, and love), and you find yourself receiving those things from Him so that your soul is satisfied; that is fellowship with the Father, which is spiritual life.

Think: What is preventing you from having more frequent and greater experiences of Jesus as your refuge, shepherd, and satisfier of your soul?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul.

Isaiah 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #32  Giver of Life (part 3)

Meditation #75:  Life through Fellowship with God

John 14:4-7 You know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

W

hen Thomas says, “How can we know the way?” it would seem that the most natural response would have been for Jesus to simply say, “I am the way. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” But Jesus adds truth and life. “The way,” by itself, is too ambiguous. So Jesus fills out the idea by saying that the only way to get to the Father is by means of the truth and life that come from Jesus—which means that the purpose of both the truth and the life are to get us to nearness with the Father.

That is what “life” is all about—nearness with the Father. And that is the whole purpose of his proclamation of the Word of life.

1 John 1:1-3 The life was revealed to us … we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has been revealed to us … so that you may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What was God doing before He created the world? The Father, Spirit, and Son were enjoying fellowship. They loved one another, communicated with one another, beheld one another’s glory, and enjoyed one another. And if that sounds like it would eventually become boring then you have far too low a view of the glory of God. The activity of the persons of the Godhead interacting with one another is infinitely greater and more important than all the activity of the entire creation combined. If you consider all the activity there is, then subtract the activity of the creation (humans, angels, and all the rest of the creation) so that all that is left are the interactions between the Trinity; that is like subtracting one molecule from a galaxy. God is so great that not only is His glory enough to hold the interest of a human being forever, it is enough to hold the interest of an infinite God, and keep Him enthralled forever!

During His earthly life Jesus longed to return to the fellowship He had with the Father prior to the creation (Jn.17:5, 13:1, 14:12, 16:10, 16:28, 14:28, 20:17). That fellowship was so delightful to Him because of the love between Him and His Father. Jesus spoke of that love often (Jn.10:17, 3:35, 5:20, 14:31, 15:9, 17:24). Jesus lived the greatest, most meaningful earthly life that could ever be lived, and yet He longed to return to where things are really happening. That interaction of love that Jesus enjoyed before anything or any person was ever created was so exciting, thrilling, fantastic, interesting, meaningful, delightful, complex, and satisfying; that the greatest, highest wish Jesus ever had for us was that we would get in on what was going on between the members of the Trinity throughout eternity past (Jn.17:24). That is more exciting, more thrilling, more meaningful, more interesting, more awesome, more satisfying than anything you have ever done or ever dreamed of doing. The life of God in heaven (nearness to the Father) is infinitely greater and more marvelous than all of the best things on earth all put together.

All that breathtaking, unspeakable, indescribable activity that was going on in heaven among the Godhead could be summed up with the term “life.” And because of the Word of life, that life can actually be experienced by human beings!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience life (nearness to the Father) today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The various aspects of “life” (strength, health, growth, joy, and sensitivity) all come through personal communion with the Father. That communion is described in various ways: coming to the Father in Jn.14:6, fellowship with the Father in 1 Jn.1:3, remaining in the Father in 1 Jn.2:24-26, or knowing the Father in Jn.17:3. If you have personal interaction with the Father through fellowship with Jesus Christ, you will have strength, health, growth, joy, and sensitivity. And if you want more abundant life—greater strength, greater joy, etc.; then engage in more and more, closer and closer fellowship with God.

Think: What could you start doing that would help increase your conscious awareness of the presence of God and conscious enjoyment of Him throughout your day?

Promise to trust today:

1 John 1:1-3 The life was revealed to us … we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has been revealed to us … so that you may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #32  Giver of Life (part 4)

Meditation #76:  Loving Life

Psalm 34:11-16 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

D

esire to see good days goes with love for life (verse 12). So receiving life from God is very similar to enjoying good days. All the anxiety and grief you have ever had; every tear you have ever shed, whether it be over loss, or failure, or damage done to relationships, or to future bleakness, or illness/injury, or depression—all the pain of those things comes from your deep love for life and deep desire to see good days. You have a God-given desire for life, so when life and good days are not there, it is painful.

The psalm goes on to describe the difference between receiving life and good days from God and not receiving it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous…

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Life and good days means having the eyes of the Lord upon you. Nothing is sweeter than His gracious gaze. Even though it is also a refining and chastising gaze, still, being the object of His interest is the only thing that makes existence worth anything. Nothing gives any meaning to your life other than being the object of the ultimate Subject.

God’s favorable gaze is so wonderful that the worst thing that can happen to you is for God to turn His face against you. The thought of that possibility should be so alarming that it makes you terrified of doing anything that would cause Him to turn His face away.

Teach me to trust You, to seek hard after You and to fear You, Father, lest I forfeit even a moment of this grace!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as life-giver today?

Experiencing this attribute:

At first it sounds like the primary way to experience this attribute is simply to control your tongue, seek peace, and live righteously.

12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.

But to think of verses 13-15 by themselves is to miss the main focus of what is being said. It is crucial that we not miss verse 11.

11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

It is not enough to merely control one’s tongue and live righteously. The righteous words and actions must spring from a heart that fears the Lord. That is, the fear of forfeiting what is promised (life from God, having God attend to you, etc.) must be the driving motive behind the righteous words and deeds. The goal is to prize these blessings so highly (because your desire for God is so strong), that the prospect of forfeiting them fuels powerful motivations toward righteousness.

Think: Think for a moment about how much you love life (desire good days). Isn’t everything we do driven by our desire for some kind of goodness of days? Why do we have that much desire for life? Because that is how wonderful life from God is! Seek more of it from Him today.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 34:11-15 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #32  Giver of Life (part 5)

Meditation #77:  Deliverer from the Pit

Psalm 16:9-11 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see the pit. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you fill (satiate, satisfy) me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures in your right hand.[40]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he promise of never being shaken caused great gladness, joy, and security in the psalmist’s heart. Sometimes it fails to bring joy to our hearts because God has so protected us that it does not even seem like there is a significant threat of being shaken. But there is. There is extreme danger threatening you at all times—danger that could overtake you if you do not set the Lord ever before you. You would be shaken. Your life would be rattled to pieces by the enemy’s attacks. You could lose your blessings, your joy, your wellbeing—everything. None of that is farfetched. If you turn your heart toward this world instead of setting God ever before you, disaster is certain.

You will die someday, but if you are a believer you will never see the grave. That split-second between your last breath here and glorious, joyful bliss with Him… does not exist! There is no split second. To be absent from this body will be to instantly be present with Him. By the time they put your body in a grave you will have been long gone.

And if that is true of the ultimate pit (the grave) then it is certainly also true of the most horrible pits of this life. If He will not abandon you to the greater, certainly He will not abandon you to the lesser. We must pass through some painful and fearsome pits in this life. God will lead us through them, but He will never abandon us to them. There is all the difference in the world between being led through a pit by a loving, faithful Shepherd and being abandoned to it.

O Lord Jesus Christ, I bless Your name for shepherding me, for pastoring me, and for never abandoning me! Thank You for not leaving me as an orphan when You died and then ascended. You did not leave me alone but have come to me. Thank You for Your rod and staff in the valley of deepest darkness.

According to this psalm, the Messiah[41] would not see the pit because God revealed to him the path of life. The Lord is the path of life. He is the source of eternal joy and pleasure. Why would we look to any other source? They are all broken cisterns. What a blessed way to live! No wonder the psalmist’s heart was so glad—living in the care of a God whose very presence is the source of all joy.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s delivering grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Worry is sin, and those who are prone to worry should repent of their lack of trust in the goodness of God. There is one advantage, however, that worriers have—they tend to be aware of all the possible dangers and threats that lurk around us all the time, which means they have greater ability to appreciate the magnitude of God’s protection. If you do not worry much, ask yourself: Is it because of faith, or is it simply because I am oblivious to the dangers that could easily overtake me? It is difficult to enjoy the deliverance and safety we receive from God unless we have an acute awareness of the severity of the threats that could easily befall us. Experience God’s protective hand by opening your eyes to the dangers around you and delighting in His great and precious promise to deliver you.

Think: What are the greatest dangers you are likely to face today? And what did the Lord deliver you from yesterday?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 121:1-8 I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #33 Healer

Meditation #78: Restorer

Hosea 6:1-3 Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.[42]

Psalm 30:1-3 I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hat an amazing thing healing is! The phenomenon of healing sticks out like a sore thumb against the rest of fallen creation. Nowhere else does automatic self-repair exist. Your car doesn’t do that. Nor does your house or TV. Healing seems to contradict the natural order. What an amazing thing that you can cut yourself open—ruining skin, veins, and nerves, do nothing to fix it, and weeks later there is no sign that there was ever any damage! You can scratch your eye and the next day have no hint of pain. You can even break a bone, and a year later it is not broken! The only reason we do not see it as a miracle—an astonishing and glorious miracle on the order of walking on water or a voice from heaven—is simply that God does it so often. God heals continuously—every moment throughout your entire life.

Instead of constructing us such that we could not be hurt, He made us fragile so something is always getting damaged; then He repairs it. Just the tiny damage that is done when you scratch an itch, if not for His healing work, would eventually destroy your skin. It is better for us to be fragile and healable than to make us indestructible, because this way we experience His restoring mercy at all times.

Physical healing is used throughout Scripture as an illustration of spiritual healing. God’s restoring work on your soul is very much like His healing work on your body. And like our bodies, our souls are fragile and healable—easily damaged but routinely repaired.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s healing love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God’s healing is experienced by first becoming injured and then seeking restoration from God alone.

The healing Hosea seeks is not from the damage of sin, but of the damage done by God’s chastisement for sin. When He brings His blessed rod upon us He inflicts temporal harm, but never ultimate harm. It is harm He fully intends to heal. Our Father never inflicts irreversible injury on us. So much of the damage we do in our sin seems irreversible, but nothing is irreversible to Him.

You are the great God—the great King above all gods. You are the Almighty. Nothing is too difficult for You. By Your awesome and great and glorious power You do all things well—even injury. Thank You, dear Lord, that I can trust in Your chastisement. Faithful are the wounds of a friend—how much more faithful the wounds of my blessed heavenly Father!

It was God who caused the harm (“He has torn us to pieces”). But there is also a very real sense in which it was evil people who caused the harm. God punished His people by allowing enemies to have success in their attack. So God tore them to pieces and Assyria tore them to pieces. Israel’s mistake was to focus on the latter rather than the former, and the result was they thought of Assyria as having control of the situation, and therefore thought of relief as being in Assyria’s hands.

Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. 15 I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

You can tell who you really believe is in control by who you think of as the solution to your problem. If you think you could never be happy until your spouse changes, that means you are thinking of your spouse as being the primary determiner of what is happening rather than God. And the result is seeking a solution from the wrong source. When you see man as your problem you will go to man for the solution. When you see nature as the cause of your sickness, you will look to nature for healing. But when you realize the Lord is the ultimate cause of everything that happens to you, there is no place to go for help except to Him. The only possible relief is if God relents and restores. All suffering, then, should drive us to God.

We must understand that God is in total control of everything, which means He is the only ultimate solution to any problem. Even when the damage done is done by other men, or by Satan, or by our own sin—ultimately it is God who has torn us to pieces, and even if He did it by means of a secondary cause like our sin or people or Satan, still He is the only one who can reverse the damage and bring healing.

Father, teach me to always look to You for recovery, restoration, and healing. Save me from the attitude that says, “I have gotten myself into this mess, so I need to get myself out.” Save me from thinking that when others are harming me the main solution is to appeal to them. Let me always look to You first. Let me always see the damage from my sin as coming from Your rod, so instead of trying to undo the damage I will simply appeal to Your mercy and look to You for healing.

So what is the definition of “repair” or “healing” of the soul? Spiritual healing is that which enables us to live with and know God.

Hosea 6:1-3 … he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us know the Lord; let us press on to know him.

When we have sustained injury to the soul the main goal is not to be healed so that we will feel better. The goal is to be healed so that we may dwell with God in His presence and know Him more.

Let that be the deepest motive behind my petitions, dear Father. Keep me from asking for things for some other motive than the enjoyment of Your presence by me or someone else.

I also ask this morning for Your protection, dear Lord. The enemy desires not my healing but my injury. He will seek to lure me back into the very sin that will bring You to crush me once again. O Lord, please deliver Your servant from that. Protect me. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one.

Think: In what ways are you injured right now? What would true healing look like?

Promise to trust today:

Hosea 6:2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #33  Healer (part 2)

Meditation #79:  Forgiving Judge and Healing Physician

Psalm 103:3 ...who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

who forgives all your sins…

W

hat a gigantic “all” this is. The all’s of this verse are what call for the all of verse one (“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name”). If God had forgiven many or most of our sins—even if He left only one unforgiven, we would be just as unfit for heaven and as unable to approach His presence as ever. Oh, the wonder of His grace that we see in this blessed “all”! It is gigantic because our sin is gigantic.

All the various parts of our being lie in ruins because of sin. And even now they are in many ways bent and broken. Our understanding, which God designed to open windows to His glory, is fogged over by our sin so that much of what we should know of Him we do not.

Our will, designed by God to be the arms and legs of our resolve to walk by His side, has mutinied and carried us into opposition to His will.

Our memory, designed to be the fountain from which springs of praise burst forth, we use instead to recall past sins that we might mentally re-commit them, or to recall past offences against us rather than forgiving, or to recall trifles and useless, inane recollections of nothings.

Our conscience, designed and given by God to be the guardrails to keep us on His path, we have wounded, seared, misinformed, and have trained it to acquit us when we are guilty.

Our affections, designed to incline our hearts toward God and His Word and way, have become disaffected and out of order. We fear what we ought not fear while failing to fear God. We love that which is contemptible and are apathetic over the greatest beauty and good. We neglect what we should pursue and pursue what we should despise.

What a twisted perverseness still reigns in the body of this death! Oh, deliver me, dear Lord!

…and heals all your diseases

What is physical disease if not the emblem and model of spiritual disease? Our sin is sickness. The dullness of soul that does not grieve and weep for the lost—what a grave illness that is! The catatonic state of our spirit that is more interested in some routine news headline than in His eternal Word; more interested in the smallest curiosity of the day than in God’s glory; drawn more strongly by the stupidity on TV than by the magnificence of God’s nature—what horrendous disease! What a hopeless disorder infects the soul of one who, in the midst of communion with God, would rather be doing something else!

But You heal all my diseases O God. No sickness of my body or soul baffles Your skill. You are the great Physician.

He who is our acquitting Judge is also our healing Physician. This is an important combination of attributes because we need both pardon and restoration. Believer, you were like a man in a dungeon condemned to die, and who has also contracted a fatal disease—twice dead. And God is like a gracious, merciful king who came into the dungeon, pulled open the doors and pardoned you. And then He knelt beside you and began attending to your fatal disease to heal you.

And your disease was not only fatal, but infectious. So in treating you and saving you from your lethal disease He took upon Himself that disease.

Our condemnation and need for acquittal brought forth the glory of His forgiving grace, and our need for healing brings forth the glory of His restoring grace. How blessed are the multitude of our needs, because each one of them gives occasion for the shining of the splendor of another ray of His glory in response to that need.

When you have sinned egregiously against a loved one and that person has forgiven you completely and immediately—in those moments you see what a delightful thing it is to be truly forgiven. But as joyful as that is, it is an incomplete illustration of God’s love. People may forgive us, but they do not have the power to transform our hearts and heal the disease that drove us to the sin. God does.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as acquitting Judge and healing Physician today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Let all the pain and sorrow of your sin teach you to hunger and thirst after His forgiveness, healing, and restoration. Each time you see something in the creation designed for physical healing—an ambulance, a dentist’s office, a cast—let that be a mirror that reflects the glory of the attribute of His healing love. Each time you ask forgiveness for a sin, let that remind you that He is not only a gracious Judge, but also a compassionate Physician. Each time you undergo any suffering—especially the suffering of a rebuke, let it remind you that you are on the operating table under His knife, and that if you stay still and submit to His work you will be healed! Let your heart be filled with joy at the thought that mere cooperation will result in healing!

Dear Lord, teach Your servant to cooperate with Your healing work. Do not let me be like the injured drunk who curses the doctor who is trying to save him. When You bring down Your mighty hand upon me, and I suffer affliction, let that humble me and make me submissive to Your scalpel. When others reprove me, please, Lord, teach me not to have my first thought be about whether they are mistaken. Teach me to focus so carefully on areas that might be valid that I lose sight of everything else. Use reproofs, dear Lord, to destroy my pride.

Think: What part of you is most broken and in need of repair? Are you seeking healing from God? And are you submitting to or resisting the work of His scalpel? Are you taking the medicine He has already prescribed?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 103:3 [He] forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

Hosea 6:1-2 Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #34 God Whose Nearness Gives Encouragement, Comfort, Fellowship, Tenderness And Compassion

Meditation #80:

Philippians 2:1-2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

P

aul is using understatement to make a point about God’s love in a wonderful way. When he says, “If you have any at all…” the reader wants to object: “What do you mean any? He has shown that grace beyond measure!” The attributes we see in this text, then, are the abundant encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion that come from the Lord.

The first two are something you feel—encouragement and comfort. The last two are something God feels—tenderness & compassion. In the middle is “fellowship,” which is an interaction between you and God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

We all know what it is like to experience encouragement from circumstances or from kindness shown by some loving person, but what does it mean to be encouraged from being united with Christ? How is that different from the kind of encouragement that the world has?

The Greek word is paraklasis, and when used in this kind of a structure[43] it simply means to provide the person with what will help him stay on the right path—whether it be rebuke, refreshment, instruction, urging, comfort, inspiration, consolation, strengthening, etc. Our oneness with Jesus Christ provides us with everything we need for life and godliness. And those provisions are not supplied in an indirect, impersonal way—as though God dumped them all in a big stockpile and then told us, “Take what you need.” No, the Lord encourages us by giving us just what we need just when we need it in just the form we need it. Think of all the events, words, feelings, thoughts, and circumstances that turned out to be tailor-made for what you needed at the time. That is the encouragement that comes from Christ.

In addition to receiving encouragement from our union with Christ we also receive comfort from his love. This word refers to that which soothes, comforts, strengthens, and motivates the fainthearted. Discouragement and depression have a snowball effect that saps joy, strength, and motivation from your heart with increasing force in a vicious cycle. You become discouraged, that results in lack of energy to do the things that bring joy, important things do not get done, which makes your situation even worse, causing even more discouragement, etc. Comfort from God is the only way out. Had it not been for comfort coming from the love of Christ, your last bout with discouragement would have done you in. It would have snowballed until you hit bottom with complete paralysis and inability to do anything. The only reason you are not in that condition right now is His comfort.

And that comfort comes from His love for you. He does not just provide comfort for you; He provides it out of His deep affection for you.

The last two in the list are things God feels—tenderness and compassion. His heart feels love, tenderness, and compassion; and your heart feels encouragement and comfort, and the connection between the two is fellowship with the Spirit. The more interaction you have with God through His Spirit, the more His compassion touches you, bringing about encouragement and comfort.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience fellowship with the Spirit today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience encouragement from spending time thinking about the benefits of your union with Christ. When you are in distress, comfort yourself by considering His love, tenderness and compassion for you. And indulge as much as you possibly can in fellowship—interaction with the Holy Spirit. And when you receive all these benefits, let them compel you to obey verse 2. The more grace we receive from God the more unity, oneness, and love should result in the Church.

Think: What tends to prevent you from seeking fellowship with the Holy Spirit? What could you do today to destroy that impediment?

Promise to trust today:

James 4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.[44]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #35 Foundation for Salvation, Glory, and Strength

Meditation #81:

Psalm 62:7 Upon God is my salvation and my glory; he is the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.[45]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od is the foundation upon which the benefits we enjoy rest. Our salvation is upon Him. He not only originated it and bestowed it, but every moment it continues only because of the Foundation upon which it rests. Our being delivered from sin and punishment is supported by and dependent upon His favor every moment of every day. He is the basis for all our deliverances and all our safety.

God is also the foundation of our glory (the honor and favor we have in the eyes of people who see God’s goodness coming through us). If we were completely despised by all people—friends, family, brothers in Christ—what sorrow would be our lot! If people could see no rays of His goodness shining through us, what wretches we would be! But God graces us with honor in the eyes of men. What a blessed gift! And what insanity overtakes us when we imagine that the respect we enjoy from others is due to our own, self-generated glory. We self-generate nothing but darkness. Everything about us that is worthy of favor rests and is totally dependent upon God at every moment.

God is also the rock of our strength. We have a certain amount of strength, and that strength comes from God’s rock-likeness. We can endure trouble and carry out work—only by the strength He provides.

God is also the only haven of refuge for us. All other shelters in this spiritual nuclear war are grass huts. God is the only real shelter.

God not only provides all these benefits, but He serves as the foundation upon which they rest. They could not be offered to us as benefits apart from the foundation God has laid to make us savable, glorifiable, and able to be strengthened. Because He took care of the problem of our sin and accomplished all that He accomplished in sending His Son, we can enjoy these benefits.

What joy I have, dear Lord, in knowing that my foundation will never collapse. Even if something happens to my deliverance or my strength—there is no real loss because the source is still intact. I do not fret over the loss of an apple as long as my apple tree is still producing.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the foundational aspect of God’s grace today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Every time you experience any kind of salvation or deliverance, or receive any respect or honor, or exhibit or use any strength, or are protected in any way—in each case you could be involved in direct communion with God. Those would all be direct experiences of the very presence of God if, when they happen, you recognize and enjoy them as direct acts of God and expressions of His love. When you receive those gifts from Him as such you are actually undergoing the direct work of the fingers of God at work in your life. At that moment you are in His presence and are being touched by His great hand of mercy and grace!

Let all the foundations of this physical world remind you of this wonderful attribute today. Let the solid ground under your feet be a memory cue to rejoice in the fact that God’s blessings in your life do not collapse under the weight of your sin, and they withstand the winds of suffering because of how solid is the foundation upon which they rest.

Whenever you are delivered from a problem or are reminded of your salvation, enjoy the sensation of the direct experience of His saving hand. Whenever you receive respect or honor, enjoy the sensation of direct experience of His glory-giving. Whenever you use any of your strength, enjoy the sensation of direct experience of His strengthening. Whenever you are safe from any peril, enjoy the sensation of direct experience of God’s protecting arms.

Think: Are you sometimes tempted to think you are out of the reach of God’s benefits? You cannot obtain the forgiveness or strengthening He offers because of your weakness or sin? Why would God place those out of your reach after giving His Son to purchase them for you?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 62:7 Upon God is my salvation and my glory; he is the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #36 The Only Source of Help; Creator

Meditation #82:

Psalm 121:1-2 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he Source of our help is the Creator Himself![46] What comfort and hope it should bring our souls when we contemplate the fact that the One to whom we look for help is the Maker of heaven and earth.

The one from whom we seek healing is the Designer of the human body.

The one from whom we seek provision owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

The one from whom we seek justice is the great Judge who will sit on the throne on the last day and judge all men.

The one from whom we seek relief is the Creator of Eden.

The one from whom we seek guidance is the Maker of time and space.

The one from whom we seek strength is the Upholder of the galaxies.

The one from whom we seek comfort is the Inventor of motherhood.

The one from whom we seek peace is the great Victor over the final enemy (and all lesser enemies).

The one from whom we seek joy and satisfaction of soul is the Source of all that is good and delightful.

It would be impossible for Him to attempt to help us and fail due to inadequate power.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your source of help today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The psalm starts with a lifting up of the eyes with the question, “From where?” It seems that question is being asked by the human heart almost constantly. When we have some physical task that our hands cannot handle we look around for a tool or another person. Every obstacle raises the question, “From where will my help come?” As long as no obstacle is stopping us we generally do not seek help. But wondering what source of help there may be is the instant reflex whenever an obstruction stops us in our way, which is countless times a day. The question in verse one is universal. But the answer in verse two is rare.

It is rarer than first glance would indicate. Most people, when they are in deep enough trouble, pray for help. But is that a real looking to God as their Helper? Or is God just the charm they use to get the thing they think of as being the real source of help? So often we get into trouble, we have an idea of the way we want things to be, and we ask God to produce that scenario. And it is that scenario rather than God Himself that is our hope and longing. We look to that scenario or set of circumstances as our help, and to God as our servant to bring those circumstances about. One would think that if we are in constant need of help, and God is our only help, it should be easy to focus our attention on Him constantly. Yet we commune with the Lord so infrequently.

O Sovereign Master, teach me to look to You alone. So when I get in trouble, my longing is for Your presence alone—no matter what form or expression Your help takes. If I am racked with pain, let me look to You alone, not to mere relief; so that if I enjoy Your presence I need nothing else, even if the pain continues. If I am being hindered from completing a task, let me look to You alone, not to mere assistance in the task; so that I find fulfillment from You whether the hindrance is removed or not. May I see no riches but in Your grace, no health but in righteousness, no beauty but in holiness, no treasure but in Christ, no delight but in Your presence. May my soul long for nothing but You.

Whenever you see mountains let it remind you of this psalm and the principle that your Help is the Maker of the heavens and earth and let them remind you of His loftiness, beauty, majesty, remoteness, and hiddenness.

Think: What sort of help do you need from God today? Think about how His being the Creator gives special hope with regard to that particular kind of help.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37 Generous Benefactor

Meditation #83: Provider with an Open, Full Hand

Psalm 104:24-28 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small. … 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

H

ow many are His works indeed! Take any cubic foot of the creation—maybe a piece of a star or planet that has never yet been observed by man; study it for a lifetime and you would not exhaust its wonders. And between that insignificant chunk of creation and here lies an inconceivable profusion of God’s wonders. And His activity in each of those galaxies, solar systems, stars, planets, comets, novae…is complex and marvelous beyond contemplation. And that same kind of journey, starting from the tiniest of microscopic specks all the way up to things big enough for us to see, reveals just as much astonishing wisdom and power as the first journey.

Job 26:14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

Place a brick in the ocean and it will soon be covered by colonies of life. On land, life exists on what is essentially a two-dimensional plane. Birds can go up a little, and some creatures burrow just under the surface, but from the large perspective life is scattered only along the surface. If that were the case on the sea, life in the sea would still be far vaster than the life on land, since there is far more surface area of water than land. But in the sea the abode of life is three-dimensional. Not every square foot, but every cubic foot, a galaxy of life—every drop, a world of His creatures. But not just the microscopic—also huge creatures much larger than anything on land. The oceans, whose angry 100-foot waves and hurricane winds mean sure destruction even for our mightiest ships—are a playground for the whales.

What variety has come from Your hand, mighty God!

Every one of these countless trillions of creatures looks to God for food every day. He provides and they gather it up. They must work hard or starve, but all their hard work will amount to nothing if He does not provide. And all His creatures are happy when He opens His hand.

I am one of those creatures, mighty God. I love Your open hands toward me. Nothing more is needed—just Your open hand. If You were to close it, all would perish. If you decided to wipe out humanity and all creatures, You would not have to strike a single blow—all it would take would be the closing of Your hand.

I rejoice, dear Father, in serving a God with such a hand—a hand that, when open, means fullest and richest supply. Many kings are generous and kind, but their hands are empty. Others are rich, but their hands are closed. Your great hand is both full and open! Let me seek what is there then! Oh the folly of seeking supply anywhere else! Or imagining that I will seek it from You and find Your hand empty.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s full, open hand today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Our lives are an existence of constant seeking. Like the animals who spend most of their waking hours searching for food, we spend most of our existence seeking that which we need—from food and shelter to love and meaning in life. The goal of the Christian is to make all one’s seeking, seeking after what is in His hand and nothing else. Anything that cannot be sought from His hand should be detestable to us.

Let worry be a memory cue for this truth. Each time you are tempted to worry, let that remind you that the reason you are worried is you are assuming God’s hand to either be empty or closed. And each time you are reminded of that, rejoice over the fact that it is neither!

Each time you look down today and notice your own hand (maybe just for today you could put a mark on your hand so you notice it throughout the day), let that remind you of the full, open hand of God.

And when He has closed His hand toward you to some degree, let that teach your heart that there is no substitute, and to seek nothing but the reopening of it.

Think: Think for a moment about the vastness of the creation and how capable God is of giving you an over-abundance of good gifts that will satisfy your soul. What marvelous thing could you seek from His full, open hand today that would glorify Him as the generous, open-handed Provider that He has promised to be?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 81:10 Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37 Generous Benefactor (part 2)

Meditation #84:  Necessity, Luxury, and Multifaceted Graciousness

Psalm 104:14-15 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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here is a sense in which the thoughtless, soul-less creation “rejoices” in God’s goodness, but it is not the same as when a sentient being—God’s own child—does it. That is why we have sentience. That is the reason we have minds and souls and affections. Let us not be like a stupid, brute beast. Let our willful praise never be outdone by their metaphorical praise!

Praise Him for the wonder of making the grass grow. Not all the wisdom and knowledge of mankind can make something like a blade of grass that grows. In all our wisdom, we could never so much as feed the cows. We can cultivate, gather, and distribute what God makes, but if not for Him causing it to grow we would have no ability to even feed the cattle. God grows grass for them and other plants for us.

He supplies all the life-giving nourishment we need, and He does it all from…dirt! When we look down at the dirt we see something that appears absolutely powerless and devoid of anything to offer. It seems more fit for burying us than for sustaining us. Indeed it is good for burying. In the wonder and beauty of God’s infinite wisdom He chose that which is used for the disposal of dead bodies to be the means by which He produces all the wonderful, life-sustaining bounty of the world!

And He not only supplies what we need to live, but what we need to be happy. He gladdens our hearts with substances that are beyond what we need to simply survive. He gives us good tasting drinks, and delicious food, and other substances we can use for refreshment and cosmetic enhancement. He lavishes us with all kinds of favors and treats, to cause us to smile. He strengthens us both physically and emotionally with bread. When we become very hungry and lose all motivation to do anything, and then we eat and are reinvigorated—even before there is time for the food to be broken down into chemicals and distributed through our blood stream. We not only have energy right away, but our heart is strengthened. Our mood changes. Our emotions are restored. The mere physical makeup of food cannot do all that (we know that because there are some times when eating does not restore our mood). The gladdening and strengthening of the heart is a direct act of God’s special grace. Be careful never to attribute to food or drink or anything else what should be attributed to God alone.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s heart-gladdening provision today?

Experiencing this attribute:

As you enjoy both necessities and luxuries today, let them remind you that God is the God of necessity, luxury and multifaceted graciousness, and that wherever you look, means of distributing His grace are being constantly generated. Receive His gifts today not as natural products of this world, but as gestures of His fatherly love.

Think: What luxuries are you enjoying right now, or anticipate enjoying later today or this week? Spend a few moments thinking about the kind of God who would supply such luxuries to someone like you.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 81:10 Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37  Generous Benefactor (part 3)

Meditation #85:  The God of Tailor-Made Provision

Psalm 104:16-18 The trees of the LORD are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

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y heart chases after every thought but You, Lord. Help me. My unfaithful soul opts to wander and stray into the shallow intrigues of trivia rather than the deep fulfillment of experiencing Your presence. Unite my heart to seek You. Reveal Yourself to me that I might be preoccupied with You. I want to walk with You today, Lord. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in evil deeds or thoughts or inclinations like evil men do. Let me not eat of their delicacies. Let me not crave them. Let me not want to look at them or think about them. Attract me to Your table, dear Lord. I believe You when You say it is better. The food is better. It is satisfying and life-giving and joy-giving. Restore my taste buds that I might crave what is really food.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The trees of the Lord are satisfied. They are the trees of the LORD—no man planted them, no man cares for them. For millions of them, no man ever even sees them. They are His trees. And He cares for them. He supplies them with water from above and from beneath. He directs their roots to sources of water so deep that they can laugh at drought. He holds them firm so they stand firm in the powerful gales. He draws the sap up against gravity and nourishes every leaf. The tree is utterly helpless to satisfy itself. It cannot move to a new place or send for anything. It can only do one thing—stand in its place. That seems like it would be the epitome of helplessness. And yet billions upon billions of trees flourish year after year, because God cares for them.

And His supply for them is turned into their supply for others. Huge birds that need high, elevated, safe, secure, horizontal platforms for their homes find them in abundance.

The most “uninhabitable” areas in this world are teaming with life. In fact, the very thing that makes those places seem so uninhabitable are exactly the things that certain creatures need to thrive. Cities are densely populated, but life probably abounds even more where people cannot live. God makes everything thrive. He supplies all the unique needs of His various creatures. He is everywhere caring for His creation—giving them shelter, protection, provision, and all they need.

How much more does He care for His children! A coney needs the crags. A stork needs high, strong branches. A tree needs underground water. A goat needs high altitudes and rocks. Whenever you see the various aspects of the creation that are needed by different creatures (rocks, valleys, peaks, different trees, caves, planes, grasses), let it remind you of the tailor-made uniqueness of God’s supply in your life. He has created just the kind of crags and caves you need for refuge. He provides just the depth of underground water you need to survive the droughts. He moves the sap around in you to supply every branch in your life. He places you in the heights when you need a big perspective.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s tailor-made provision today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When Jesus rose from the dead each of His followers had different needs, and Jesus accommodated His appearances to give each just what he needed. John believed as soon as he saw the empty tomb, but Mary needed to hear Him say her name. Thomas needed to see the wounds. The disciples on the road to Emmaus needed the entire Old Testament explained to them. Peter needed to be publicly restored with a three-fold affirmation of his love and devotion to the Lord. Jesus knows what you need, and is willing to provide it if you are willing to receive it.

Seek what you need from Him. And spend the day rejoicing in the abundant and suitable supply that you receive from God’s hand. Let it draw your attention to what He is like so you can rejoice in His presence every moment. Keep your eye open for the ways in which God has tailor-made His provision for you.

Think: Think of at least three examples of provisions that God has given you that are suitable for you but that would not be suitable for others. Also, think of what kind of grace you are especially in need of and seek it from Him.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 81:10 Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37  Generous Benefactor (part 4)

Meditation #86:  He Makes it Possible for us to Reconcile with Him

Psalm 50:1-4,9,14-15 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. 2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: … 9 “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens … 14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God … 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he stench of the people’s sin rose above the heavens. God convenes the entire Creation to stand as a witness in His great and fearful indictment of His people for their incalculable evil. And when He speaks of how they can be right with Him He does not say, “Spend 10,000 years in purgatory” or “cut yourselves with knives to show your contrition.” He does not even require twenty years of hard labor, or even one year. He simply requires that they look to Him as their Benefactor (call on Him in the day of trouble and gratefully honor Him when He delivers)!

The only requirement for being right with God again when we sin is that we must simply stop sucking up dust out of broken cisterns and start drinking deeply from His refreshing, life-giving spring! He requires only that we prefer the great banquet of God over the worthless banquet of this world. Their sin was to think of God as a beneficiary (thinking He benefited from their worship—verse 9), so the solution was to begin seeking Him as He is, the great and generous Benefactor, not beneficiary.

Most of us have dealt with people who refuse to forgive us and who refuse any attempt at reconciliation—nothing you can do would put you back in good standing with them. How different God is! He requires so little for us to be right with Him again after we have sinned egregiously against Him. We must only open our hands to receive grace from Him!

Thank You, dear Lord. Thank You for not making it impossible to reconcile with You. Please teach Your servant never to forget that and always to cherish that, so I will never make it impossible (or even hard) for someone to be restored to my good graces.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as Benefactor today?

Experiencing this attribute:

He requires so little. And yet He requires so much. He requires everything. To come to Him we must come as beggars with empty hands. We must forsake our idols and broken cisterns—the things we hold so dear and that seem to promise such happiness or security. We must let go of all our “assets” before we can honor Him as our Benefactor. As utterly worthless and liability-like as those “assets” are, still, our greedy, idolatrous hearts struggle to let go of them. We think we need them. Our confused, foolish souls think they are of some significance in the question of whether we will be provided for or not. We stupidly think they are a factor in our joy.

Lord, may I not dishonor You by looking to any other helper. May my gratitude all be Yours alone. If I look to my family or friends or pastor or anyone else as the source of my help, my gratitude will terminate on them and I will be an idolater. Am I guilty of that, dear Lord? Have I dishonored You by looking to men as the source of my help (instead of looking to men only as tools in Your hand)?

May my heart see Your gracious love behind every good thing. May I take You seriously in my commitments, never speaking out of pure religious rote without the full commitment of the will and affections behind it. May I look nowhere but to You on the day of trouble. May those days teach my heart what it means to look to You alone. May the promise of deliverance by You excite and enliven and delight my heart! May it be my only desire.

Whenever you see examples of people who do not deserve what they are asking for, let that remind you of God’s grace. Whenever you receive, hope for, or long for anything good, let that feeling remind you of the wonderful joy of having such a Benefactor.

Think: When you sin do you strive to make it up to God—to give Him something? Or do you respond to your sin in the way that honors God—by letting go of your idols and seeking grace from God? Never let the fact that you do not deserve it keep you from seeking it! If you do that you imply that other times you do deserve it. Seeking forgiveness and grace as an undeserving beggar is exactly what honors God.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 50:15 Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37  Generous Benefactor (part 5)

Meditation #87:  How Much Has God Given You?

Psalm 16:5-6 LORD, you are my portion of inheritance and my cup; you take hold of my lot. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

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he concept of a portion comes from the dividing of the Promised Land when the children of Israel first entered. God divided the land into eleven parts. To each of the first eleven tribes He gave some wonderful territory and said, “This is your portion.” After the eleventh (and final) part was given, nothing was left for the twelfth tribe (Levi). But to Levi God said, “I am your portion” (Josh.18:7). Everything the rest of the tribes would receive from God through the land, Levi would receive directly from God. Imagine a survival expert who takes his class into the mountains and hands each student some provisions and then sends them off into the forest for the night. When everything has been handed out his son says, “What about me? I didn’t get any provisions,” to which the father responds, “I am your provision. You stay with me.” What a grand privilege it is to have God as your portion!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Consider what the Father has promised you. If He did not even withhold His Son, how much more will He give you all other things (Ro.8:32)? That means He has given you more than what Satan offered Jesus in the third temptation in the desert. Satan’s mightiest effort to entice Jesus to sin, when he exhausted his entire fortune offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, was the largest, most extravagant bribe ever offered; and God has given us more than that! Oh, how generous and gracious and kind is our Lord!

God has given you Himself. He is your portion. He shines His sun and sends His rain on the righteous and the wicked, but He does not give Himself to the wicked. He says, “I am your portion” only to those He loves as children. He offers Himself as father, friend—even husband, only to His beloved Bride. Oh, what a thought! To be loved by God in that way is a privilege beyond words. Focus not on the mercies of God as much as the God of the mercies. Complete satisfaction comes from God plus nothing.

The experience of His love makes bitterness itself sweet. It makes times of weakness and fatigue and hunger a blessed feast on the food “ye know not of” (Jn.4:32). The experience of His love turns weeds to flowers, the rod into an embrace, stones into bread, water into wine, the valley of deepest darkness into the mountain peak of joy and hope, the desolation into a garden.

O dear Lord, You are all I need and all I want. All my inheritance and promised blessing is in Your hand—firm and secure, like an anchor in the sanctuary behind the curtain. Thank You, dear Lord, for Your great and precious promises, and for making them so certain, that I might live in hope. Let me glorify You today by how much hope I have.

You are my portion. You are all I need; all I want. You do not just fill my cup; You are my cup. You are the whole of all there is to fulfillment. You are the contents and the container. My lot is beautiful and delightful and pleasant. The landscape of Your plan for me is a spectacular vista—a wonderful sight.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your portion today?

Experiencing this attribute:

How does one experience God as his portion? First, by relying directly on Him rather than on a paycheck or retirement account or any other intermediate means of grace. Learn to see all the good that you receive as coming from the hand of God. If you have peace in your heart and sweet rest, do not think that it is due to a comfortable mattress or plush couch or warm house. It is due to the presence of God, which, were it removed, would render you unable to find rest even on the world’s most comfortable furniture. If you have strength, realize that it came directly from God. If you have wisdom, motivation, joy, provision, love, hope—to whatever degree you have any of those remember that it came from God, not from whatever earthly means it seems to have come from.

Secondly, preach constantly to your soul, “My portion is enough!” If your portion were anything other than the Lord Himself, it might not be enough to satisfy your soul. But having the Lord as your portion guarantees that there will never be a time when your soul must remain empty and dry. Never will joy be out of reach.

Think: What good are you receiving directly from Him at this very moment? Try to think of both the obvious and the not so obvious.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #37  Generous Benefactor (part 6)

Meditation #88:  Generous to Givers

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he reason we are reluctant to be generous is we fear that if we give our money or time or energy to someone else, then we may not have enough time or money or energy left over to do what would bring about our own joy. But if we know this attribute of God—that He considers our gifts to others a loan that He will repay, then the fear of losing our joy evaporates and we are free to be generous. God made this promise because He loves to be trusted. He loves it so much that He always makes more joy available to us when we trust Him than when we do not.

The repayment God has promised to the generous is far more than anything we could ever give to anyone. It is when our souls become so deeply convinced of these promises that we are delighted to be generous. That is walking by faith. And the result is others receive glad generosity from us, we receive massive blessing from God, and God receives glory as one worthy of being trusted.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s generosity to the generous today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Memorize at least one of God’s promises to bless the generous, and cling to that promise when you are tempted to be stingy with your time or energy or money. Remind yourself that it is both your joy and God’s glory that are at stake.

Forgive me, dear Lord, for all the times I have lived in a manner that would advertise to the world that I need to hoard most of what I have. What a reproach that is on Your name. Lord, teach me to live in a way that shouts to the world that I have a Father who is a rich King. Teach me to live like a man who has infinite resources promised by a rich Father who delights in generosity. Let my heart become like Your generous heart, that I might walk close by Your side in intimacy.

Teach me to be much more interested in the promised great reward than in the money in my wallet. Teach me to long so desperately for my light to rise in the darkness and for guidance and satisfaction from You and being a well-watered garden and a spring of water—all the things You promise to the generous. Make me crave those things with such deep craving that my stingy heart will be moved to generosity. Make me so I would rather have those rewards than money or time or energy or any of the things I hoard.

Think: With which commodity are you most tempted to be stingy: time, energy, money, love, forgiveness, or something else? In what ways do you think God would repay you if you became generous with that commodity?

Promise to trust today:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Isaiah 58:9-11 If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #38 Strength and Love Combined

Meditation #89:

Psalm 62:9-12 The sons of Adam are but a breath, the sons of man are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. 10 Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that to you, O God, is strength, 12 and that to you, O Lord, is love. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.[47]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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e are warned not to put any trust in men or goods. All the power of all people combined is air. And goods, while they make loud boasts that they will satisfy, are bankrupt in themselves. To God alone belong strength and love. So any expressions of strength and love—any deliverance, protection, help, or empowerment that comes through people or things—all come not from those people or things, but from God.

Oh, the greatness of God’s nature—this combination and perfect blend of omnipotence and beneficence. Without His love, His great power would crush us. What good would it be if God were powerful enough to take care of us and provide for us if He did not love us enough to do so? And what good would it be if He cared deeply for us but lacked the power to do us good? Without His power His love would be meaningless sentiment. God’s love sweetens His power, and His power sets His love in unstoppable motion.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s power and goodness together today?

Experiencing this attribute:

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hat folly for us to look to anyone or anything besides God for help or comfort when He is infinitely loving and powerful, and all goodness and power comes from Him alone. What do we have to be afraid of or to worry about? How can we be afraid when the God who covers us with the shadow of His wings is the same God who rules the universe with His rod, who holds on a leash the devil and all the wicked, and overrules their designs and intrigues? How can you despair when such a God loves you with a length, breadth, height, and depth of love that is beyond knowing and yet that you have known (Eph.3:18-19)?

Whenever you see an illustration of great power—a bulldozer or gravity or the currents of a river—consider how it lacks love. It does nothing to come to you. Any benefit you gain from its power is all your responsibility and your doing. But our experiences of God’s power are His initiative.

Whenever you receive love from anyone, consider the lack of power that person has and inability to offer any satisfying good apart from God’s special grace. Even when they mean well, they do not have the power to supply everything you need. Let that draw your heart to God as the only source of power and love and the perfect blend of both.

And each time you become aware of a need in your life today, rejoice over the fact that your God has both the power to be able to meet that need, and the love to compel Him to meet it!

Think: In the circumstances of your life right now, which are you more inclined to doubt—God’s love or His power? And which of those are you most tempted to seek from some other source besides God?

Promise to trust today:

Jeremiah 32:17-19 Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39 Love (HESED)

Meditation #90: That Which Grants Access Into the Presence of God

Psalm 5:7 But I, by your great love (HESED), will come into your house; in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he door that leads into the presence of God is like a massive, steel barricade locked from the inside. But the material of the door is not steel; it is wrath. God’s anger over sin is like a door designed to keep sinners out of His presence. It prevents any evil from appearing before Him.

I used to work for Dominos Pizza, and one stormy winter night I was standing on a doorstep making a delivery and I became lost in thought considering this very truth. I looked at the door in front of me and was reminded of how God’s wrath is a door designed specifically to bar someone like me from God’s presence. As I stared at the door I forgot for a moment what I was doing and was overwhelmed at the thought of how utterly impossible it would be for me to gain entry into an area from which I have been barred by the wrath of God against me. Then, right at the moment when I was most gripped by the devastating thought of God’s impassable wrath-door, the customer came and opened the door. What a thrilling picture that was! My heart rejoiced when I realized that is exactly what God did when He saved me. I stood at an iron door, locked and barred from the inside by omnipotent power and infinite hatred of the very thing that filled my heart to capacity (sin), hopelessly shut out of His presence, and, suddenly, the door swung open! What was it that pulled back the deadlocks of His wrath? It was His HESED love.

The same night that this happened, there was another house that I entered without even knocking. I had to stop by my parent’s place to drop something off. I could just walk right in because of their HESED love toward me as their son. This is the privilege of the children of God.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s HESED today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience this attribute is to walk through the door and enter into His presence! Devote this day to doing that. But as you do, keep in mind the purpose of the open door.

…in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.

The door to the presence of God is always open to His children. And the reason it stands open is so we can come in and bow before Him. God does not open it so we can come in and ignore Him. No one opens their door to you so you can wander in and do what you please in their house without so much as casting a glance in their direction. When someone opens his front door to you, you pay strict attention to the reason he opened the door, whether it be to receive a delivery, or to invite you in for fellowship, or something else. Whatever his reason for opening the door—that is your only dealing with him. God opens the door so we can be staggered by His glory and bow before Him in fear. He does not open the door to His presence so we can have a half-hearted, distracted, semi-awareness of Him that is eclipsed by interest in all the worthless things lying around outside the door. He does not open the door so we can turn our backs to His house and pay attention to the world outside. He does not open the door so we can come in and admire ourselves in the mirror. He opens the door so we can have communion with Him and bow before His majesty.

Never forget that it is only the Lord’s special favor that grants access to His presence. And the purpose of His favor is to enable you to seek more of that favor. We do not seek His presence in order to obtain some other end. We seek it only in order to obtain more of it.

Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.[48]

Think: What is it that most prevents you from entering into and enjoying a conscious experience of the presence of God? What will you do today to change that?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 5:7 But I, by your great love (HESED), will come into your house; in fear will I bow down toward your holy temple.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39  Love (part 2)

Meditation #91:  The Difference Between David and Saul: God’s HESED

2 Samuel 7:15 But my love (HESED) will never be taken away from [David], as I took it away from Saul.

2 Samuel 22:51 He gives his king great victories; he shows love (HESED) to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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od removed His HESED love from Saul but showed it to David. HESED is the difference between Saul at the end of his life and David at the height of his blessing. It is that which brings blessing, success, fulfillment, glory, and joy in God. It gives the man after God’s own heart what that man desires most—access to God’s own heart.

Both the removal of God’s HESED from Saul and the pleas of the psalmists not to remove it from them (or to restore it to them) show that the experience of God’s HESED is a fluid reality. The love of God is not an unchangeable constant to be taken for granted, like gravity. Nor is it a simplistic, mechanical tool to be utilized in a crisis. It is a quality of relationship with God that is to be sought, appropriated, and treasured in our every needy moment.

Enable Your servant to do that today, dear Father. Teach me to seek after Your HESED and to treasure it as the key that unlocks every kind of blessing from You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s HESED today?

Experiencing this attribute:

We all experience a great deal of the HESED love of God every day. While there is nothing wrong with seeking more of it, it is also important to learn to recognize and appreciate that which we are already receiving. If God shows His love to us and we fail to recognize it as such, it does nothing to help warm our hearts toward Him.

Every time you have success in a good endeavor where there could have been failure, take the time to receive that as the gesture of love from God that it is. Every time you enjoy God-given favor in the eyes of people, or joy, or blessing of any kind, do not miss the most important truth about it—that the reason it is so wonderful is the HESED of God that is in it. The more you realize that, the more you will train your heart to crave God’s love. All too often we think the pleasure and joy of those things are inherent in those things, which trains our hearts to crave them rather than God’s love.

Think: What are some expressions of the HESED of God that you are experiencing right now? What are some that you are likely to experience (but fail to recognize as His HESED) in the hours to come today?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39  Love  (part 3)

Meditation #92:  The Beauty of God’s HESED

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ear Lord, let this time be time really spent with You, in Your blessed presence. I could sit here for hours and not really pray. I do not know how much the experience of Your presence is available to me or accessible to me at this moment given my level of spiritual progress at this time and given Your sovereign purposes, but please let me attain to 100% of what is possible right now. I want to commune with You, dear Lord. Please help me. I want to know You and love You. I want to hear Your voice and be listened to by You. I want to see Your glory and feast on Your delights. I want to drink, right now, from the river of Your delights—from Your great spring. I want the nourishing milk and refreshing water and the pleasure-inducing wine and the richest of fare for my soul. I want to feast on the abundance of Your house and the inheritance of Jacob. Lord, satisfy my soul with the richest of foods and let me find my joy in you instead of going my own way and drinking from empty cisterns. During this prayer time, Lord, thrill the heart of Your servant, so by the end I will be rejoicing in Your bounty. Let me eat the food and drink the mixed wine of wisdom. Do not let my heart be drawn to evil—let me not eat of their delicacies. I want to eat that living Bread that came down from heaven—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. I want to eat His flesh and drink His blood that I might remain and abide in Him. And all this feasting and eating and drinking today—let it be especially upon Your HESED.

Psalm 17:7 Show the wonder of your great love (HESED), you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Psalm 85:7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

The word “show” is a rich concept. The psalmist is asking the Lord to set His HESED love apart as wonderful, to distinguish it as marvelous and spectacular in his sight, to draw clear boundaries around it so that it does not bleed into anything else, and to showcase it before his eyes. This attribute of God is beautiful to behold. And beholding that which is beautiful is immensely pleasurable and satisfying.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the wonder of God’s HESED today?

Experiencing this attribute:

People will go to great lengths to get a glimpse of beauty. Men have been known to walk into light posts because their head is turned to see an attractive woman. We travel great distances to see the wonders of creation. We spend vast sums to acquire beautiful works of art. There is a powerful, compelling hunger in the human heart to behold beauty.

Nothing is more beautiful and satisfying to behold than the attributes of God. And yet the marvelous display of God’s HESED goes mostly unnoticed every day. Each time you see a display of the HESED of God today, make it your goal to be like a person who stops in his tracks and cranes his neck to get a better look at some spectacular sight. Let it capture your attention and distract you from everything else. Go out of your way or turn your head or duck down or stand on your toes or do whatever it takes to get a better view. The man who does that for a glimpse of a beautiful woman does it for no other reason than the sheer pleasure he gets from seeing beauty. Seek the pleasure of seeing the glory of God through His HESED.

Help me do that today, Lord. Grant me power by Your Holy Spirit to see and feast upon Your wonderful HESED all day long. If I think I understand it, but there is no pleasure or delight in my soul, then I am blind to it. Dear Lord, I believe that if my eyes were really opened to see the wonders of it I would be delighted beyond measure. Forgive me for my blindness and dullness, dear Father, and enable Your servant to grasp what it is about Your HESED that is so marvelous—to the point that I would actually marvel.

Think: Make it your goal to pray this prayer dozens of times before you go to bed tonight: “Lord, show me Your HESED in this thing I am looking at right now.”

Promise to trust today:

Hosea 2:23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. 'I will say to those called 'Not my people, ''You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.”

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39  Love  (part 4)

Meditation #93:  Loving in Order to Know God’s Love

Psalm 18:25-26 To the loving (HASID) you show yourself loving (HESED), to the blameless you show yourself blameless 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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esterday’s meditation was about seeing God’s HESED. Today we learn that God shows His HESED love to the HASID (the loving/ faithful/godly). The more righteous and loving you are, the more of God’s love you receive.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the wonder of God’s HESED today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Our ability to see what is wonderful about God is limited by our own character. When we lack a virtue it tends to blind us so that we cannot see that attribute of God clearly. But the more we actually carry out that attribute in our own character, the more capable we are of seeing what is so wonderful about it in God’s character. We can have an abstract, theoretical knowledge of an attribute, but until we have had that virtue ourselves our ability to really appreciate it in God is limited. For example, when you have completely forgiven someone who has sinned egregiously against you, you have much greater ability to appreciate and love God’s forgiveness. When you have been compassionate or merciful toward someone, your appreciation for God’s compassion and mercy is increased. Exercising those virtues gives you a sense of the cost involved, which makes you appreciate them more when you receive them from God.

Lord, make me one of the HASID. Make me a man who is upright and blameless before You, walking in all Your ways and following You with all my heart. Like Your servant David, let my legacy be that of one who was fully devoted to You, who followed You completely, who walked in Your ways, who did what is right by observing Your statutes, who walked in integrity of heart and uprightness, who did what is right in Your eyes not turning to the right or to the left and who was a man after Your own heart. Let me be a lover of people, dear Father. Give me a heart of HESED so I can see and really enjoy Your HESED. Let me feel the cost of showing love so that I can better appreciate Your costly love. Let me feel the closeness to those I love so that I can appreciate the closeness You feel with me when You love me.

Those who are loving receive a greater experience of God’s love not only because they see it more clearly, but also because they actually receive more of it. As we live in love and loyalty to God He will reward us by showering us with His faithful love.

There are many, many reasons Scripture gives us for godliness. But what motive could be higher than this one? To obey and to exhibit a righteous trait out of a desire to see more clearly the glory of God in His exercise of that trait, and to also be rewarded with a greater experience of His nearness. We honor Him most when we desire Him most. And when our desire rises to the level of driving us to live out His character because we so long to have more knowledge of Him, we bring Him double honor, and we bring ourselves double joy.

Think: Think of something good you were planning on doing today. Add the desire to increase your knowledge and experience of that attribute of God to your complex of motives.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 18:25-26 To the loving (HASID) you show yourself loving (HESED), to the blameless you show yourself blameless 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39  Love  (part 5)

Meditation #94:  Prolific Love

Psalm 33:5 The earth is full of his love (HESED).[49]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he whole earth is full of God’s unfailing love and covenant loyalty. This ball in space He formed from nothing is not only full of His love; it seems so overfull that it is constantly bursting forth with over-abundance of His love. Every single day this earth produces more food than six billion people and trillions of animals can eat. There is enough provision for every person to gorge himself on food,[50] dress himself, find shelter and all that he needs.

There is no place where God’s goodness does not appear in this world. We cannot look in any direction without seeing it—seeing more of it than we can even comprehend. And yet most of it goes unseen.

We look up and see the sun, which showers His love on the righteous and the wicked every day. Or the stars, which display His power and help us think about His vastness and, by their unerring courses, guide sailors and travelers. We look at the earth and see plants and trees everywhere, around the clock providing oxygen and food, storing energy from sunlight that is released in our bodies as we eat the food, or in fire as the wood is burned, or in the strength of our houses as the wood beams withstand the strong winds because of the rigidly that comes from and reflects God’s faithfulness.

When we look at the ground we see dirt, the substance which produces the whole world’s food. It looks so inert and powerless, and yet it produces a menu that is pleasurable and necessary and vast beyond imagination. It is the steady foundation for our feet. Beneath it are buried vast resources God has hidden away for us.

Even if we try to stare off at nothing we cannot help but be looking at the air—that blessed blanket of protection with which God has wrapped this planet. He designed it so it fills every space. It is between the pages of a closed book. It weighs millions of tons, yet we scarcely feel it. It is the only protection we have from annihilation from the hostility of outer space—millions of giant rocks hurling at us at thousands of miles an hour. And God made that protective shield our very breath of life. It withstands the brutal assault of the solar system and yet is the very tenderness of God’s mothering hand that caresses your face as the gentle breeze contacts your skin. Oh, how the earth is filled with God’s unfailing love!

Father, let it be that whenever I feel a breeze on my face I am reminded that "This sweet air whispers of the country from whence it blows.”[51] The best of the goodness of this world is only a faint whisper of Your goodness, and its sweetness makes me long to be in Your presence.

So many facets of His love reflected in this world! When the resources of this planet relieve the miserable, that reflects His mercy. When they bless the undeserving, we see His grace. When they sustain the sinful, it is His patience and longsuffering. When something in this world confers promised blessing, it is His truth and faithfulness. When the world shakes and erupts and devastates, it reflects His power and justice. When it supplies more than is needed it is His bounty. When it provides tender relief for the suffering or refreshment to the weary, it is His compassion.

Even the infinite mass of our sin—of all the sin of all mankind—does not outweigh or cancel His goodness and love that spring forth from every molecule of this world.

God could have made this world full of nothing but His wrath over our sin. He could have made every taste bitter, every sight ugly, every smell a stench, every sound a discord, and every sensation stinging. God’s wrath is good. Nothing would have been amiss if He had made this place full of only His anger, so that none of His loving kindness would be felt except in heaven. But instead He chose to make this world full of His unfailing love.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s love through the creation today?

Experiencing this attribute:

What insanity it is when we complain. God has surrounded us with so much of His kindness that our minds cannot even comprehend all the countless expressions of His love that are being showered on every cell of our bodies and every part of our souls every moment of every day; and yet we complain. Incredibly, we find a way to blind ourselves to His infinite goodness and kindness to us so all we see in some moments is displeasing enough to us that we would open our mouths and grumble about our circumstance, voicing our displeasure in what God is doing!

Awaken me, O Lord, to see all of Your goodness that is so prolific in this world! You put me in a house (a mansion by the standards of most people who have ever lived) and lay me down in soft luxury every night. You wake me in the morning, giving me another day of life. And in all that I grumble about not getting what I feel would have been the best amount of sleep. What blindness to Your glory! Lord, open my eyes. I want to see You and Your glory that I might love You as I ought.

If you have Him—fellowship with Him and His love, what trial could ever be so severe that you could not still have exuberant joy if your eyes were simply open to His goodness? So much of His goodness is being showered on us from every direction at every moment, there is no reason we should fail to have deep and profound joy. If God filled this world so full of His love, surely He meant that love to be seen and enjoyed by us.

The more joy you find in the least enjoyable moments of life, the more you glorify God as an all-satisfying delight. Rejoice when you get up out of bed in the morning. Rejoice when you are constantly interrupted. Rejoice in times of physical or emotional pain. Rejoice when you are misunderstood or mistreated. Rejoice when you fall behind in your work. Even in times when grief is appropriate, make sure there is a joy in your heart that is deeper and wider and higher and more substantive than your grief. Fill your heart with awareness of the blessed goodness that you are experiencing in those times. Open your eyes to the joyful reality you are in.

Lord, today, enable me to take pleasure in You every moment. Let me be constantly aware of how good You are being to me, how much of Your love is surrounding me and penetrating my very being, and enable me to be aware of the experience of receiving Your love and enjoy it. Let my heart well up with joy and gratitude when I am doing the things I normally enjoy the least and am tempted to be discontented in my heart.

Think: Look around you. Think about your life. What are some examples of God’s love in this world that you have not really thought of as conveying His love?

Promise to trust today:

Acts 14:17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #39  Love  (part 6)

Meditation #95:  The Facets of God’s HESED

Psalm 33:5 The earth is full of his unfailing love.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hat a rich and wonderful thing God’s HESED is! Each of the aspects we have examined the past few days are marvelous by themselves. But even more marvelous is the spectacular combination of all the various aspects. The following is a summary of what Scripture teaches about the meaning of God’s HESED:

It refers to the combination of God’s loving and merciful and gracious disposition toward us, and His kind actions toward us. It is because of God’s loving disposition and His resulting acts of provision that we can approach His presence (Ps.5:7). That disposition and those actions make a worthless, rejected sinner acceptable in His presence. It does not cancel His holy hatred for sin, but it makes it possible for Him to separate our evil from us, so that while He works to destroy our evil we can still live! God’s HESED is something that can take us from being the objects of His rejection to being the objects of His affection.

God’s HESED works in opposition to His wrath (Ps.25:6-7). It is difficult for us to conceive of one of His attributes working in the opposite direction as the other, but there are passages that speak of God’s wrath being mitigated, ameliorated or brought to an end by His HESED. His wrath and hatred of our sin is a giant, unbreachable iron door designed specifically to keep people like us out of His presence, and His HESED is the key that opens that door to us.

God’s HESED is also something that grants us special privilege—the kind of privileged access that only family can have—like the child of a celebrity who can bypass the long lines and security and jump into his daddy’s arms whenever he wants (Ps.36:10, 86:5).

God’s HESED is great (Lam.3:32, Ps.57:10). His wrath and justice are kept within the bounds of exactly what is deserved and no more. His anger at sin is measured out in strict proportions. But His wonderful HESED is dumped and showered and lavished without measure in abundant, disproportionate overflow. It has to be that way for us to enter His house. Love that had any limit on it at all would not be enough to bring this sinner into the presence of the Holy One of Israel, the LORD of hosts. His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor a lifetime (Ps.30:6)!

His HESED is better than life at its best. There is no pleasure or thrill or satisfaction that can compare to the experience of His love (Ps.63:3).

His HESED was what He removed from Saul when He rejected him (2 Sam.7:15). The difference between Saul at the end of his life and David at the height of his blessing—that is what God’s great HESED is. It is that which brings blessing, success, fulfillment, glory, and joy in Him. It gives the man after His own heart what he wants—access to God’s own heart.

His HESED is the part of Him that rescues or protects us from calamity (Ps.6:4). We are so fragile—just one wrong move with a steering wheel, one inhaled germ, one exposure to a temptation, one lapse in judgment—and we could be utterly ruined. One second from now your dearest loved ones could all be dead. Or the phone could ring and you could get the worst news of your life. Or you could fall to a sin you did not even know you were susceptible to in full view of everyone. Disaster is always a millimeter away from you, and could descend upon you at any moment in total devastation. And it is only God’s HESED that prevents that from happening every moment of the day.

In addition to all that, in today’s verse we see that God’s HESED marks ALL His ways—ALL God’s dealings with His people (Ps.25:10). It does not mark all His ways with the world; but it does mark all His ways with you. All of them—including His ways in dealing roughly with you. When God’s ways include sickness, injury, loss, sorrow, suffering—it is all loaded full of His HESED. It is all protecting you from real calamity, giving you success in Him, shielding you from His wrath and is to be preferred over life at its best.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s HESED today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Psalm 107:43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

The first step in experiencing God’s love is to consider it. God showers so much of His HESED on us at all times that it is almost like the air we breathe—we become so accustomed to it that we hardly notice it. This may be a meditation that you should spend several days with, until you can have success in thinking about the various facets of God’s love all through the day.

It may help to think of a memory aid so the various aspects of God’s HESED can be quickly recalled throughout the day. Try to remember each of the points above with the acronym GOD’S LOVE.

Great (disproportionate overflow—greater than His wrath) Lam.3:32, Ps.57:10

Open door (Ps.5:7)

Deliverance from wrath (Ps.25:6-7)

Special privilege (Ps.36:10, 86:5)

Life at its best (better than) (Ps.63:3)

Overlooks and protects my life (Ps.6:4)

Vs. (David’s blessing vs. Saul’s disastrous end) (2 Sam.7:15)

Earth is full of His HESED and it marks ALL His ways (Ps.33:5, Ps.25:10)

Think: Which of these aspects of God’s love do you have the least awareness or appreciation of? Give special attention to learning to take delight in the experience of that one today.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #40 Love That Can Be Experienced through Loving Others

Meditation #96: Taking Pleasure in Pleasing Him

Romans 14:17-20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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othing is more important than fellowship with God. We must seek to enjoy communion with Him throughout the day every day. But in times when we are interacting with people, how do we simultaneously enjoy fellowship with God and deal with people? One way is by bringing Him pleasure through a certain kind of service (verse 18). The kind of service that pleases Him is the setting aside of freedoms for the benefit of others with an attitude that holds righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit to be more precious and delightful than the exercise of one’s freedoms. When you place greater value on living in peace with your brother and increasing his joy than you do on exercising your freedoms—that is service that brings pleasure to the Lord. Putting your rights aside means nothing in itself, but doing it for the sake of a brother’s joy shows that you treasure righteousness, peace, and joy more highly than you treasure your own rights and privileges. This is why Paul considered the joy of others to be the goal of his ministry (2 Cor.1:24). In working for their joy he brought pleasure to the heart of God.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s love through setting aside your freedoms today?

Experiencing this attribute:

It should not be assumed that any act of kindness toward others is automatically fellowship with God. It is possible to engage in ministry to others without any thought of God or awareness of His presence at all. If we are not paying attention to God we are not having fellowship with Him. If a man earns a living, mows the yard, does the dishes, sweeps the floor, and a thousand other things to serve his wife but never pays personal attention to her, they will grow apart rather than closer. But if those things are done as conscious expressions of his love for her, and if his great desire is to be with her every chance he gets; those same actions can do a great deal to enhance the closeness of their relationship. It is the same with serving God. When we serve Him by loving His people we must take delight in the thought that He is pleased with what we are doing, so that our love for others is an experience of, rather than a break from, fellowship with God.

God has purpose in loving us. He does not love us for no reason—there is an objective that He has in mind. And that objective is that we would respond by loving others.

1 John 4:12 If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us…

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us.

The word translated “made complete” refers to fulfilling or realizing the objective—reaching the goal. The goal God has in loving us is for us to love others. And what happens when that goal is reached? Fellowship with God (living in God and God in you).

Think: Take a moment to imagine the smile of God over some recent acts of love on your part. Think deeply about the fact of God receiving pleasure that He did not already have because of some act of love you did today or yesterday. Keep thinking about it until your heart longs to be the cause of more divine pleasure.

Promise to trust today:

1 John 4:12 If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #40  Love experienced through loving others (part 2)

Meditation #97:  Experiencing His Attributes by Being the Means through which they Come

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ood morning, dear Father,

Thank You for being here available for me to spend this time with You. Please, dear Lord, open Your servant’s eyes to some rays of Your glory that will grip my soul and fill me with joy. Let me see You and know You more. Enlighten the eyes of my heart, glorious Father, and give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may know You better. Out of Your glorious riches, strengthen me with power by Your Spirit in my inner being that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. Meet with me in this room this hour, dear Lord. Teach my heart to seek hard after You today—earnestly, with all my heart and all my soul.

1 Peter 4:10-11 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, as good stewards of God's grace in its various forms.11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen[52]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

In the previous meditation we saw that loving people can be an experience of fellowship with God if it is done with the conscious awareness of the presence of God and for the purpose of enjoying His pleasure. But that is not the only way loving others can be an experience of fellowship with God. When we seek the Lord in prayer and feast on His Word by meditating on the wonders of His excellencies, the goal is to experience the attributes of God and to enjoy that experience, thus glorifying Him and increasing our love for Him. So if the goal is to experience His attributes, what better way to experience them than to actually become the pipeline through which those attributes flow from heaven into the lives of people?

Verse 10 calls us stewards of God’s grace. He places a portion of His grace in our hands and then calls us to be faithful in the distribution of it. The more we distribute it to others, the more of it we receive from God. That is why Jesus said we will have the fullest joy when we love others (Jn.15:11-12).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s love through loving others today?

Experiencing this attribute:

If you love God’s wisdom and seek to enjoy His wisdom in fellowshipping with a wise God—what better way to enjoy that attribute than to be the mouthpiece that delivers His wisdom to His people? Whenever you teach or counsel or give any explanation of truth to anyone, do so with a conscious intention of enjoying God’s wisdom as you actually participate in the dispensing of it.

If you love God’s kindness and grace and love, and you seek to know and understand those facets of His glory, what better way than to participate in the dispensing of them? Whenever you do some loving thing, do it with an acute awareness of participating in and enjoying what is wonderful about God’s kindness, grace, and love.

When you serve God and love others you are both depending on and receiving His grace.

Think: Do an inventory of the stockpiles of divine riches that have been left under your stewardship. Think about how the Master would have those distributed today, the rest of the week, and next Sunday at church.

Promise to trust today:

1 John 4:12 If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

John 15:11-12 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #40  Love experienced through loving others (part 3)

Meditation #98:  Enjoying God through Loving People

Galatians 4:14-15 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he Galatians endured the burden of Paul’s illness, did not treat him with contempt or scorn, welcomed him like an angel or like the Lord Himself, and had such love and compassion that they would have torn out their own eyes to give them to Paul. Now all of that has changed and the love is gone, but instead of saying, “What happened to all your love?” he says, “What happened to all your joy[53]?” To be kind to a needy person and to show him compassion and to welcome him like the Lord Himself is a cause for rejoicing—a great treasure, worthy of celebration.

Love, if it is real, is enjoyable. That is not to say it is easy. Paul’s illness was a trial to them. Loving the sick and needy is hard and costly. But while there are painful aspects to love, there is also enjoyment that is greater than the difficulty. An important key to loving people is learning to enjoy them—or, more specifically, to enjoy God through them.

Psalm 16:2-3 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." 3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

First he says that the Lord is his only good, then he says that all his delight is in the saints. The only way for that to not be a contradiction is if his delight in the saints is enjoyment of God. Enjoying people is not automatically enjoyment of God. It is possible to enjoy people instead of God (when you think your joy comes from that person). But it is also possible to enjoy people as part of your enjoyment of God (when you consciously appreciate God as the source of the delightfulness that comes through that person).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the blessedness of God’s grace through loving others today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Never allow your love for people to degenerate into mere duty. If it is not joy for you, then it is not love. As you seek to increase your love, work at not only acting in loving ways, but, more importantly, at increasing your enjoyment of increasing that person’s joy. That is what will make that person feel most loved and honored, and it will enable a hundred times more acts of kindness than a mere sense of duty.

Our flesh wants to enjoy those who bring us immediate pleasure and who do not cost us much expense or effort or pain. When we are walking in the flesh, people who are especially needy and taxing are the hardest ones to enjoy. And yet that is exactly what Paul was to the Galatians at that time. He was a pit of neediness, and yet their meeting that need was a function of blessedness. They happily gave to him because they considered themselves blessed through loving him.

Dear Lord, teach me to allow my joy to fill up and overflow when You bless me through people. Help me to think about what is actually happening, so that I do not take it for granted and fail to be made joyful over it. And let that joy drive me to love them and to enjoy You through them. And when there are people that seem to bring me no benefit from You, let me still enjoy giving to them simply because it is more blessed to give than to receive. Let me enjoy the flow of Your love through me.

Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Help me believe this great and precious promise, dear Lord, that I might greatly delight in spending myself for the needy. Teach me, dear Lord, to give them my very soul.

Think: Who is it that you have most need to increase your love for? Give careful consideration to what it would look like, the next time you see that person, to enjoy God through that person.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 58:9-11 If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry (lit. furnish them with your soul) and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #40  Love experienced through loving others  (part 4)

Meditation #99:  The God Who Loves The Unlovely

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he beginning point of love is high esteem for the object of love. The first step to increasing your love for someone, then, is to consider that person’s worth. Scripture does not merely command love for one another. Motives are offered. Love is an emotion that is a response to the assessments made by the soul. And Scripture offers guidance that enables us to make high assessments of those we find hard to love. When the attention of the soul is directed to consider these truths there will be an inclination of the soul toward the person.

1) That person bears the image of God.

James 3:9-10 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

If you have trouble holding a certain person in high regard, think about how God regards that person. How important is God’s image to God? Does He have high regard for His own image? How much more, then, should we! Those who bear the divine likeness should be regarded with the utmost respect.

2) God loves that person.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God’s love is to serve as a motive for believers to love all people, including enemies.

Matthew 5:43-45 You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The texts that call for love of enemies focus on benevolent actions of kindness. In Luke 6, for example, Jesus begins by commanding love for enemies and then expands on what he means with other descriptions: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”[54] Believers are to love enemies in the sense of doing good, blessing, and praying for them.

Kind actions, rather than feelings of attraction, are the emphasis. It would be going too far, however, to suggest that emotion plays no part at all. Jesus would not have had to use an emotional word had He desired to refer to mere action devoid of emotion. He could have said, “Do good…bless…pray for” without using the term love.

Furthermore, the examples of enemy love in Scripture involve emotion. In Psalm 35 David was faced with enemies who fought against him, pursued him, sought his life, plotted his ruin, set traps for him, and testified against him mercilessly– all without cause.[55] When he stumbled they gathered in glee, ceaselessly slandered him, maliciously mocked him, and gnashed their teeth at him.[56] David responded with deeds of kindness, for which they repaid him with evil, leaving his soul forlorn.[57] At some point in the process they became ill and David’s response was to put on sackcloth, humble himself with fasting, and pray fervently for them. When his prayers went unanswered he went about mourning as though for a friend or brother and bowed his head in grief as though weeping for his own mother.[58] Similarly, when the man who had devoted his life to killing David died, David lamented with deep emotion.[59]

When Jesus was confronted with the godless, fickle, sign-seeking crowds (the very crowds he was trying to escape for rest), His heart was moved with compassion for them.[60] It would be a mistake, then, to conceive of enemy love as utterly without emotion.

Perhaps the emotional expression of love for enemies that should be most pronounced is compassion. In their lost condition they are objects of the fearsome wrath of God, the very fate from which the believer was delivered most undeservedly. Compassion was the response of Jesus when he considered the condition of lost people.[61]

Desire is also present in enemy love. Just as love for a friend desires that friend’s highest good, so does love for one’s enemy.[62]

God has special love for His own children. Anyone who is a believer, then, should be the object of our special love as well.

Romans 14:3-19 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. … He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. … anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.[63]

Paul’s argument is that since the brother is doing whatever he is doing for the sake of Christ with gratitude to God, that should cause a fellow Christian to delight in that person. The soul that truly loves the Lord Jesus will have affection for anyone who is making an honest effort to honor the Lord Jesus. This is why the Lord is both pleased and served by anyone who accepts a weaker or stronger brother.

3) God strongly desires that the person be loved by His people.

Matthew 5:46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

God will not reward natural, worldly love—implying He will reward the right kind of love. Think of the purpose of rewards. Why do people offer them? Because they want something done. The fact that God offers rewards to those who love their enemies shows that God strongly desires that those enemies be loved by us. Spend time thinking about that deep desire in the heart of God. And if that does not compel you to want to love your enemy, it means your love for God is weak (or non-existent).

4) That person is Christ’s brother (if he is a believer)

Matthew 25:34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

The passage would have still been remarkable if the Lord had said, “Whatever you did for the least of these servants of mine you did for Me.” But to refer to them as his brothers is particularly striking. The more time one spends contemplating the fact that a fellow believer is a brother to the Lord Jesus Christ, the easier it will be to formulate a high estimation of the worth of that person.

5) That person was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ!

Consider the worth of a person whose purchase price was nothing less than the blood of the spotless, precious Lamb of God!

1 Corinthians 8:10-12 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Romans 14:15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.”

Acts 20:28 Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Even a moment’s consideration of the depths of love in the heart of God that drove His Son to the agony of the cross for that person should be enough to elevate your assessment of him or her.

Because God is invisible and intangible there is a danger of deceiving yourself into thinking that you love Him when you do not. The test of your affection for the saints, then, becomes a concrete, visible indicator of the genuineness of your love for God, which would otherwise be quite subjective and difficult to discern.

1 John 4:20-21 If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Think: Who in your life that you love the least? Take some time to think through the principles above with regard to that person.

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 25:34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For … whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Write your own prayer

Attribute #41 Jealous Love

Meditation #100: God Cares about Your Love!

Exodus 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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or men especially, it is difficult to relate to passages that describe God as our Husband. That metaphor for God appears often enough in Scripture, however, to make it clear that this is an important aspect of the way God relates to us. It is important that we learn to love this aspect of the way God relates to us, and that we learn to love God in the ways God intended wives to love their husbands.

In an ideal marriage a woman feels cherished, protected, and safe. She looks to her husband for leadership and guidance, and delights in the assurance that he will take care of all her needs. She delights in his strength. She delights in his delight in her, and loves being loved by him. She even delights in his jealousy, as it makes her feel protected and cherished.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s jealous love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

So how do we learn to take delight in God’s jealousy for us? A good place to begin is to consider what it would be like if God were indifferent to our love. If God did not care about our love or non-love for Him, it would change the nature of our relationship with Him dramatically. If someone is indifferent to your love that person’s love for you is very weak indeed. It is the astonishing fact that God strongly desires our love that enables us to be close to Him.

God goes to such extremes to keep our hearts devoted to Him—He sent His Son to die and His Spirit to live in us; He orchestrated the writing and preservation of His Word over a period of more than 1500 years, and through the blood of many saints delivered it to us intact. If God were not jealous for our love—jealous enough to go to the lengths to which He goes to draw us to Him and to preserve our love for Him; each of us would have wandered irretrievably far from Him long ago. Our affections for Him would have faded in an un-arrested pattern of decline until they were gone altogether. Other suitors would have drawn us away in times of weakness and we would have forgotten about God completely.

When you sin, God does not merely feel anger over you breaking a rule; He feels the same kinds of feelings a husband feels when he sees his wife kissing another man. It is not just a matter of God wanting all His rules kept; He wants your heart.

Thank You dear Lord, that You are a Husband to me. Thank You that You love me that way—that You tenderly care for me and jealously guard my love.

Any time God describes Himself in terms of some human analogy, the analogy drops at any point where human limitation or sin enters in, because God is not limited or sinful in any way. The perverted jealousy of an insecure husband who needs his wife’s constant reassurance is not a good thing. God’s jealousy is not like that. He does not need anything we can provide, including our love, praise, worship, or faith. He is utterly self-sufficient.

And the fact that God does not need our love makes His jealousy all the more wonderful. His desiring our love is a gift of grace. Any “love” generated in our hearts apart from His grace—anything that ultimately originates in us apart from Him—is worthless. The only thing that could possibly be desirable to God is something that ultimately came from His grace, because He is the source of all good. So if you are a believer, your love for Him is something that had a divine origin. The fidelity, commitment, faith, love, and devotion to Him that He desires from you, and that He jealously guards, is something that He desires because it is of infinite, eternal value; which means it is something that came from Him. That makes it infinitely valuable.

But those things also come from your heart in a very real way. It is not like someone buying himself a gift and then putting it in his child’s hands and pretending it is really a gift from the child. Somehow, by some unfathomable mystery, the gifts you offer God, even though they ultimately came from Him, really are from you! Our love for Him really is our actual love for Him. The gifts He enables us to give Him that please Him really are, by some astonishing, inexplicable miracle, from us.

Lord, help me walk through this day delighted that I have the ability to please You; that I have something You want. It is so frustrating when I am unable to produce that which would delight someone I love, and it is so wonderful when I am able. What an absolutely astonishing truth that I can actually give something to You that delights You!

The Lord is a jealous God. He is a Husband to His people. A non-jealous husband, who is indifferent about his wife’s affections, is a man who simply does not love his wife. If he does not desire her exclusive love and cares nothing about her unique affection, he does not love her. If her faithful romantic affection means nothing to him it is because he does not desire her, which means he does not love her. If he does not care whether he is desired by her, it is because he does not love her. A wife in such a marriage is to be pitied. It is a terrible thing for a woman to be married to a man who does not desire her love. And it would be a terrible thing to belong to a god who was indifferent about our affections—who would leave us unguarded against paramours that would seek to seduce us and draw us away from the most wonderful husband there is.

The only thing that gives us any value is God’s desire for us. The only thing that gives our affections any value is His desire for them. If there is a young woman who is desired by no one, whose affections no one wants, she will despair with feelings of worthlessness. If there is a man she deeply loves and desires, and that man hears a rumor that she is in love with someone else and does not care in the least, that will break her heart. But if when that man hears that rumor he weeps, that will thrill her heart because it will show that he loves her.

Father, teach me to have that kind of thrilled heart at the news that You are jealous for me.

Whenever I am tempted with sin, let me be reminded that You are jealous for my affection, and let that fact cause great joy in my heart, and move me to want to give You the undivided, exclusive love that You graciously enabled me to give You and in which You delight.

Think: What an amazing thing it is that God wants your love. Think for a while about the fact that you hold in your heart the ability to actually bring sensations of pleasure to Almighty God today.

Promise to trust today:

Joel 2:18 Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #41  Jealous Love (part 2)

Meditation #101: Our Only Good

2 Corinthians 11:2-4 I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly![64]

Psalm 73:27,28 But behold, all who are far from You will perish. You destroy those who commit adultery against You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.[65]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

In Psalm 73 those who are far from God are grouped together with those who commit adultery against Him. And the opposite of one who commits adultery against Him is one who says, “The nearness of God is my good.” You always look to something as your good. And if it is anything besides God’s nearness, you are committing adultery against God—looking to another “husband” for that which you should only receive from God.

Give me a pure, undefiled heart, dear Lord, that is not drawn to another “husband” in any way as the source of my good.

Paul said the Corinthians were moving toward impurity and adultery simply because they were tolerating false teachers in their midst and giving them a hearing. He gives no indication that they were believing the false gospel—just that they were interested to hear it. Adultery does not begin with marrying another man. It begins with being enticed in some subtle way and having the desires of the heart drift toward that enticement.

Most of what we believe about good and evil we believe because we are biased in the direction of that belief. When we are deceived (whether self-deceived or by someone else), usually it is because there is an inclination in our hearts toward that false belief. We are easily persuaded by that which we want to believe.

Father, I have so many signs of adultery in my heart. I am so prone to lend an ear to the serpent. How many times I have given him a full, sympathetic hearing, telling myself, “I’ll just hear him out and then reject what he says,” all the while failing to realize that my desire to hear him out is itself a sign of an adulterous heart. Guard my heart, dear Lord—my Husband. Give me the grace to open my eyes to Your glory, so that I will be ever enthralled by Your love, and so fully enamored with it that I have no interest in anyone else.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the only good today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Keep careful watch over your desires and motives. Take time to realize the severity of the evil of spiritual adultery—looking to something or someone besides God as your good. And take time also to consider what a delightful thing it is to God when your heart really does look to Him as your good.

Holy Spirit, You are here right now. Thank You for this fellowship I am enjoying with You at this moment as You open my eyes to the wonders of Your Word and enable me to embrace them as delightful. Oh Lord, let it last a little longer! Let me remember this time with You throughout the rest of this day. Turn Your gaze onto my heart right now. You are inside me—search deeply and thoroughly and expose areas of adulterous desires, where I am susceptible to deception because of an adulterous bias. Show me, dear Lord, that I might confess and forsake that sin and be holy and pure in Your sight—pleasing to You. Do not let me be satisfied with this day when I go to bed tonight unless it has been a day of fellowship with You.

Psalm 16:1-2 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good."

Father, You are my great Lord—my Owner and Master and Sovereign; and apart from You I have no good. You are my only good. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. You are my one desire. As for me, the nearness of God is my only good.

There is no good beyond You. There is no greater reality above You. There is no bigger power. There is no more profound truth. There is no governing standard of morality. There is no space beyond You. You are the highest, farthest, biggest, most fundamental, essential boundary to all things that there is.

There is no good short of You. There is nothing on the way to You that, in itself, has any good in it. The best things there are—my wife and kids, family, church, the wondrous parts of the creation—none of it contains any good at all that does not come from You. Those things, minus whatever aspects of Your grace are flowing through them, are pure evil.

There is no good beside You. You have no rival. You have no competition. Your greatest, most powerful enemies are like chaff—less than dust. Those who make their fiercest attack upon You find that they are nothing but a rod in Your hand accomplishing Your perfect purposes. There is no other God besides You. The gods of the nations are as nothing—less than nothing before You.

Think: You want good today. What does your heart really believe about the source of that good? What would it take for you to lay your head on your pillow tonight thinking, “What a great day!”? Do you see it as dependent upon the way certain people act, or how certain circumstances take shape? Or do you really feel like it is a matter of the presence of God alone?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 63:5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #42 Omni(favorable)presence

Meditation #102:

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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his passage proves the doctrine of God’s omnipresence, but the purpose of the passage goes beyond merely saying that God is everywhere. David’s point is that God’s favorable presence to bless is always with him (…your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.). The passage is not about God’s omnipresence, but His omni (favorable) presence to bless.

If, by some insanity, you wanted to escape God’s guiding, upholding right hand, you would not be able. There are things you can do to provoke God to turn His face away so that you experience His presence in a lesser way rather than a greater way, but as long as you are His child His presence will be with you in some measure.

Those who desire to escape our love generally find it fairly easy to do so. But as a child of God there is nothing that could divorce you completely from God’s face. If you fled to the farthest galaxy God would be there, if you sunk to the lowest part of the bottomless pit His gracious hand would be there to catch you and protect you and restore you; if you traveled at the speed of light His presence would outrun you; and even if you retreat inwardly, into your own heart and mind, even there you will find Him present!

In other contexts, David thought of God as absent and had to earnestly seek Him. In God’s chastising or testing love He does withdraw and turn His face away to some degree, but never completely, or we would perish. Even in His most severe chastisement—in your driest desert, God’s tender, gracious, life-giving, life-supporting, strengthening, encouraging, motivating, awe-inspiring, healing, upholding, guiding, enlightening, joy-giving, delightful, soul-satisfying presence is there. Your worst moment of depression is actually infused with a certain amount of joy and hope (if it were not you would be in hell).

Even if you descended down to hell—if there were some way you, as a child of God, could visit there—God would be there with you guiding you and holding you fast with His tender right hand. You would be the only happy person there. God’s favorable presence makes any place, even hell itself, a paradise. How much more the room you are in right now!

Normally you flee from an angry person by putting distance between you and that person. But the only escape from God’s anger is God’s favor. The only fleeing is fleeing into His arms. The only shelter that can protect us from His wrath, the only hiding place that can shield us from His rod, the only refuge to which we can flee and hide, is the center of His mercy. All running is running to God. If you run from God’s love you run into the rod of His wrath. And the only way to run from His wrath is to run to His arms of His mercy.

Oh, the folly of the ridiculous myth of aloneness. For the child of God there is no such thing—ever!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s omni (favorable)presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Dear Lord, how sobering should this knowledge be! All my wicked actions have been performed right at the foot of Your throne. All my vilest thoughts have been played out right in front of Your face, in Your very presence which I despised. Forgive me, dear Lord!

I praise Your marvelous name for Your constant presence with Your servant! What grace upon grace upon grace, that You would always be with me! Thank You for Your presence right now. Please forgive me, great God of heaven, for taking Your presence so lightly. For barely being aware of it. For having such dull affections that most of the time the thought of Your presence has no great impact on my heart unless I spend a lot of time thinking it through—and sometimes not even then.

Think: What is the time and place or circumstances today that you will be most likely to forget about God’s omni favorable presence? How will your response be different if at that moment you consider this passage?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #43 Awesome Creation Wisdom

Meditation #103:

Psalm 139:13-14 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he human body is astonishing beyond contemplation. Trying to appreciate its wonders is like trying to comprehend the vast distances of space. The only way to attempt to appreciate those distances is to think of a distance that you can comprehend (like the thousand miles between Colorado and California) and multiply it out. From the earth to the moon is 240 trips from Denver to L.A. We can understand that. But to think of the size of the solar system is impossible without shrinking the scale down to a miniscule scale. And then that scale has to be reduced by orders of magnitude again to conceive of the size of the Milky Way. Then again for the distance to another galaxy and again for the size of groups of galaxies and again for the size of the visible universe.

Thinking about the wonders of the human body is the same way. It is impossible for the human mind to take it all in. There are master’s level college courses titled “Introduction to the cell.” The simplest human cell is complex and magnificent beyond comprehension. And then, only when the vast wonder of the little world inside a cell is reduced down to being a simple little basic building block can we think about the next level—tissue. And only by reducing that to some ridiculous simplicity can we move on to think about the next level—an organ, then a system, then the way the systems function together. And each one of those levels could be the subject of a lifetime of scholarly study without being exhausted.

But even beyond all that is the amazing wonder of the immaterial part of you, which is what David means by “inmost being”—the heart and mind and affections and soul. In all our vast, 21st Century knowledge we have no idea what the immaterial part of us even is. We know with absolute certainty it exists because if we tried to doubt it we would need it to do the doubting! It is as obviously real as your two hands, and yet you cannot imagine what it even is. What is your soul made out of? What is the meaning of something that exists without physicality? What tethers it to your body? Wherever your body is, that is where your heart and soul are. There are never times when the tether breaks and your soul goes floating up into the sky or drifting out to sea or even one foot away behind some closed door. It is only present where your body is present. Yet that tether is breakable—soul and body are separated at death.

O dear God, what marvelous wonders You have placed right before (and behind) my eyes—what marvelous wonders are my eyes!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience awesome creation power today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Never stop at merely being amazed at the wonders of your body or your soul. Atheists are amazed at the human body. Make all of your amazement worship. We are not only wonderfully made but also fearfully made. The wonder of it should create a sense of awe before God. That is not easy. It requires more than just saying, “God, You are amazing.” Worship goes beyond mere words to the delight and amazement of your soul in God.

Think: Take time to think about how wise God must be to create the human body and soul. Think for a while about how good He would have to be to author such a good thing. Consider how beautiful He must be, and how kind. And keep thinking about those things until your amazement is translated into actual delight in Him.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 29:23 When they see … the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 33:9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #44 Patience

Meditation #104:

Psalm 27:9-12 Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

9 Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

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od would have every right to forsake us utterly. It would be outrageous for us to even ask Him not to forsake us if it were not for the fact that He is a Savior. Part of His glory is that He is a saving, gracious God. So we can ask Him to save us and never forsake us in order to put on display His eternal kindness and patience, that He may be glorified and worshiped forever.

Lord, let me be the first and the loudest in shouting Your praises. I have experienced Your forgiveness, patience and faithfulness in such extreme measures! Lord, please do not let that go to waste. Left to myself, the impact of all You have done for me would quickly fade from my memory. Please do not let that happen, dear Father. Keep drawing Your servant. Be patient with me. Awaken my heart, and keep teaching it to say to me about You, “Seek His face!”

10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

When a person turns in a bad direction, and family, friends, and acquaintances, one-by-one turn against that person, it is usually the parents who are the last. In fact, very often the parents never turn against him—even when he has completely turned against them. But God remains patient even when it gets so bad that not even your mother loves you anymore.

Lord, if I did something so horrible and became so detestable that even my parents forsook me (that would take something incredibly horrible indeed, for not just one of them, but both to forsake me), even then, if I repent, You will receive me! Such grace!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s patience today?

Experiencing this attribute:

11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

When others turned against me and I was alone, You stood by me. You are the only One who can comfort and strengthen in times of profound aloneness.

Teach me Your way, O Lord. I have brought such reproach upon Your glorious name by my sin! Keep me from falling again, Father. My enemies have eagle eyes, and they will not walk in on my shame backwards like righteous Shem and Japheth, who refused to look upon Noah’s drunken nakedness. Instead they are like Ham. They are eager to not only look at my ugliness, inadequacies, and failures, but also to scrutinize and publish them as widely as possible. Satan wants to destroy me utterly, and I have no protection against him and his servants apart from You. I am utterly powerless. Only You can protect me from them, dear Father. Please, rescue Your servant from their hands, that I may serve You unhindered.

Lord, remind me today of Your great patience. Every time I have any sensation of joy, let that remind me of how patient You are being with me, and let me enjoy and rejoice in that patience and faithfulness.

Open my eyes today to see Your worthiness to be praised by my oppressors. Let me be so impressed and enthralled with that worthiness that it causes me to desire above all to keep to a right path, so there will be no occasion for You to be dishonored by those who are watching me.

Think: Think of five examples of God’s patience with you, and let them generate joy and love in your heart toward God. Imagine what it would be like if He were not patient.

Promise to trust today:

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you,

Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #45 The God of New Beginnings and Ever-New Mercies

Meditation #105:

Psalm 19:4 In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion.[66]

W

hen the sun comes out, it is like a man on the first day of his new marriage. Delitzsch writes: “The morning light has in it a freshness and cheerfulness, as it were a renewed youth. Therefore the morning sun is compared to a bridegroom, the desire of whose heart is satisfied, who stands as it were at the beginning of a new life, and in whose youthful countenance the joy of the wedding-day still shines.”[67] There is something delightful about the beginning of a new day. And the same is true for the close of a day:

5 ... like a champion rejoicing to run his course, 6 it rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

The emphasis is on the rejoicing. The sun’s setting at night provides a sense of closure. A sense of accomplishment. We need something to draw our activities to an end each day. Night time has a way of doing that—calling you to rest with an environment conducive to rest, leaving failures behind you, and then giving you a new start the next morning. Night time is a short-term ending point for many of life’s struggles. Often uncleanness in the Old Testament lasted only until nightfall. The arrival of night gives us a reprieve and respite from the difficulties of daytime.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What a curse it would be to have interminable day in a fallen world. No breaks. No new beginnings. What a marvelous thing it is that each day is a new, fresh start and another chance to do well. The same goes for weeks, months, seasons, and years. The Lord has built into our world an unending supply of new beginnings. Without them life would be a maddening droning on of time. Without a cycle of days life would be unmanageable. We would get behind and there would be no catching up. We would get carried away with some things and neglect others. Blessed be the God of new beginnings and second chances!

And with each new day comes new grace. God dispenses grace by the day so that as the sun rises in the morning, with it comes strength, enablement, courage, and provision that were not available the day before.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Zephaniah 3:5 Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail.

With tomorrow will come tomorrow’s grace and a unique set of blessings from God. Every day is different.

Lamentations 3:22-23 His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Some people are afraid eternity will be monotonous. They imagine that somehow an infinite God might run out of new ideas. They fear the God who can speak billions of galaxies into existence with a word may run short of ability to satisfy the very desires He planted within the human heart. They worry that the One whose love and deeds were spectacular enough to thrill the heart of the other members of the Trinity for all of eternity past might not be quite enough to thrill a human heart for eternity future. All of that rises from a distortion of the nature of God.

Think about the upcoming segment of your life (today, this week, this month, or this year). God has some things in store for you in this portion of your life that were not possible until now—unique, first-time grace.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s ever-new mercies today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience the attribute of God’s ever-new mercies and new beginnings is to enjoy them as such when they come, and to make them the object of your hope when you are still waiting for them to come. But we must be careful not to make the new beginning or the fresh mercy itself the object of our desire and joy, but the Giver of the fresh mercy and the Maker of the new beginning.

Any time when you are weighed down or fatigued physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually; do not make the mistake of just looking forward to quitting time, or bedtime, or the weekend, or your next vacation. Those, in themselves, do not have the power to refresh and rejuvenate your soul (or even your body—you will get no good rest tonight unless the Lord graciously grants you restful sleep). It is the Lord alone who is the giver of rest and renewal. Set all your hope on experiences of nearness to Him.

Psalm 62:1-6 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken…

5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

And when that rest does come, receive it as an intentional, specific gesture of love from God to you at that moment. If you feel rested or refreshed in any way, what you are feeling is the nearness of the presence of God! Enjoy it!

Gracious Father, Your mercies are new every morning—great is Your faithfulness. Today is a new day. I have had many thousands of days so far and every one of them has been full of new mercies. Now I stand at the threshold of another new day. I cannot imagine what You have in store for today that would be new—different from all those other days; but I know it will happen. There will be some new grace, some new strength, some new step in my walk—some new door into Your presence that will be opened today. Great is Your faithfulness!

You have already showered down grace upon grace today. You granted me sleep last night, You gave me life and breath and surrounded me with gifts, and You made it a beautiful morning full of hope and promise. Thank You for Your constantly new mercies.

Think: In what way are you most in need of renewal from God? And in what ways have you been tempted to look to something besides God for that renewal?

Promise to trust today:

Zephaniah 3:5 Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail.

Lamentations 3:22-23 His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #46 Caretaker of the Details of the Creation

Meditation #106:

S

ometimes people wonder how much direct control God really exerts over the creation. Did He just wind it up like a clock and let it run on its own by the laws of physics with only occasional intervention through miracles? Or is God in direct, intentional control of every detail of nature? The answer is very clear in Psalm 104.

Psalm 104:14 He makes grass grow.

God is in total control of everything that happens. There are no forces of nature. There are only forces of God. The things we call gravity or magnetism or inertia are all just as much direct acts of God as any miracle. (Miracles are not displays of greater power than God’s providence. They are merely events in which God uses His power differently than He normally uses it.)

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What a gloriously wonderful truth this is. We never have to worry about any out-of-control storms or cars or events of any kind that might derail God’s perfect plan. Beyond God’s control over all things, Psalm 104 also highlights His generous, loving hand of provision for His creation. He feeds both the cattle and the lions. He takes care of every little bird.

Matthew 6:26-31 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

28…See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

God governs this world in a marvelous way, and He has invited you to join by His side in doing so. We can walk with Him and not only know the plans of His heart, but participate in them. You not only get to watch the greatest movie ever made, but you are in it! Every moment of every day you are experiencing the unfolding of the great drama of God’s perfect providential plan.

From an earthly perspective it is a frightening thing to be in the midst of the huge, massive powers that seem to determine what happens to us (like the weather, or the millions of people around us, or a hundred other threats that are beyond our control). The temptation is to feel like a mouse in the midst of some giant machinery, running around trying to avoid being crushed in the gears.

We are indeed inside a giant machine, but the machine is God’s, and you are not a mouse, but a cog. The heavy, steel gears that are turning you are doing so by God’s design and under His control. For this to result in your desired outcome (closer fellowship with God), it is not required that everyone around you make the wisest or godliest decisions. It is only required that you seek the Lord with all your heart in the midst of what is happening around you.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s providential control today?

Experiencing this attribute:

By pointing out that two sparrows are sold for a penny, or that the beautiful wildflowers are thrown in the fire after one day of life, Jesus is highlighting how miniscule is their significance. They are of almost no importance at all compared to man. And yet God cares for them in marvelous ways. While we readily acknowledge that God is in control of all things we often forget that this includes small things. We acknowledge His perfect purposes in big things—when we endure some major loss or crisis. But how about when you misplace your keys and you are late for work, or you stub your toe or catch a cold or hit all the red lights or spill something?

The average person loses 100 to 200 hairs every day. And yet God keeps track when you lose just one. That means nothing ever happens to you that God considers a non-event. He cares about everything and is in control over everything.

Sometimes it is easier to trust God with the big things than the small things. You lose your job and you can say with Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21) But where is our trust in God’s providential work when we endure small trials? Instead of “Blessed be the name of the Lord,” out of our mouths comes little rejections of what God is doing (“Oh, shoot!” “Darn” “What a bummer”). Why must we spit out our negative commentary on every unpleasant occurrence? So people will know we are suffering? Or just to express our hostility against what God has done? Our theology of God’s sovereign control holds strong when we lose a loved one or face some catastrophe, but where is that theology when we stub our toe?

Think: In what areas is there unrest in your heart where there should be rest and confident trust in God? Are you guilty of behaving as though you are worth less to God than a sparrow?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #47 Light

Meditation #107: Opens the Door to Reality

Psalm 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation —whom shall I fear?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

L

ight is what opens the door to reality. When you are in the dark there may be wonderful things all around you—spectacular clouds, gorgeous flowers, fascinating information in a book; but without light you are not only unable to experience them, you remain unaware that they are even there. When the lights come on, nothingness is instantly transformed into manifold fullness. The door to reality swings wide open, and, by the marvelous gift of perception, you can have interaction with reality.

The same holds true in the spiritual realm. We read in Scripture about invisible realities that do not seem real to us at all. We have heard that Satan is like a vicious, deadly, roaring lion, but he seems more like nothingness. We have heard that God’s attributes are so delightful that they cause singing and dancing and shouts of joy, but so often they seem more like a mere list of facts. God’s chastisement is said to be excruciating, but to us it seems worth risking it in order to have a few seconds of shallow pleasure. The law of sowing and reaping (Gal.6:7), the longness of eternity, the hotness of hell, the food-likeness of God—all of it, we have been told, is real and is right here with us in this dark room, but in the darkness it seems like nothing but an ethereal, substanceless collection of thoughts, ideas, and words.

But they are real, and to navigate successfully through life we must live as though they are real—which is impossible to do in the dark. When the lights come on, however, believing the truth about the unseen world is suddenly easy!

But the lights do not all come on at once. One day your eyes are opened to what an amazing joy it is to experience God as your refuge, but when you think about his eternality or omnipotence your heart remains flat and unmoved. Each new world of wonder (attribute of God) that we explore takes wholehearted, focused, intense, zealous seeking before the lights begin to come on. In this life we see “but a poor reflection in the mirror” (1 Cor.13:12). But oh, how much better even a reflected glimpse of His glory is than darkness!

Psalm 139:11-12 If I say, "Surely the darkness will crush me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.[68]

How strange and yet fitting it is that we would fear being crushed by darkness. We are such fragile, weak, fearful creatures. All it takes to scare us is darkness, which is literally nothing. We require no hostile power to feel threatened. All that is needed to utterly destroy us is the lack of things we need. Nothingness would mean instant ruin, as we depend on so many things (air, water, light, warmth, food, love, joy, peace, awe…). We are so weak and so dependent that darkness, which is nothing, can have a crushing effect on us. Even if we are surrounded with all the 10,000 blessings we need to live, still we are gripped with terror unless we can see them. Their presence, abundance, sufficiency, and availability are not enough; they have to be visible to us. Without the hope that comes from perceiving the good things that we need we are crushed by hopelessness. God is light. He enables us to see His marvelous, bountiful provision.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as light-giver today?

Experiencing this attribute:

If you had no sensory perception (could not see, hear, feel, taste, or smell) you could have no awareness or enjoyment of any of the things that are surrounding you in the room you are in right now. Light is the medium that carries the information about those things into your eyes. God is light. He is the medium of spiritual perception. Think about the spiritual realities that your soul does not seem to be fully convinced of (for example, the certainty of God’s provision, or the fact that fellowship with Him would be better than the pleasure of some sin). Cry out to God to open your eyes to see those realities.

Now think of some spiritual truths that your soul is fully convinced of—things that really do seem true to you. Those things seem true not because of the force of the evidence alone, but because you have experienced this attribute of God. The Light has shined in your eyes! Praise Him for being light to you.

The closer you are to God and the more you experience fellowship with Him the more the eyes of your heart will see. Draw near to Him and darkness will give way to light.

Each time you understand something in Scripture or gain insight about Scripture from a sermon or book, remind yourself that you are, at that moment, experiencing the light-likeness of God!

Think: What are some areas that seem to remain dark for you (spiritual truths that do not seem true to you)? How could you experience the light-likeness of God in those areas?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation —whom shall I fear?

Write your own prayer

Attribute #47  Light (part 2)

Meditation #108:  Not Just the Light of the

World, but My Light

John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 1:4,5,9 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

Psalm 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation —whom shall I fear?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

J

esus is the Light of the world, who brings light to every man. Humanity, apart from Him, is in utter darkness. He is the only way we can know any truth or have any knowledge of God—the only knowledge and relationship that matters. But He is not just the light of the world; “He,” says David, “is my light, and my salvation.”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your light today?

Experiencing this attribute:

A man with a blindfold may know a lot about the sun, but it is not a light to him. Experiencing this attribute of God happens when God opens your eyes so that His great light is actually a light to you, in your life. It shines on your path, so you know where to walk as He guides you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. His light illumines your mind, so you can understand truth about Him. It lights up your heart, so you can accept, believe, and embrace as wonderful the truth about Him. His light shines inside your heart and conscience, exposing your sin so you can see to repent. His light warms and softens your heart so that you are willing to repent. It turns your night to day so that what was a mere list of facts becomes a world of reality, and what you once merely acknowledged as true now actually seems true to your soul.

No wonder the psalmist thought of light as being a virtual synonym for joy.

Psalm 97:11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

The darkness is the place of gloom and sorrow. The light is the opposite of that.

O glorious God in heaven, is not Your light my very life and joy? Your light brightens my life. Dear Lord God, please, open my eyes wider. By Your grace they are open, but are still so dim. I drift back into dullness and spiritual sleep countless times during the day and become oblivious to the blazing sun right in front of my face. Oh, for the day when this flesh is redeemed and I will be eternally awake and alert to You! Lord, hasten that day. Let it begin today in some measure. Let me see and be warmed and brightened with joy today by Your light.

When I drive my car at night, dear Father, remind me that You are the light unto my path, showing me where to go in life and leading me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake.

As I listen to sermons or read books, remind me that You are the light that illumines my mind (so I can understand truth about You), my heart (so I can accept and believe and embrace as wonderful the truth about You), my conscience (exposing my sin so I can see to repent), my will (so that I am resolved to repent), and my affections (so I desire You more than sin).

Each time something favorable happens, remind me that You are the light of joy that brightens life.

Think: Which part of your life has the least light right now—your mind, heart, conscience, will, or affections?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 97:11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

Micah 7:8-9 Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #47  Light (part 3)

Meditation #109:  Splendorous and Self-  Revealing

Psalm 104:1-2 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

P

salm 104 is designed to stir our souls to praise Him for His glory reflected in the creation. It teaches us how to become skilled at seeing His glory in the world He made. And His glory is not hidden. God has clothed Himself in the very means by which perception takes place—light. If light itself is His garment, there is no excuse for not seeing Him—other than closed eyes.

Pry them open, Lord. Make my heart interested enough to see Your glory that it will open the eyes of my sluggish soul—eager to see. It is an amazing thing, dear Father, that You have revealed Yourself to us! Let me have the drive and eagerness to see Your glory that I so often have for seeing impure things. Let the intensity of my desire to behold Your power and glory at least match the intensity of desire I have for the sins my flesh so craves.

Psalm 103:7-8 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Before we were saved we all had some understanding of God, but the dim shadow of natural man’s concept of God is not powerful enough to draw out true worship from the heart or become its prime object of affection. Only the glory of the revealed God of Scripture enlivens our dead hearts to love. Only His Word about Himself applied to the heart by His Holy Spirit can do the miracle of giving a gnat some appreciation of a Rembrandt.

Father, please, do that miracle for me today. On my own I am a gnat. I buzz around the brilliant brushstrokes of Your compassion and grace and patience and love, and I see little more than a gnat sees in any convenient place to land. I buzz around the shading and perspective and color and mood of Your genius and while the art experts stand in awe, the reaction of my heart is not much different than when I see a brick wall. How dull is my heart! Unless You graciously make known to me Your ways and Your deeds as You did to Moses and Israel, I will not see You as I ought. But praise be to You, dear Father, that You have made known Your ways and deeds, You have revealed Yourself, and You have promised that if I seek after You, You will allow Yourself to be found by me! I can see and appreciate Your glory! Lord, let me so revel in that possibility that I will recoil from sin or anything else that will cloud my vision of You. I bless Your name for the degree to which You have enabled me to appreciate Your glory.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this revealed glory today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you turn on a light, so that you can see clearly what you could not see when it was dark, let that remind you to take a moment to delight in God’s self-revealing nature. That which is hidden to us is hidden not because of deception or secrecy, but because of our own inability or unwillingness to gaze upon true brightness.

And whenever something about God or His Word becomes clear in your mind, so that you can see the meaning, significance, and implications for life, and you are suddenly able to appreciate the sweetness of it—realize that is much, much more than a mere intellectual breakthrough. It is God turning on the lights. Each time you understand and delight in some truth about God you have just experienced this attribute of God!

Father, let me spend the day today enjoying the fact that You reveal Your ways and deeds. You show me Your ways—not just the ways in which I am supposed to walk, but those in which You Yourself walk. I get to see Your very path! Your mannerisms, Your attributes, Your decisions, Your preferences, Your inclinations, Your affections—Your way. I can not only see it, but walk with You in it! O Lord, that excites my heart, but not enough. Let that truth become so compelling to me, Lord, that at the moment of temptation or distraction it will still powerfully drive my thoughts, motives, will, actions, and affections.

Think: Have you experienced this attribute of God in the past several minutes? If so, revel in the fact that He is right there in the room with you and has granted you access to His favorable presence. If not, keep seeking—harder and harder until you do experience His nearness.

Promise to trust today:

Ezekiel 38:23 I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #47  Light (part 4)

Meditation #110: His Presence Drives Away the Darkness

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

ome have traveled and experienced more of the beauty and wonder of the creation than others. But no one has ever seen what God saw at the end of Day Six when He sat back and said, “Behold, it is very good.” God started by commanding the light to shine, and, as it did, it exposed the unimaginable wonders of God’s perfect, pristine, non-cursed creation. Much later David would write about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but at this time there was no such valley. There were no threats, no dangers, no disasters, no crises. There was no sin or evil or suffering or unhappiness or gloom or sorrow or sickness or loss or death.

Then came the catastrophe of sin, and the disaster of God’s curse, and the creation was subjected to futility, trouble, and decay. The darkness of evil and sin enveloped the entire earth. For thousands of years God was a light to the few who knew Him, but for the most part the world was engulfed in thick darkness. It was a long, cold, dark night for the world.

But finally God sent a spokesman (Isaiah) to announce the impending arrival of a new day. Soon the dawn would break and light would come.

Isaiah 9:2,6 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned. … 6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.[69]

This child will usher in a new day of light that will be a time of great joy.

Isaiah 9:3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. [The people] have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.[70]

In the past God had been a light to the faithful among His people in Israel, but the rays of light from the dawning of this new day would shoot across the entire world.

Isaiah 49:6 He says, “It is not enough for you to be My servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”[71]

Israel will still be the center from which the light emanates, but it will be a light for the whole world.

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you. 2 For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your radiance.

19-21 The sun will no longer be your light by day, and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor. 20 Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not fade; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will be over. 21 Then all your people will be righteous.[72]

Think for a moment of what an awesome being the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is so good, so glorious, so powerful, so righteous, so pure—so absolutely perfect in every way that His mere arrival transforms a world of deep darkness into a kingdom of glorious light. Just as the sun effortlessly transforms the night into day just by being the sun, so the Son, just by His Coming, will transform this world of darkness, evil, and sin into a glorious kingdom of universal righteousness, peace, joy, and goodness. And to the increase of this glorious kingdom there will be no end (Isa.9:7).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s darkness-dispelling presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience this attribute by participating in the righteousness and joy of the age to come even now! Fix your thoughts on this One who is so glorious that His mere arrival on this earth will drive away all darkness. There will no longer be such a thing as decay. Thorns will instantly become extinct. Disease and death will be dispelled. Evil and sin will become a distant memory. Oh, the gloriousness of our great King! Oh, how pure and holy is His being, and how awesome His power! How delightful it will be on that day to behold Him, and to see His majesty in person!

Experience the wonders of this attribute by setting your imagination and all your hope on that Day—and by taking in all the joy that can be had by stepping into the light of His presence even now, as the age to come is breaking in upon this present age.

Ephesians 5:8-11 For you were once darkness, but now [you are] light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (9 for the fruit of the light [results] in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) 10 discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.[73]

Think: How serious are you about seeking to enjoy the wonders of His glory over the next 24 hours?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 49:6 I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.[74]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #48 My Salvation

Meditation #111: No Need to Fear

G

ood morning, dear Lord, teach me how to stir up my soul to praise You. I am so prone to sluggishness, blindness, nearsightedness, dullness, and inattention to Your glory.

Wake up, soul! Arise! Fall to the ground in awe! The King Himself is present!

Psalm 27:1-3 The LORD is the stronghold of my life —of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

As our light, God is also our salvation because our only opponent is the prince of darkness. As God’s light defeats him we are rescued from him. When we are in the light we have nothing to fear. What a glorious, wonderful truth! Nothing to fear. God is an impregnable stronghold. Even though an entire army camps around you, you need not fear. The fear of an encamped army is the worst kind of fear—even worse than an all out attack. The anticipation of trouble is always more frightening and harder to endure than the actual trouble itself. In the midst of a conflict a person fears only one death, but before the battle, while seeing the encamped army, he fears 1000 deaths. And yet even faced with that worst kind of fear—seeing the encamped army all around– the psalmist’s heart will not fear. How much more can we maintain confidence when the hot war breaks out against us.

In times past, dear Lord, when the war broke out against me I did fear. Yet even when I was attacked on a weak front and I was utterly unprepared—even in the foolishness and folly of my lack of vigilance and alertness, You rescued Your servant. Though I have lost some battles, with Your mighty hand You kept me from being swept away and destroyed. Oh, thank You, dear Father! Like David, I have not just heard of Your deliverance; I have experienced it. I have felt Your great hand reach down from heaven and lift me right out of the deadly peril. So now I am full of confidence. I will not doubt You again. Next time, by Your grace, I will remember Your deliverance and will not doubt Your promises and I will not dishonor You by fearing someone other than You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your Savior from trouble today?

Experiencing this attribute:

David did not understand the spiritual realm in the way God has revealed it now. He thought his battle was against flesh and blood. It is not. Whether the one who seeks to destroy you is an uncircumcised Philistine or a brother in the church, your defense and retaliation should not be against the enemy’s agents (the people he uses), but against the enemy himself (Satan).

And rejoice in God’s protective arms! Realize that any time you are not being defeated it is because you are experiencing the saving hand of God.

Think: What lethal attacks is God sheltering you from at this very moment?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #48  My Salvation (part 2)

Meditation #112:  His Presence is Salvation

Psalm 42:1-3,11 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night … 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise my God for the salvation of His presence.[75]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

t is clear enough why this psalmist’s soul was hungry and thirsty. His plight was horrible. He was suffering mortal agony all day long. Yet even in the midst of the groaning that comes when God’s presence is distant, being downcast is not appropriate. Sorrow and tears are appropriate at times, but abject discouragement is not. Joy and sorrow exist simultaneously, but the joy should always be deeper, more profound, and more enduring than the sorrow because the blessings and hope that come from the presence of God are always greater than our trials and threats. This is why the psalmist calls it “the salvation of His presence.” The mere presence of God saves us from the sorrows of life.

O God, I bless Your name for that! I love You for making available a joy that is deeper and wider and higher than even the worst of life’s sorrows! Help me to live in those depths and heights instead of in the shallows of my sorrows.

We tend to forget how delightful the presence of God is because we attribute that delightfulness to other things. We take a walk on a beautiful morning and the fresh air and singing birds and beautiful views “just happen” to strike us in a special way and fill us with gladness. That joy is not coming from the air and the birds—otherwise those things would always bring this same joy. They do not. Any joy you feel right now is coming not from the creation, but from the presence of God. The reason the breeze or view is making you feel good on this particular day is God has drawn near and is letting you experience a little taste of His presence through the delights of the morning. All the joy you get from any of life’s delights comes not from those delights but from the presence of God. A person who is in the darkness of chastisement or judgment could experience all those same things and have the beauty of them pointed out and still be completely unable to experience any real delight. Only the presence of God can give delight to the soul.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s saving presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The psalmist understood that the emptiness, longing, and discomfort he felt inside his soul were not due to his earthly troubles, but to the lack of nearness to God. That is why his longing and yearning were not for different earthly circumstances, but for God’s nearness. When you are unhappy remember that the feelings of unhappiness are not longings for anything in this world—they are longings for the presence of God. And if you were to experience His presence, those longings would be satisfied regardless of circumstances. But if you do not experience His presence the unhappiness will remain even if circumstances change to become exactly what you hope for.

It is striking that even this psalmist struggled with a disquieted, depressed soul. And his preaching to his soul in verse 6, calling it to hope in God, did not end the struggle. He has to tell his soul the same thing again in verse 11. Even the godliest among us are shortsighted and fragile. We are like a baby who laughs one moment and cries the next.

What should you do when your soul’s affections derail and become disturbed when they should be full of joy in God? Do what the psalmist did. Preach to your soul and demand an accounting from your soul for why it feels down. Refuse to yield to vague grief. Demand a good reason for why you should be crippled in light of the thousands of gestures of God’s love it receives each day and the promises of God’s Word, and the weakness of your sorrows will be exposed.

Lift me, Lord, above the circumstances of the moment to see reality. Let all my longings be longings for Your presence, dear Father. Let my suffering make me a fit dwelling place for You. In Isaiah 57 You said there are two places where You dwell—two heavens: the highest heaven where You dwell in Your holiness; and the lowly, contrite heart, where You dwell in Your compassion. Let all my suffering break my pride and take me to the heaven of Your compassion.

Think: In which unhappy circumstances do you tend to look to something besides the presence of God to deliver you?

Promise to trust today:

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #49 Giver of Justice

Meditation #113:

Psalm 43:1-2 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men. 2 You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

N

ot many of us experience the kinds of injustices that had to be endured by those who lived under wicked, ancient near-eastern tyrants. However, everyone experiences injustice at some level. For us it usually comes either from someone in authority treating us unfairly, or from lies and misrepresentations, especially when the lies are believed because no one speaks up in our defense.

Only God can deliver us or protect us from injustice. Without an experience of this crucial attribute of God your enemies will be too powerful for you, too influential, and everyone will listen to them and not to you. Only God can reverse that or prevent it from happening. There is so much evil and sin in the hearts of people, that apart from experiencing this attribute of God you would be in a constant state of suffering terrible injustice without remedy or relief. Never accuse God of injustice (Mal.2:17).

I thank You, dear Lord, that I can come to You when I am oppressed! Like a little child, I can always run to You and know that You will make things right. When people harm me they are touching the apple of Your eye! Since I am in the Son of Your love, to persecute me means to persecute Him. You defend me with the full zeal You have for Your own name. The confidence I can have that You will vindicate me and make things right is based not on whether or not You will decide to grant some special grace, but on whether or not You will defend the glory of Your own name and vindicate Your Son, Jesus Christ, because I am in Him. Father, forgive me for fretting over injustice, as though I may not be able to count on Your vindication and protection and restoration. You are my stronghold. I can run to You and be in absolute safety. Lord, teach me to glorify You by enjoying the view from the top of that fortress, overlooking those who would harm me..

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s vindicating justice on your behalf today?

Experiencing this attribute:

One way to experience the attribute of God’s justice is to be the tool He uses to bring justice to others. Few of us realize it, but we ourselves are guilty of the sin of injustice when we engage in gossip, slander, or unfair speech about others. When people have done wrong or have hurt you it is so easy to gather evidence against them in your mind, assign bad motives to them, and speak negatively about them to others.

Isaiah 58:9-11 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

What folly it is, dear Father, when I expect you to grant me justice while I am inflicting injustice on others! I want to be like a well-watered garden and for my needs to be satisfied and my frame strengthened, and I know that only comes when I have done away with the yoke of oppression, the pointing finger and malicious talk. Help me long so much for those rewards that I am willing to give up the sins of oppression.

Think: Are you suffering injustice? If so, read Psalm 9:13-20, which cries out to God for justice. If not, read Psalm 9:1-12, which praises God for His protection from injustice. No matter what is happening in your life you are always either in a position to praise Him for protection or to cry out to Him for protection.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50 The God Who Guides His People

Meditation #114: The Blessings of guidance

Psalm 23:3 He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he future is pitch black to us. No sheep knows what is over the next ridge. Left to ourselves we would have zero chance of finding the right way. We would wander into quick and certain destruction. But we have a Guide. The Lord leads us through life like a shepherd leading his sheep. The One who knows and commands the future is the One showing us the way to go.

What blessedness! Why would we ever complain? Why would we grumble about a stone in the path when we have the certainty that the path is the right path? While thousands around us are hopelessly lost and imperiled without any shepherd, we are on the path that leads to His pasture. What cause this is for joyful singing and shouts of thanksgiving!

God has provided this guidance for us for the sake of His name (Ps.23:3). What a travesty it would be if it failed to result in His name being praised. If we shut our mouths and did not praise Him for this blessed guidance through life, and did not speak excitedly and joyfully about it to others, what a colossal ingratitude! It would leave little reason for Him to continue to guide us.

Guidance is a blessing that God grants to those He favors and withdraws from those He disciplines. When God promises deliverance from His own punishments, often part of the restoration is that He will once again grant guidance (Isa.57:17-18). Guidance is always an integral part of the way God delights in blessing us. When David exults in God’s omnipresence in Psalm 139, it is specifically the blessing of guidance that is in view.

Psalm 139:9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me.

Whether we turn right or left we hear a voice behind us saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isa.30:21). In His unfailing love He leads the people He has redeemed. In His strength He guides them to His holy dwelling (Ex.15:13). He is our God forever and will be our Guide even to the end (Ps.48:14). After having been embittered, senseless, and ignorant, like a brute beast before Him in our envy, He restores us and holds us by our right hand and guides us with His counsel (Ps.73:21-24). He leads us in our blindness in ways we have not known, along unfamiliar paths He turns the darkness into light before us and makes the rough places smooth (Isa.42:16). He has compassion and guides us beside springs of water (Isa.49:10). He guides us always, satisfying our needs in a sun-scorched land (Isa.58:11).

He sent His Son to be like the rising sun of heaven to guide our feet into the path of peace (Lk.1:79). And then Jesus asked the Father and He sent another Counselor to be with us forever—the Spirit of truth. The world neither sees nor knows Him, but by His grace we know Him, for He lives in us! He has not left us as orphans, but has come to us in His Spirit, and He and the Father have made Their home in us and abide in us as the Counselor teaches us all things (Jn.14:16-26).

It is important, in your quest to love God, to learn how to enjoy being guided through life by Him. He is such a perfect Guide. He knows you. He knows your needs, your limitations, where you are now, where you need to go; He will not be manipulated, but He will show great compassion. He knows your blind spots; He knows the dangers and the places where you are likely to be lured off the path. He has all the power you need, all the wisdom it takes, and all the kindness there is. He is able to guide you; He is willing to guide you, and He has promised over and over and over that He will guide you.

All that is left is for us to become glad followers; to be like David in Psalm 63:8, where he said his soul clung to God and followed hard after Him. It is such a thrilling reality to know that God has taken you by the hand to guide you. He speaks to you through His Word.

Teach me, Father, to enjoy You as my Guide. Teach me to enjoy walking along the path of life behind such a wonderful Guide, who loves me and who knows where He is leading me and who knows what kind of guidance I need. You understand my blind spots and which things are likely to lure me off the path. You know not only where I need to end up but what route I should take to get there. You have all power and total willingness to guide me, and You have promised to do so. What a blessed promise!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s guiding grace today? ..

Experiencing this attribute:

God guides us not mainly by feelings and impulses, but by teaching us.

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and I wait for you all day long.

Walking with God is a matter of taking the right path instead of the wrong one, but that is not as simple as it sounds. The right path is not always easy to find, because our flesh so often does not want to find it. And once that path is found it is not easy to follow because sin in us prefers its own path. Walking in His way is so much more than mere decision and resolve. It is something that requires that He show us, and teach us, and guide us, and teach us again, and save us. God has to train our hearts to be willing, and then to desire, and then to prefer His way. He has to train our hearts to see His way and to love what we see. Like the trained eye of the hunter can spot game where others see only leaves and branches, so the Lord must train our reluctant, dull eyes to spot a narrow path where others see only dead ends.

God is gracious and good and kind and generous and eager to supply all that teaching and guiding and showing and saving. But even though He is eager, willing, and able; God does not immediately answer the prayer for guidance. He delays, and we wait. Because of His wonderful purposes and countless good reasons He is pleased to provide guidance and teaching only after we have sought earnestly and wholeheartedly for guidance, and then wait in expectant, joyful, confident hope for as long as the Lord sees fit to delay. His delays help give us the earnestness we need to really pray hard for guidance.

Whatever Your reasons dear Lord, I am happy to seek and wait. Teach me to desire guidance from You out of love for Your will and Your way.

Jeremiah 15:16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight.

Lord, let my seeking be love in motion and my waiting be love at rest. Let my cry for guidance be fueled by passionate desire, and my waiting strengthened by settled delight in both present and future grace.

Think: Think of the horrible pits you have avoided only because of your loving and wise Guide in heaven.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 139:9-10 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 2)

Meditation #115:  The God Who Guides us Personally

Psalm 23:1-3,8 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od has not just provided us with a map; He guides us personally. If Scripture were only a map we would surely hold it upside down, misread it, and become lost. God does not merely give us instructions and then leave us to ourselves. As our souls cling to Him and follow hard after Him He reaches back, takes us by the hand, and leads us along like a loving farther helping his little child who is stumbling.

His guidance is personal. And it is individual. He does not just guide us; He guides you.

Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The almighty, creator God has spoken individually and directly to you! (Not through vague impulses or promptings, but by opening your eyes to what His Word means, and to what the implications are for your specific situation.) The path of life for you is different than for anyone else. And it involves countless steps. God has shown you each one and continues to do that every moment. He is doing it right now, and will do it all throughout the day today. Even in moments when you are not thinking about Him you can keep taking steps in the direction He has shown you.

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and I wait for you all day long.

The psalmist appeals to God for guidance on the basis that “You are God my Savior. What an amazing thought, that the Lord of the universe could be said to be my anything. It would be amazing enough if Scripture only said that we can seek these things from God because He is the Savior, or the Refuge, or the Comforter. But He is not just the great God of the universe; He is my God and my Savior. There is a special sense in which He saves you; a unique kind of saving that is tailored just for the specific bundle of needs that you are. God did not merely set up a salvation program, where everyone signs a form and goes through a standardized process. He became the Savior of you, with your particular weaknesses, past experiences, feelings, moods, strengths, family situation, and education.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience individualized guidance today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Take a moment to look back over your shoulder to where you have been the past ten or twenty or fifty years. You would have never chosen that exact path on your own. You would not have known the key places you needed to be at which times in order to meet the key people God wanted you to meet, and have the experiences you needed to have. That winding, circuitous route you have taken is the product of a guiding Shepherd who takes you all the places you need to go.

As you encounter all the twists and turns of God’s path for you over this next 24 hours, remember that you are experiencing the outworking of the infinite, perfect mind of YOUR Savior and Guide at every turn! Wherever you are, remember that it is your Guide in heaven who brought you here and who will lead you to the next place.

Think: Everything that happens that affects your path in life is the product of the blessed, guiding hand of God. Which kinds of events (red lights, long lines, car problems, job changes, etc.) do you tend to fail to appreciate God’s guiding hand in? Can you imagine your biggest annoyances turning into real joy if you became more cognizant that those annoyances are actually the movements of the loving, guiding hand of God?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 3)

Meditation #116: The God Who Guides by Turning on the Lights

Isaiah 42:16 I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

C

hristians have tended to fall into one of two errors on either side of the truth when it comes to following God’s guidance. Some focus so much on the immediate, direct, personal aspect that they tend toward superstitious mysticism. They look for vague messages hidden in circumstances or coincidences, or they turn the Bible into a book of magic—randomly opening to a verse, taking a phrase of that verse out of context, and then assuming it is a message from God. That approach is superstitious. There is no rational basis for believing that some feeling or some coincidence carries a particular message.

Others fall into the opposite error of making God’s guidance nothing but impersonal, indirect, general information recorded in the Bible. They do not believe God speaks directly to anyone; He just gave us the Bible—so His speaking is exactly the same for each person.

Scripture, however, speaks of God communicating to His people individually.

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

If God’s only communication to us is in the print on the page of the Bible, then what are we to make of all the promises that God will guide us on the condition that we repent of our sin? The Bible can be read by anyone—even unbelievers, but not everyone receives guidance from God. When David cries out to God in this psalm for guidance, he is not asking God to drop a copy of Scripture out of heaven into his hands. David had the Scriptures, yet he still prayed for guidance.

So if God guides us individually, but not through vague impulses, random thoughts, coincidences, or misuse of Scripture; then how does He do it? He does it through enlightenment.

God speaks to us personally, specifically, and individually by opening our eyes to wisdom and the proper interpretation and application of His Word. God guides us not through thoughts that are not really there in the text, but by turning on the lights to show us what is there.

Psalm 43:3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

Those who fall into the superstitious error have the problem of never knowing for sure if what they are hearing is really God’s voice. But if you understand that God speaks to us by means of enlightenment, then you do not have to ask the question, “How do you know if it is God?” If there is light, of course it is God. How do you know when someone has turned the lights on in a room? You know by whether or not you can see clearly. God does not give magical knowledge about the chair in the dark room—He just turns on the lights so you can see it.

Imagine you are trying to make a basic wisdom decision about where to live. Should you buy a house or just rent? How will God answer your prayers for guidance? Should you watch for some strange coincidence that has to do with buying or renting and try to interpret it? No. God does not use darkness and obscurity to communicate. He uses light. For example, He might bring a wise realtor your way who explains that in this market, a house is only a good investment if you keep it for at least six years. If you are in your last year of college and will probably move after graduation, the decision is now an easy one because the lights have come on. God used enlightenment to make the wise course obvious. That is the voice of God.

It works the same way with interpreting Scripture. Paul wrote some things that he did not expect Timothy to fully understand until God gave Timothy enlightenment.

2 Timothy 2:7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Through our reflection and careful study the Lord will eventually turn on the lights, and the meaning that was intended by Paul will become clear. And once God has done that, it is obvious it was His voice because the correct interpretation is plain to see. You can point it out to any unbiased observer and he will say, “Of course—I can see now that that is what that passage means.”

The ways God does this are many. He shows you just the things you need to see at just the right time. He sees to it that your mood is just right so you will notice what you need to notice. Very often you come to a text or a sermon with certain questions on your heart, and those questions make you notice things in the sermon you would have otherwise missed or forgotten. And it is the masterful working of the pain and trials and joys and questions and confusions that God ordains for your life that prepare you to be wondering just what you need to be wondering when you hear a sermon or study a text, so you will take notice of a principle that later on will be a key to God’s guidance in a particular decision.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience enlightenment today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Every time it is clear what you should do or what a passage in Scripture means, the reason it is clear is God has turned on the lights for you. Each time a principle in Scripture makes good sense to you and is a delight to your heart and you are willing to accept it; it is because you are, at that moment, the direct recipient of enlightenment from God. All Christians experience God’s guidance countless times each day. But that experience has no impact on our ability to love God unless we are aware of it. The experience of being guided by God increases our love for Him only when we pay conscious attention to the fact that He is guiding us.

We tend to think about guidance from God in times when it is not clear to us which way to go. But it is important to also realize that in the many times each day when it is clear which way to go (or it is clear what something in Scripture means and what the implications for your life are)—the reason it is clear is you are experiencing God’s guidance. He has turned on the lights! Any time the lights are on, and you can see a situation or a decision or a text of Scripture clearly—realize that that is not just your own intellect. It is a direct, personal experience of God Himself! You are experiencing what it is like to be guided by Him! When a truth clicks while you are studying your Bible or listening to a sermon, and a principle becomes clear—do not miss the fact that you are experiencing the very presence of God and are receiving grace directly from Him. If you have a sense that something is wrong and you should not do it—that is not just your memory banks. It is the actual voice of God—a direct experience of Him! Without that direct action of God the wrongness of the act would not come to mind. Or it would not seem wrong. Learn to take the direct, immediate voice of God’s Spirit seriously. When the lights go on and things become clear that means He is in the room! Talking to you!

Think: Consider all the things you know for sure God wants you to do today. Each of those is clear only because of His blessed illumination.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

2 Timothy 2:7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 3)

Meditation #117:  He Guides into His Own Presence

Psalm 43:3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

f you come to a fork in the road and ask your guide, “Which way should I go?” he will respond by saying, “It depends—where do you want to end up?” When you pray for guidance, ask yourself, “Where is it that I want to be guided to?” When we face a hard decision and say, “Lord, show me the way I should take,” do we really mean, “Show me which choice would lead to the smoothest, easiest, most pleasant life with the fewest difficulties?” Or do we mean, “Show me which option leads closer to You?”

For the writer of Psalm 43 the answer was clear; he sought guidance in order to be led into the presence of God. For the Christian, the purpose of guidance is not to find a path with fewer difficulties. The only thing that is important is that we find the path leading us into nearness to God. When we pray about a hard decision the cry of our heart should be, “Lord, which job will lead me (and others) closer to Your presence?” “Which house will result in my family drawing nearer to Your dwelling place?” “Will marrying this person increase or decrease my ability to find my way into intimacy with You?”

God’s presence is the only destination worth seeking, and it is His guiding alone that can bring you into His presence. If He withholds His guidance you will wander into a horrible wilderness—a place where you get up in the morning and do not want to spend time with Him. And when you discipline yourself to do it anyway, you will have no sense of His favorable presence and fellowship, and you will come away unmoved by His glory, and unable to see the beauty of it. Your eyes will become fogged over with dullness and inability to understand what is so wonderful about the attributes you are considering. In that wilderness you can be in the midst of the most spectacular, wondrous worship with thousands of exuberant voices and the grandest music and your heart can be pure stone—completely unmoved. In that wilderness your pride swells, love for people vanishes, and zeal for the lost grows cold. In that state you can scarcely even cry out to Him to bring you out of the wilderness because your heart has become so apathetic and your prayers so passionless and distracted and shot through with sin that they are ineffective and cause His face to turn away even more. We cry out to God for guidance for the purpose of avoiding that wilderness.

And praise be to God—the attribute we seek to experience is not only the fact that God guides His people into His presence, but also His willingness and eagerness to do so. He will answer your prayer for this kind of guidance!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s guidance into His own presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you seek guidance it must be His presence that you are seeking. Seeking guidance to some other destination (such as an easy life) will not result in the experience of this attribute. Watch out for claiming to seek guidance from God when in reality your prayer is nothing more than a desire for your own plans to succeed or to avoid suffering or difficulty, or to end up with the best financial outcome.

Secondly, it is essential that when God does provide guidance, that we follow it. If we refuse the guidance He has provided we ought not expect further guidance.

Lord, only Your Spirit can use the joint and marrow-dividing Word to sift out the idolatrous motives from the true. I am so prone to self-deceit, dear Lord, my sinful heart can easily fool me into thinking I am seeking You when I am really seeking me. Lord, put me on the path that leads to You, no matter what else comes with being on that path, and no matter what other path it requires me to forsake.

Think: Are there things that God has already revealed about how you could have greater access to His presence that you have not followed, or that you have followed only half-heartedly? Could this be preventing God from giving further guidance?

Promise to trust today:

John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 4)

Meditation #118:  His Way is Better than Any Other

Psalm 139:24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

H

ow blessed is His everlasting way! It is the ancient and eternal way that leads into His presence. It has never changed nor will it. Why would we want to take any other path? Why walk down the path of destruction? The tempter whispers, “Indulge this sinful thought. Yes, technically it is forbidden, but what harm is it going to do if it is only for a few seconds?” The truth is we do not need to know what harm would be done. We need only understand that being on His path is far better than being on any other path whether it be seconds or decades.

I want to be on Your path, Lord. Even if it leads into pain, sorrow, suffering, or death. I want no other path than the one that leads to You. Teach me to love that way, Make me see it as precious simply because it is Your way. Let enough faith well up in my heart that I would prefer this path above all others simply because of its connection to You.

Help me to rejoice today, Lord, in having my hand held by such a God whose way is so good. When I feel anxiety today, let me think, “Why would I not be completely satisfied with a God who guides me in His eternal way—the way to His very heart?”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s superior way today?

Experiencing this attribute:

To experience God’s guidance we should have a posture of looking to Him in eager, joyful expectation of receiving guidance from Him. Too often we fret over the fear that we will not be able to discern His leading. To be afraid of that is to accuse God of being a liar. He has promised to guide us and to take into consideration our weaknesses and limitations (Ps.103:13-14). Why would He place His guidance out of our reach?

Psalm 73:23-24 I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel.

Any time you are doing what you know the Lord would have you be doing, whether it be preaching the gospel or changing a diaper, remind your soul that you are moving ever closer to God’s presence because you are following His guidance. And let that thrill you!

And when there is a clear choice between God’s path and another path, God is glorified when we not only choose His path, but when deep down in our heart and affections we truly prefer His path. Those times when we are tempted to step off God’s path onto the lustful-glimpse path or the self-pity path or the grudge-nursing path; rather than justifying our detour on the basis of how briefly we intend to stray, let us instead see the clear fork in the road between God’s blessed way and the path of ruin and destruction, and decide not to take any steps down the path that leads away from God—even if those steps last only seconds.

No path is taken for no reason. For a way to be taken there must either be an internal bent toward that way, or an external leading in that way. The wrong way through life is something intrinsic, inside our hearts, that makes us willing to follow the lead of this world. To take the ancient, everlasting way, we need a Guide who can not only lead us along the right path, but who can also transform our hearts to prefer that path. What a delight to be led by a God who will expose the external bent toward the dead end way and lead us in the way that has no end!

Thank You for giving Your servant breath to rise for another day. Now I stand at the threshold of another full day of being led by You into Your presence—a path that will involve all kinds of experiences with You. On this path today, if I am alert to what is going on, I will experience being protected by You, being taught by You, being fed and nourished by You, being sustained by You, being encouraged by You, being sheltered and refreshed by You, being disciplined by You, being forgiven by You, being kept and preserved by You, being sanctified by You, being used by You, being ruled by You, being listened to by You, being treasured by You, being exalted and glorified by You, being restored and vindicated by You, being healed by You, being watched by You, being provided for by You, being spoken to by You, being delighted by You, being rewarded by You, being understood by You, being interceded for by You, being thought about by You, being enabled and empowered by You, being quieted and stilled by You, being delivered from evil by You, being repaid by You, being visited by Your presence, and being satisfied by You! I can hardly wait to experience this day!

Think: Which wrong paths have you tended to routinely find yourself preferring to God’s way? Preach to your soul until it is convinced that God’s way is better.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 73:23-24 I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 5)

Meditation #119: He Teaches Us Because of our Oppressors

Psalm 27:11 Teach me your way … lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Psalm 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of the ones watching to harm me—make straight your way before me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he psalmist asks God for one of the greatest of all blessings: guidance. And his reasoning for why God should grant his request is the fact that he is being unfairly treated. Much of God’s guidance comes only to those who are being treated unfairly because God has such compassion for those who suffer injustice.

Unfair treatment at the hands of others, then, is one of the most precious gifts the Lord gives us because it opens access to guidance from God that we would otherwise not receive. When we are in pain we search the Scriptures and pray more diligently and listen to preaching more intently than when we are not in pain. For example, you might hear a good sermon on how to handle rejection from a loved one, but if you have not experienced that kind of suffering, those truths from the sermon may not stick in your memory. The day after receiving divorce papers from your spouse, however, the truths from that sermon may be a life line to you that will be indelibly written on your heart. When we are looking for answers for someone else who is suffering we are sometimes content with superficial solutions that do not end up proving to be very helpful. But when it is our own suffering, we will not stop searching until we find truths from His Word that really do help us.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience special willingness to guide the oppressed today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you experience some suffering, discouragement, frustration, or confusion, realize that those are keys to unlock wonderful truths you could never otherwise find. Make sure you do not squander them. Don’t waste your pain. It is a unique opportunity to get a treasure that is only within reach while you are suffering. Whenever you are mistreated it is crucially important that you find guidance and comfort from God through His Word and through fellowship with Him. If one attempt does not work try something else, and keep trying until you find comfort and guidance from God.

One reason this is so important is it is what will enable you to help others when they suffer (see meditation #49 on p.123). But another reason it is important to find comfort and guidance from God in the midst of suffering and difficult circumstances is that doing so glorifies God as the great Comforter and Guide. It magnifies His compassion and wisdom and shows Him to be a wonderful Shepherd.

So when you suffer, seek guidance from God—and wait for it (eagerly anticipate it, and refuse any substitute). When we use the world’s artificial means of deadening pain we short-circuit this process, and we miss the keys to unlock the doors to grace.

Psalm 5:8 refers to “the watchers”—people who have an eagle eye watching for your failings. They scrutinize and eagerly publish your failings, rather than covering them up like righteous Shem and Japheth (Gn.9:23). Only God can protect you from the watchers.

Open my eyes, O Lord, to see Your worthiness to be praised by my oppressors. Let me be so impressed with that worthiness that it causes me to desire above all to keep to a right path, so there will be no occasion for You to be dishonored by those who are watching me.

Think: When you suffer, what is the worldly anesthetic that you are most tempted to use rather than waiting on God? Have you been ungrateful for the compassion God has had for you?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 6)

Meditation #120:  He Guides Us Even after We Have Rejected Guidance

Isaiah 30:1-16 "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine… 9 These are rebellious people … 10 They say to the … prophets, …11 “Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" 12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: "Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, 13 this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly … 15 "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hat a horror to fall under the curse (woe) of verse 1 by carrying out plans that are not His. When we seek our comfort, security, or help from some other source besides God we provoke God to curse us. Looking elsewhere for our help is really a rejection of God’s guidance (verse 11). When the Lord speaks to us through conscience (You know this is not My path), and we persist anyway, in essence we are telling God, “Get off this path. Get out of my way.”

O Lord, there have been so many times I have done that. I look toward a sin, my conscience speaks up, and I put my fingers in my ears and go my own way rather than follow Your guidance.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

All God required of Israel was that they be quiet and rest and trust (verse 15). They did not have to accomplish anything great. All they had to do was not chase after something besides God. What compassion we see in the way God leads us! How light is His yoke: “Just rest and trust. Relax and be quiet, and do not kill yourself running after something worthless that will rob you and strip you naked and leave you for dead.”

There are some evenings when all we would have to do to honor God in the greatest way is to just go to bed when we are tired (instead of staying up and watching TV). What enormous sin is in us! So determined is our rebellion against God that we will work hard and give up much in order to get off His blessed path.

Forgive me Father. Change me. Incline my heart to You. The problem is not that I am incapable of being earnest. As hard as I try I cannot stop being earnest. It seems I cannot help running. I will run in one direction or the other. Make me earnestly seek You. You have made my heart to run. I will run, let me run to You.

God brings painful consequences for our sin—painful enough so the sin is not worth it; but then He shows compassion. He longs to do that the whole time the judgment continues. He brings restoration. And the restoration comes in the form of guidance—the very thing we were rejecting to begin with. Even though we thumbed our nose at it, God does not permanently withdraw it. He gives it back! He is willing to once again come behind us and say, “This is the way, walk in it.”

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s gracious, merciful guidance today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Lord, give me ears to hear and heed that voice. When You bring Scripture to my mind to show me that something is wrong, may I not shout that down with my insane rantings of rationalization.

And give me ears to hear Your guiding Spirit when I am making hard decisions. Thank You, dear Lord, that You are a God who guides His people. You do not leave us to wander aimlessly or blindly. You show us where to go. Thank You, dear Lord, that I can trust You to show me where to place my next step.

When you are aware that you should not do something, that is not just your Bible knowledge. It is the voice of God—a direct experience of His guidance. Apart from such an experience, the wrongness of the act would not come to mind. He is present! Talking to you!

Lord, teach me to take the direct, immediate voice of Your Spirit seriously. Make me a glad follower. Let my soul cling to You and follow hard after You as You guide. Teach me to listen to Your Spirit through Your Word. Let me understand what a thrilling reality it is to know that You have taken Your servant by the hand with Your right hand and You hold me fast. How sweet are Your words to my taste! From Your mouth to my mouth, Lord, let me savor the sweetness of guidance from You.

Think: Have you been guilty of rejecting God’s guidance recently?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 30:19-21 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 7)

Meditation #121: The God Who Leads Fools by the Hand

Psalm 73:21-24 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

o often we respond to evil men with sinful bitterness. When we do that we are senseless and ignorant, like an animal—merely reacting to pain rather than living out our role as His image. And yet even when we do that, still we are with Him. God reaches down with His great right hand and takes hold of us and pulls us up out of a deadly pit. Only God’s infinitely strong arm can lift us out of that pit.

Our sin, while it greatly hinders our relationship with God, does not prevent God’s hand of mercy from taking hold of us. Sin that is delighted in drives us far from Him. But sin despised and bewailed, God wonderfully forgives and overlooks.

The amazing gifts of communion and upholding that are described in verse 23 are available to stupid, sinful fools who envy and fret over the wicked and who become embittered, senseless, and ignorant like brute beasts. The Father of compassion makes His grace available to us at our lowest, when it seems impossible to imagine! He gives us the grace to repent even while we are sinning unrepentantly. What grace! If He waited for us to repent before He gave His grace it could never happen. So God always has to draw us out of the slime of rebellion.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s willingness to lead senseless fools today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The method God uses to take us by the hand and lead us out of our folly is guidance by His counsel (verse 24). The image of Him grasping our hand like a father grabbing the hand of his little boy in a crowd is a figure of speech that describes the way the Lord leads us through His Word. We look to Scripture, seeking hard after God, and He responds by opening our eyes to insights from the Word that guide us out of the darkness of our sin back into His glorious presence. That hand-holding image shows that what we experience from Scripture is far more than merely getting information about what is the right way. The Bible is not a mere map. It is the personal hand of a loving Father leading us along. As the Holy Spirit directs us to the right passages, and enlightens our understanding so we can see the implications of a particular text for our specific situation, and as He softens our hearts to be able to receive and accept those truths; we are experiencing personal leading by His hand.

So when you read the Bible, never be satisfied to merely add to your Bible knowledge. Do not merely seek spiritual information. Seek the experience of being guided by the hand by the Lord.

Be very discerning whenever someone tells you to listen for God’s voice. Very often people who speak that way have in mind superstitious mysticism. They want you to wait for some thought to come floating in along with a warm fuzzy feeling, and then assume that is God talking to you. Please do not ever do that. Satan will masquerade as an angel of light and tell you all kinds of wonderful sounding things that are 99% true with 1% of the arsenic of some deadly error mixed in. God does not speak through cloudy, ambiguous impulses. He speaks clearly.

So should we listen for God’s voice and seek His guidance? Yes! We should listen to hear God’s voice with an expectant heart—not through vague impulses—but through His Word. When you open your Bible each day, do you expect God to speak to you? Or are you just getting your Bible reading done?

What about when you come to church? Do you come fully expecting to have the Spirit of God communicate something directly from the mind of God into your heart? Something that is just what you need right now in your life? When you critique a sermon, rather than evaluating it based on how enjoyable or interesting it was to listen to, or even on how informative it was, judge it based only on how much of God’s voice was in the sermon. Whether or not God’s voice is heard clearly and accurately is dependent as much on your heart as on the pastor’s preparation. It is a good thing to walk out of church thinking, “How well did I listen to You, God? And how much delight did I take in what You said to me?”

Think: Before opening your Bible remind yourself, if all that happens here is the learning of information, I have failed. I am seeking the experience of being led by the hand by God Himself.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 73:23-24 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #50  Guide (part 8)

Meditation #122: Relates to Us as a Head to a Body

Ephesians 1:22-23 [God the Father] put everything under [Christ’s] feet and gave Him as head over everything to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

M

ost people who claim to believe in God believe in a god who is essentially the same as no god at all. He is a “god” who lays no claim on their lives, who is not personal, to whom they are not accountable, who is never angered or pleased with them, who provides only the most vague guidance, and who gives no more grace than a good luck charm. Their gods are distant, remote, and irrelevant and the presence of those gods is meaningless and not worth any effort to pursue.

But the Lord Jesus Christ is personal and nearby—so near that He relates to us as closely as a head to a body! What a wonderful way the Lord has chosen to guide us! He does not remain afar off, sending only vague impressions or leaving us to find our own way altogether. He is in us, joined to us with nerves and connective tissue. He has not left us to feel our way, searching for hidden clues. The head directs and coordinates the body with incredibly detailed and specific direction and orchestration. Your brain does not send indecipherable, vague signals to your body parts. And what great things are accomplished by a body when each part is responsive to the head!

Lord, teach me how to take delight in the knowledge that if I am only responsive to Your direction I will be part of grand, glorious purposes and eternally marvelous works.

Sometimes we waste time doing meaningless things—like playing a computer game when we should be working. When that happens your head is giving signals to your body that drive it to carry out a useless, empty task. The Lord Jesus never does that. If we follow His direction we will never end up being used for a spiritual game of solitaire.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience Christ as your Head today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Trust Him to coordinate the body. You are never closer to God than when you are trusting in, resting in, relying on, and delighting in one of His great and precious promises. His promise to be a head to the body is indeed great and precious. Trust in it! When you cannot see how things fit together on the small scale or big scale, be confident in His promise to be our Head. When He brings people into your life it does not seem like you need, and when He does not bring the people you think you do need, take delight in the absolute promise that He is a Head to us, that He is coordinating perfectly. He has assigned just the right tasks, gifts, abilities, and roles to just the right people.

1 Corinthians 12:11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

What a promise! You can come to church, carry out your ministry, and then be able to rest in the knowledge that your efforts are achieving eternally great ends! What darkness the world has to walk in! They have no idea what the ultimate outcomes of anything will be. They can give their lives for some seemingly wonderful cause, and then circumstances can change such that their life and death accomplished nothing.

Dear Lord Jesus, I am so glad You have not left us in that kind of hopeless darkness. Thank You, dear Lord, that I can know with certainty that my work will matter. And far beyond that, thank You that as I do that work, the work itself can be intimate fellowship with You if I only remember the marvelous truth that as I do each thing I know I should do, both the knowledge and the doing are Your direct work in me, so that at those moments I am experiencing the presence of Almighty God! O Lord, help me to remember that, and incline my affections such that it causes great delight in me every time I remember it.

Think: When a body does not respond properly to the signals from the head we call that a spasm. Are there any areas in your life in which you are being spastic (doing things the Head has not called you to do)?

Promise to trust today:

Ephesians 1:22-23 [God the Father] put everything under [Christ’s] feet and gave Him as head over everything to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #51 Eagerness to Lead Humble Sinners

Meditation #123: Meditation:

Psalm 25:8-9 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

P

erhaps the most striking word in this verse is the word “therefore.” One might expect, “Good and upright is the LORD, nevertheless He is still willing to instruct sinners…” But God gives infinitely valuable gifts to vile sinners not in spite of His uprightness, but because of it! We deserve to have been abandoned by God. We have provoked Him to remove His presence from us and to turn His face away. So we would not be surprised if the psalmist said, “In spite of all that, in Your goodness You continue to instruct sinners.” But it says, “therefore You instruct sinners…” God is so good and gracious that His goodness compels Him to give grace to the most undeserving for the very reason that they are undeserving. God is attracted to the lowliest of men. He dwells in a high and holy place, but also with the lowly (Isa.57:15).

This is only the case, however, if the sinner is repentant. The word “sinner” in verse 8 is parallel with “humble” in verse 9. The humble and the sinners are the same group. Isaiah 57 says the same thing—it is with the contrite that God is pleased to dwell. God is not near to the unrepentant at all.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s eagerness to lead humble sinners today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Sin should humble us. Humility is so incredibly important and yet it could very well be the most difficult virtue of all to learn. Our failures, then, are tremendously valuable if they help us learn selfless humility before God.

So why does our sin not humble us as it should? What is going wrong? Why have we sinned so much and yet still have so little humility? Why are tears of repentance so scarce? Very often our response to failure is even more pride—we imagine that we can reform ourselves through self-punishment and greater resolve.

A great deal of the problem is the fact that we often respond to our sin with a self-centered focus rather than allowing our failures to push our attention heavenward. A God-centered response to sin is more than just saying, “God please forgive me and help me change.” A God-centered response is to realize that our sin is so deeply ingrained within us that reform is utterly impossible apart from a special work of God that will come only when we walk much more closely with Him. The nearness of His presence is the only medicine that can cure this disease. And that kind of nearness to God is not easily found. It is found only when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul. It happens only when you restructure your entire life around seeking it. Change everything in your life you need to change to enable you to seek communion and fellowship with God that is deeper than it is now. Whether it be a job change, waking up an hour earlier, giving up entertainment, backing away from a relationship, immersing yourself more in fellowship or ministry—whatever it takes.

Let all your sin turn your attention to God. For every one thought you have about your sin, have five thoughts about God’s goodness. Humility comes from focusing on God, not on self.

O Father, please, humble me with my sin. Show me why I remain so proud and so confident in my imagined strength and my phantom righteousness even after so many millions of sins, such constant sin, such frequent sin, such egregious sin. Lord, make me constantly afraid of my next fall. Make me cling to you like a scared child in the woods gripping her dad. At the first sign of a tempting thought, Lord, let it frighten me. Let it remind me, as it did Job, that one step toward sin in the mind can mean ruin and disaster (Job 31:1-4). One step will lead to the next, and before I know what happened I can find myself completely enslaved. Those chains are never more than inches from my wrists. A moment of non-vigilance and the enemy can clamp them down on me again. And the only hope of rescue is nearness to Your glorious presence.

Lord, let me not follow Your leading each day or each hour. Let me follow it each moment. It is such a grace and a condescension that You would be willing to come down and patiently teach this mule to walk in Your way. Lord, let me not take that grace for granted. Let me instead exult in and enjoy the goodness and uprightness of my Leader.

Think: What are your plans for today? Can you conceive of anything you could do differently that would give you a greater chance of enjoying fellowship with God today?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:8-9 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #52 The God Whose Words are Perfect

Meditation #124:  Restoring the Soul

Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

H

uman institutions and governments have rules and laws in order to prevent chaos. But God does not need the help of laws to prevent chaos. He has the power to prevent it with or without laws. So why does He give laws in the Bible? It does not benefit Him. God does not gain anything through the efforts of man to follow rules (God is the One who enables those efforts anyway!). The purpose of His laws is to benefit us. Every law God ever gave is an act of mercy and grace. They are road signs that show us the way of blessedness. They are doctor’s prescriptions that save us from lethal spiritual disease. They are containers of the greatest treasure there is—revelation of the very heart of God. They reveal to us what is truly good, right, beneficial, delightful, beautiful, profitable, and important; and they expose what is not.

They are perfect. Sometimes human laws are good for the community as a whole but not so good for you as an individual in a particular instance. But not God’s law. There is never a case when the law of God is not the best way to go for you as an individual.

The primary meaning of the word “law” (TORAH) is not “rules” but rather “instruction.” The pagans had to guess what their gods wanted. When drought or famine came they would try one ritual after another in blind flailing and stabs in the dark in hopes of stumbling across the thing that was bothering the gods. And usually those rituals involved giving up something good as a sacrifice or inflicting harm on themselves. How different it is to serve a God who has revealed His will! We know exactly what He wants from us and exactly what pleases Him! And He wants and is pleased by nothing that is ultimately harmful to us. The things that glorify Him are the very things that are most beneficial, joy-producing, and profitable for us (even though in some cases they may result in injury or even death). What an astonishing gift is the Law of God!

And because God’s law is perfect it restores the soul. The word “restore” means to repair that which is ruined, or to return something to the point of departure. The currents of sin pull us off course. Sometimes in gradual, imperceptible increments—like the sailor who falls just a couple degrees off course every so often eventually resulting in a 180 degree turn. Other times sin rips into our lives in one, strong gust and blows us so far off that path that we despair of ever recovering. But no matter how far from the path sin has taken you, the instruction of God has the power to restore your soul back to the right way.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s perfect, restoring Word today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When we depart from God’s way and wander off the path it often becomes a downward spiral, because, as a result of our sin, our hearts become inclined away from Scripture, our eyes become blind to the beauty of it, our minds become fragmented and distracted in prayer, and our appetite for the Bread of Life diminishes.

A good practice is to begin your time in the Word every day with the S.I.O.U.S. acrostic.[76]

S is for Seek

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

All our seeking after God will be worthless if He does not seek us. Begin by asking God to come near to you.

I is for Incline

Psalm 119:36 Incline my heart toward your statutes.

Inclination has to do with what you like and dislike. We do not observe life with a detached, robotic analysis. We have a sense of liking and being attracted to some things and disliking and being inclined away from others.

Before you open your Bible take a moment to remind yourself that you could begin reading, come across some wonderful truth about God, and be bored by it. Horror! What could be worse than being unable to be delighted by the glory of God? Before reading, ask the Lord to incline your heart toward whatever it is He is about to show you so that when you see it you will love it.

O is for Open

Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

When you read something in Scripture about God and it does not thrill your soul and cause great joy, peace, comfort, or awe, there is only one explanation: your eyes are blind to what is wonderful about that truth. Every truth about God in Scripture would absolutely thrill you if your eyes were opened to see what is so wonderful about it. And only God can do that. So before reading, pray—“God, open my eyes.”

U is for Unite

Psalm 86:11 Unite my heart, that I may fear your name.

When we come to the Word of God, we usually come with a scattered, distracted heart. We must pray, “Dear God, please unite my heart so for this brief little time I can focus my entire being on You.”

S is for Satisfy

Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

The presence of God is like food—it always satisfies the soul. If you go away from your time in the Word unsatisfied, then, it is because you did not experience the presence of God. It is good, before we open the Bible, to remind ourselves of the purpose of coming to God’s banquet table. The goal is not just to gather information, but to leave the table with our souls satisfied!

Dear Lord, incline my heart toward what I am about to read, open my eyes to the wonders of it, unite my heart that I might seek after You with all my being for these brief minutes, and satisfy my soul with your unfailing love.

Think: What part of your soul is most in need of restoration right now?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #52  The God Whose Words are Perfect (part 2)

Meditation #125: Trustworthy, Making Wise the Simple

Psalm 19:7 The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he word translated “statutes” refers to that to which God has testified. God points to His Word and says, “I vouch for the fact that this is true!” Using this term to describe Scripture points to God’s testimony to us that His Word is reliable.

God’s Word leaves nothing out that should be included, and it includes nothing that should be left out. God never misleads by saying too much or too little. We can trust His Word completely. Oh, what a blessing that is! You never have to use discernment or make any kind of judgment about whether what God has said is accurate or useful or anything other than perfect. Receiving God’s Word is the only time we do not have to be on our guard against error (although we do have to guard against our tendency to introduce error into His Word through wrong interpretation).

We never have a truer, clearer view of reality than when we hear God speak in His Word. What God says is truer and more real than what we feel with our hands or see with our eyes or hear with our ears. This world is filled with deceit, error, and distortions. We cannot rely completely on what we observe or experience, nor can we always trust our eyes, ears, or mind. But we can always trust Him. He will never lead us astray. In fact, He will protect us from leading ourselves astray.

Blessed be Your name, O God, for your promises to protect Your servant from wandering astray! If not for that promise, Lord, I would have wandered so far for so long I would be beyond hope. In myself I know nothing. I am utterly blind. Without Your light I have not even the first notion of what is true. You are my ONLY connection with reality. Your Word is the only way I have any knowledge of the true state of affairs. And that Word is flawless—100% accurate. I can trust it completely! You write with a pen that never blots and speak with a tongue that never slips—a mind that never miscommunicates or misunderstands. What rest that gives my soul, O Lord. Thank You!

Not only is God’s Word right and true, but His actions are always faithful as well. Nothing God does ever contradicts anything He has done before. His actions are always in perfect harmony with His words. He is utterly predictable in that He never does anything that differs from what He has revealed in His Word. And He is utterly unpredictable in that His mind and will are infinitely beyond what the greatest human mind and the collective wisdom of all humanity can conceive.

It is hard to appreciate just how precious truthful speaking really is until you have been deeply hurt by untruthfulness. The pain of being lied to or about can be an unbelievably difficult trial. When we represent each other in ways that are not entirely true (but, we tell ourselves, close enough to the important parts of the truth), the result is massive devastation of the Lord’s Church, the loss of friends, destruction of relationships, the dishonoring of God’s holy name, and endless nights of agony and tears for those involved.

Please forgive Your servant, O Lord. I have lied and “shaded” the truth, left out important points, and spoken half-truths. I have even done that with the motive of hurting someone for whom You gave Your Son to die! People You love just like You love me. People You have promised to protect from the harm inflicted by the likes of me—those who would harm them with false words. O God, forgive me. I am not worthy to be Your child. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for shedding Your precious blood for this sin.

And thank You for Your very great and precious promises. When I have been lied about it was like being in a deep pit, but You drew me out of that miry pit and set my feet upon a rock. When all abandoned me and I had no one to protect me or speak up for me, You stayed by me and reassured me. When no one would help, You restored me, and Your Holy Spirit confirmed in my heart that I was saved and my repentance was real. You reminded me of Your great and precious promises—so many promises. You have promised to keep me and preserve me. You have promised that as long as I am willing I cannot be overcome by the enemy.

Please do not ever let me forget how it felt when You came to me in my loneliness. Make me always remember the sweetness of my times of nearness to Your presence.

This term “simple” means gullible. We all have some susceptibility to being fooled—especially in areas where we lack love for the truth.[77] And our vulnerability to being deceived is one of the great calamities of life. Only God’s sure, reliable, trustworthy Word can rescue us from that calamity. It is the only form of truth that has within it the power to transform gullibility and folly into wisdom and understanding.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the trustworthiness of God in His Word today?

Experiencing this attribute:

We experience the reliability of God’s Word when we put it to the test. Prove God’s Word to be trustworthy by relying on the promises it contains. Bank on them in such a way that everything is riding on God’s faithfulness. And when He proves faithful, you will have experienced this attribute.

Think: Take a look at the list of promises in the “Promises to Trust When…” reference.[78] Take a moment to consider which area in your life you have struggled, find a promise related to that area, and spend your day clinging to, delighting in, relying on, trusting in, and rejoicing over that promise.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 19:7 The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #52  The God Whose Words are Perfect (part 3)

Meditation #126:  Right, Giving Joy to the Heart

Psalm 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he word translated “precepts” means rules or directions. The word translated “right” means straight. It is always a bad thing to deviate from the path one should be on. Each deviation is an act of sin and folly that impedes progress toward the goal. The directions of God in Scripture never lead you on a crooked path. It would be impossible to follow the true intent of any passage of Scripture and have it result in a misstep. Think of what an astonishing claim that is! Every other guidebook in the world must be checked against reason and experience. Not Scripture. No other set of instructions applies absolutely in every context in every culture in every age in every circumstance. But God’s Word, if followed, will always lead you on exactly the path you should take.

And that truth gives joy to the heart. Oh, how often we lose sight of this. So often we experience doing what is right as a drudgery. That is why we sin. Every sin we commit is a proclamation that says, “I will be happier if I take the crooked path.” If only we could convince our souls of the truth that the crooked path never leads to greater happiness than God’s path—never!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s joy-producing way today?

Experiencing this attribute:

There are three kinds of things we can read: The Bible, books that help us understand the Bible, and books that do not help us understand the Bible. It is a sad truth that many of us spend much more time in the third category than the first two. Many times we find the reading of other books more enjoyable or useful than Scripture or books about Scripture. But those books are not the path to the greatest enjoyment. The pleasure they bring is shallow and superficial and will evaporate into nothingness when the real pain and sorrows of life strike. Only a steady, full diet of the truths of God’s Word will build a foundation of joy that will be able to not only withstand the hurricanes of suffering, but that will be so much larger and greater than even the worst kinds of suffering, that despair will never be able to overtake your joy.

Father, I come to Your Word like an explorer finding a new world. He arrives at the base of a mountain range that blocks his access to the wonders and glories that surpass anything he has ever known. He has lived his whole life in the desert, and has never seen anything but sand. But on the other side of those mountains are new and delightful and awe-inspiring, even fearful wonders stretched out over hundreds of thousands of miles. Rugged mountain terrain that he could never traverse. Vast oceans that contain beauties that must be seen to be believed. Rolling meadows and sweet smelling flowers and luscious fruit trees and staggering waterfalls and marvelous forests and raging rivers and quiet streams—all that is needed to feed, comfort, protect, awe, delight, enrapture, and interest his soul forever.

But alas, he is locked out not only by the mountains that guard the entrance, but by the sheer vastness of the paradise. Even if he could be lifted over the mountains, the wonders are too large and sprawling and detailed for him to even begin to explore. To see this paradise he needs nothing less than wings. Only if he could take flight and soar could he even begin to experience this new world.

Give me eagle’s wings today, dear God. As I take my left hand and pull open the cover of my Bible and begin turning the pages and reading, O Lord, do not let it just be print on a page that I do not understand and that does not touch my soul. Do not let me remain locked out by the unscalable mountains. Give Your servant wings. Let the wind of Your Spirit carry me through the realms of comfort and forests of strengthening. Let me swoop down to drink from Your river of delights, and to eat from the tree of life. Take me up, higher and higher where my eyes can see the works of Your hands and I will have the perspective to understand how they fit together. Let me dive down low to inspect the intricacies and details of some delightful flower of truth in one of the phrases of Your Word. Take me to the place where courage is dispensed, and the passage that will produce love in my heart and the verses that will ignite joy in You.

Think: We neglect the Scriptures only because we are not convinced they will do what this verse promises. What would it take to convince your soul that the precepts of the Lord will indeed give joy to your heart?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #52  The God Whose Words are Perfect (part 4)

Meditation #127:  Radiant, Giving Light to the Eyes

Psalm 19:8 The commands of the LORD are pure,[79] giving light to the eyes.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he giving of light to the eyes is a Hebraism for giving strength or joy.[80] The dimming of the eyes was the opposite—the fading of one’s strength in weakness or grief.[81] The commandments God has given us stand in brilliant, gleaming purity and flawless cleanness, without even the slightest taint of contamination. The Bible is the only book that is pure good—unmixed with anything that is less than perfect. And for that reason it gives us life, vitality, strength, and joy. The demands of life and the weakness of the flesh drain us so we become like Jonathan, who was wearied from ceaseless warfare without any food. But when he ate honey his “eyes were brightened.”[82] Only the pure, uncontaminated commands of God have the power to restore what has drained away. When life, strength, motivation, health, and joy are ebbing away, nothing else in this world has the power to restore them—only God’s Word.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s rejuvenating Word today?

Experiencing this attribute:

In John 5 we read of a pool at Bethesda that was believed to have healing powers. On the porches around the pool there was a great number of disabled people—sick, blind, lame, paralyzed. And the people believed that if they could jump into the pool while the waters were being stirred, they would be healed. John Bois, one of the translators of the KJV, pointed out that Bethesda is a good illustration of our souls: “Our souls are like the porches of Bethesda … and the Scriptures are like the pool of Bethesda.” Scattered all around in our hearts are the diseases of greed, anger, lust, selfishness, folly, and every kind of idolatry. And if we could just roll ourselves into the pool, and immerse ourselves in the wisdom of God, we would be healed. Is anyone discouraged? The statutes of the Lord rejoice the heart. Is anyone poor? The judgments of the Lord are more to be desired than much fine gold, and by keeping of them there is a great reward. Is anyone confused? The testimonies of the Lord give wisdom to the simple (so that you are wiser than all your teachers).[83] Is anyone discouraged? The law of the Lord revives the soul. Is anyone in the dark and in need of guidance or enlightenment? The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

When you read the Bible, read it expectantly. God has made huge and marvelous promises regarding what we can expect from His Word. Trust those promises! Joy, restoration, enlightenment, and satisfaction of soul are there for the taking. God has not placed them out of your reach if you seek after them with all your heart. Never dishonor God by approaching His Word with an attitude that assumes it will be unable to give you that which God has promised.

Think: When you open your Bible, what are your expectations?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 19:8 The commands of the LORD are pure, giving light to the eyes.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #52  The God Whose Words are Perfect (part 5)

Meditation #128:  Precious

Psalm 19:10 [The commands of the LORD] are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

f you have the Word of God you are rich—so rich that the only thing that could make you any richer would be greater insight into that Word and love for that Word. Do not let these words be mere platitudes. Think deeply about this: The Bible is more valuable than anything you have or desire in this world. That includes all the possessions you have, and all the possessions you could imagine having. It includes your health, your life, the lives of your loved ones—all the treasures of this world put together.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the preciousness of God’s Word today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience God’s Word as a treasure by persisting in your seeking until you find the treasure. Most people read Scripture much too quickly. If God’s Word is dry to you, you probably need to slow down. There is nothing magical about reading through the Bible in a year.

2 Timothy 2:7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

God did not intend His Word to be immediately understood. Some people can do quite well reading several chapters at a time. But for most that is much too fast. It is like trying to hit twelve restaurants in your half hour lunch break—it leaves no time to actually eat!

Reading something you do not understand one day and then moving on to something else you do not understand the next day is not much better than ignoring the Word altogether. In fact, it is probably one of the best ways to train yourself to dislike the Word of God. That is like being on a scavenger hunt where God placed a priceless treasure at each place. But you are in such a hurry to finish the hunt that you go to each place, look around for ten seconds, do not find the treasure, and then move on to the next stop. You make it to the end but you have not found one single treasure.

Why move on to the next place until you find the treasure at the place where you are? If you cannot see what is marvelous, glorious, delightful, satisfying, and joy producing about the text you read in the morning, get a commentary (or two or three) and try to figure out what it means. Study the context. Ask your small group leader or pastor. Ask all your friends. Memorize a portion of the passage and meditate on it during free moments during the day. Come back to it again and again—day after day, until you crack that nut. And when you find the treasure, stay there and enjoy it for a while. Spend a day or two thinking and praying and writing and talking to others about the implications of that truth. And write down your insights so you can refer back to them in the future (on a day when you really need a good insight and do not have time to study). Then you can move on to the next passage.

Think: Why do you think God did not place what is most wonderful and satisfying about His Word right out on the surface so it could be fully appreciated by anyone at first glance?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 19:10 [The commands of the LORD] are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #53 Mindfulness, Care and Exaltation of Puny Man

Meditation #129: Our Unique Ability to Commune with our Creator

Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

I

f our solar system were positioned closer to the center of the Milky Way or in an arm of the pinwheel (as the great majority of the stars are) it would be impossible for us to observe the heavens. God placed us strategically in just the right location for scientific observation. He wanted us to see the vastness of the heavens.

One would think that contemplation of the heavens would be a sure path to humility. When a man considers how infinitely puny he is in comparison even to the earth, much more the solar system or galaxy or universe—or even things that are small in comparison with the earth, like volcanoes, tidal waves, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, tornados, or lightening - it would seem that humility would be virtually guaranteed. And yet human beings—these undetectably small microbes on the speck of our solar system—strut around imagining ourselves to be God. We even go so far as to pass judgment on the Creator and His works! We prefer to think about ourselves rather than One who is infinitely good and beautiful, and we trust our judgment above His.

Man has indeed been exalted by God, but proper contemplation of the vastness of the creation should cause us to marvel at that exaltation. The entire population of all of humanity compared to the size of our local galaxy is as a single electron compared to the earth. Who would care about a single electron? Much less an individual person, which is like one billionth of that electron?

Dear Lord, let the contemplation of the vastness of the creation humble Your servant. Let it have its designed effect. Let it astonish me with Your greatness and my relative insignificance and the wonder of Your condescension. Much of the time it has so little effect on me. How easily my spiritual sensitivities become deadened Lord. Awaken Your servant. Please, open my eyes and enliven my spirit to be able to rejoice in You right now—to rejoice in Your mindfulness, care and glorification of puny man—of puny me! Let today be the beginning of a life of hungering and thirsting to experience this attribute, and a deep longing to enjoy the fellowship of receiving and enjoying Your mindfulness, care and exaltation of me in relationship to my relative insignificance.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

God’s mindfulness refers to movement with favor toward the object remembered. God’s care refers to His attending to us both in concern and in action.

What an amazing thing it is that we can have awareness of God. The huge stars and galaxies are great in size, but surpassed by puny man in that man alone can consider his Creator, and speak to Him, and have Him listen! Jupiter is huge, but it only sits as an object—never using the first or second person, It only floats in dormant silence and is referred to in the third person (“it”). There is no “I” or “You” for the biggest parts of the created physical world. To us alone God has given the ability to contemplate and even commune with our own Creator.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s mindfulness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

What a tragic folly it is for us to have received this inestimable grace and to ignore it most of the time. What blackness there must be in our hearts to be aware that all this is true and yet to be so unimpressed with it that we would prefer to think on other things.

Lord, draw me close to Your heart in this room right now. I know You are here. Your Holy Spirit is right here with me, attending to my prayer even as I fail to attend to my own prayer! You listen to my words even more than I do.

Think: If the almighty, eternal God would stoop so low as to move with favor toward and attend to lowly man, how precious should be even the lowliest of people to us! If He is not too big or too important or too busy to attend to the needs of human beings, what insanity would make us think we are above caring for the lowly?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 98:3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #53  Mindfulness of Puny Man (part 2)

Meditation #130: God’s Love for People Makes them Precious to Us

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

O

ne common mistake people make when they quote this passage from memory is to say, “When I consider the heavens…” David did not say that. It is not “the heavens;” it is “Your heavens.”

When we look up into the gigantic clouds or the vastness of space, and gaze upon the same heavenly bodies that have thrilled the hearts of billions of people—almost every person from the time of Adam until today; we see the same moon that Adam sat and enjoyed, the same stars that amazed the writer of this psalm as well as countless nonbelievers and scientists. We see astonishing things, about which so many brilliant men have written so many thousands of textbooks, and we say, “My Father made that.”

And though it belongs to Him, God has given puny man the task of having dominion over the earth. That is like making an ant the Governor of California. God has taken some dirt clods, made them in His image and lifted them to be vice regents over His creation! Oh, how He has exalted those former dirt clods!

Mankind then responded by rebelling against God and becoming lower than a dirt clod. Dirt clods never rebel against God. Mud is greater than man in that it is perfectly innocent and without sin. Never do the rocks resist God’s will.

But in His astonishing mercy and grace God reached down infinitely deeper into the miry pit—far below dirt clods; and redeemed wicked, rebellious, sinful men. What amazing grace and condescension! Why would He magnify and exalt an unclean, vile, rebellious creature? Why put value on filthiness and fix His loving eye on an impure thing? Why honor those who cost Him His life? Why exalt the very creatures who attempt to pull Him down from heaven? Why honor seditious traitors who would drag Him off His throne; and then exalt them to a place at His right hand? What grace!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s mindfulness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you see the lowliness of man (stupidity, weakness, or any other inadequacy for the task of ruling this world), instead of generating distain in your heart toward the person, let that generate love toward the God who elevated such lowly creatures to such heights.

Think: Think of the people who are especially hard for you to love. Are you guilty of despising that which God has highly exalted?

Promise to trust today:

Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #53  Mindfulness of Puny Man (part 3)

Meditation #131: The God who Grants Co-Regency to Puny Man

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than God[84] and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

M

an is lower than God and higher than the rest of creation. The world has it exactly backwards. Evolution conceives of man as being lowly in relationship to the earth. They believe we are nothing but evolved proteins destined to become dirt in a meaningless, purposeless process of random material changes. And at the same time they become puffed up with pride in relationship to God. They believe man is the final determiner of right and wrong, and they look to themselves as the highest and final judge to whom they are answerable.

The truth is exactly the opposite. According to Scripture we are lowly with respect to God and exalted with respect to the creation. God has made mankind in His image and crowned us with glory and honor, placing us as His vice-regents in this world. No part of this created world is higher than man. No middle management stands between us and Him.

This is a thrilling truth for anyone who desires nearness to God. If God has given you a role of reigning over His creation, that means as you carry out whatever role you have in this world you are actually working side by side with God—infinitely beneath Him in His awesome, unapproachable majesty to be sure, but working along with Him nonetheless! As His image-bearers, the more we are faithful in carrying out that function the more we are in a position of being hand in hand with God! And that means fellowship with Him (to the degree that we have conscious awareness of it and take delight in it).

Lord, I want to experience the unspeakable blessing of involvement with You and Your work and purposes by displaying Your image. Teach me what it means to do that in the greatest possible way. I want to be faithful to the purpose for which You designed and exalted humanity!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s crowing of you with glory and honor today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you have occasion to think about fellow human beings, remind yourself that they are image-bearers of the Almighty Himself. Show them honor because of that and contemplate how they represent His image so you might rejoice in the things that are true of God reflected in them. This is an especially good exercise when a man is tempted to lust after a woman. Redirect your thinking to focus on honoring her as an image bearer and seeing God’s glory reflected in her.

One of the reasons idolatry is wrong is that it elevates a created thing (like food or sex or fun) above God. But it is also idolatry to elevate those things even above man. At the bottom is the creation, above that is man, and above man is God. There is to be nothing between you and God. When we are tempted toward any kind of idolatry we must remember that all of the creation is to remain under our feet where it belongs. We are to have dominion over it; it is not to have dominion over us. God has placed the creation under your feet. Keep it there.

And when you see examples of how man’s grand dominion in Psalm 8 is distorted, and man is subject to the creation (especially seen in death), let that fill your heart fuller with hope and anticipation of the Day when, through Christ, Psalm 8 will be completely fulfilled.

Think: Is there anything in the creation that should be under your feet that you have subjected yourself to as a slave?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 8:5-6 You made him a little lower than God and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #53  Mindfulness of Puny Man (part 4)

Meditation #132: God Considers and Cares for Man

Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

hat a marvelous scene is pictured in this psalm. David looks up and considers God’s handiwork while God looks down and is mindful of him. As you have this time of devotions with the Lord, what could be better than your glorious privilege at this moment—as you are looking up and considering God and He is looking down and considering you! What earthly joy or pleasure or privilege could even begin to compare to this? To have your God look down and actually consider you—to be mindful of you and to fix His caring, life-giving gaze upon you, and for Him to consider you in response to your considering Him and His work? This relational interaction—like a conversation, places you in God’s holy presence at this moment. You are inside His sanctuary, able to behold His glory and power if He opens your eyes.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s attention to you today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience this attribute simply by being aware of and enjoying being considered and cared for by God. Nothing could be better than to be considered and looked upon by God. And yet the world does not even desire that. They want God’s gifts, His help, His assistance in their plans and purposes, His resources and riches... but they do not want Him. They do not care about His gaze upon them; nor do they want to see His glory. Fools! They prefer the non-glorious above the Author of glory! They prefer emptiness above fullness and ugliness above beauty. They prefer bitterness above sweetness and poverty above riches. They prefer meagerness above riches and paucity above feasting. They prefer death above life.

O Lord, how often I slide back into their insanity. How many times every single day I prefer darkness above light. Teach Your servant, dear Lord, to prefer You above all. Strengthen my faith, that it may not falter when confronted with Satan’s lies. Help me believe what I know, dear Lord—especially these truths about Your attributes. Please, dear Father, weave them into the web of my beliefs and integrate them into my mind with such interconnectedness that they are a part of all my thoughts, beliefs, decisions, desires, choices, intentions, attitudes, emotions, concerns, words, and actions.

Father, don't let this truth sit out on the periphery of my thinking. Let it become a part of me. Don't let it be some vague idea that I have to labor to remember, or that has no place in my thoughts and affections unless something reminds me of it. Let it be like my belief in and confidence in gravity. My belief in gravity is so ingrained in my belief system that it requires no memory cue at all. Every action I do all day long and all my plans are based solidly upon belief in gravity. Let the truths about Your character be that way in me, Lord. Weave them in deep. Mix them into me thoroughly. Integrate them fully. Re-homogenize me every week, stirring in the next truth You reveal to me through Your Word.

This week, let the truth of the goodness of being remembered by You reign supreme in my affections and preferences. Let me long above all to be considered and gazed-upon favorably by my God. And yet at the same time let it strike fear in my heart. Let me be deathly afraid of sin, because 1) it will cause You to turn Your gaze away to some degree, and 2) it will make Your purging, refining gaze painful as the dross is consumed. As I consider today the grace of being considered by You, let that make me rejoice greatly in You and fear You deeply.

Think: God is mindful of you right now. What do you suppose is going through His mind?

Promise to trust today:

1 Peter 3:12 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #54 Worthiness and Trustworthiness to be the Object of My Desire

Meditation #133:

Psalm 25:1-3 Of David. To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

n Hebrew thinking, the soul is the seat of the appetites. So to lift your soul to someone means to make that person or thing the object of your desire. We lift our souls to God when we make Him our only desire, and the One to whom we look for the satisfaction of all the appetites of the soul.

This attribute is delightful because God is completely trustworthy. No one who has faithfully waited for Him has ever been disappointed. And no one who has not done so has ever been ultimately satisfied.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness and trustworthiness to be the object of your desire today?

Experiencing this attribute:

We experience this attribute when we make God the object of our desire and then enjoy the fulfillment of our desires in Him.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. I must lift it to You, because it is Yours. You created it, then You bought it, so it is twice yours. My time, treasures, affections, desires, dreams, purposes, attitudes, pleasures, longings, decisions, thoughts, actions—all belong to You. My future is Yours. My past is Yours. This moment is Yours—and the next... All is Yours. I have no right to take anything to myself. You have called me to pick up my cross and follow You to Golgotha. Unless I give up everything I have I cannot be Your disciple. Lord, take it all. Everything. My dreams and everything that is most important to me. It is all in Your great hand to do with as You please, and I will praise and glorify Your name no matter what You do with it.

Lord, You know my desires. I want… [Take a moment to express your deepest desires to God.]

Those are the desires of my heart. You said to make my requests known to You—to look to You as the only source and determiner of blessing. To seek for it from You and to persist. Lord, please—please, for the sake of Your name and for the joy of Your people—please grant these requests.

That is my soul. All those desires I lift up and place in Your hands. If you say, “no,” to every one of them I will joyfully and gladly praise Your glorious name. I trust You. No one who puts their hope in You will ever be put to shame. I have no fear of my enemies or of circumstances. I tremble at Your chastising hand, but ultimately I love it. Do as You will. I bless Your name because You do all that You please in the world.

Think: Which of the appetites of your soul do you have the hardest time believing God can satisfy?[85]

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 49:23 those who hope in me will not be disappointed.

Psalm 103:5 He satisfies your desires with good things.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55 The God Who Listens to His People

Meditation #134:  God Watches with Interest

Psalm 33:13-15 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth —15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

F

rom heaven God looks down and watches all who live on the earth. He examines, with interest, every action and every thought of every person. He already knows everything they will think or do, yet He watches with interest as it actually unfolds in time. God evidently takes greater delight in the actual experience of an event than in the foreknowledge of that event.

You, who formed the hearts of all, consider all they do. What immense wisdom and power—that You could create something that itself has the ability to be creative and make decisions. What an amazing thing that I can do what no animal can do—consider my Creator. And even more amazing—that my Creator would take an interest in my consideration!

Isaiah 27:3 I, the LORD, watch over (the vineyard); I water it by the moment.[86]

God cares for His people on a moment-by-moment basis. His interest in us is constant.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s interest in you today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Sometimes when we are alone and we experience something wonderful we think, I wish ____ were here with me to see this. We enjoy wonderful things more when we experience them alongside someone we love. We would do well to resolve, each time we think that way, to add another thought: I wish ____ were here with me to see this, but more importantly I am so glad God is here right now seeing this with me. There are times when it is a delightful thing just to be alone with someone you deeply love. There is a special joy that comes from undergoing some wonderful experience when it is just you and one special person. Learn to enjoy being alone with God in times when no one else is around.

Please, Father, let the habit of thinking that way serve as a reminder for me to enjoy the thought that You are not only seeing what I see, but You are considering the heart of Your servant which You fashioned and formed and created for Your purpose. And let me revel in the knowledge that I serve a God who knows all things. Teach me to appreciate what a wonderful thing it is to experience joys alone with You—the one who understands all my thoughts and feelings, including the things I could never explain to someone else.

Dear God, if all the actions of this creation are of interest to You, I want them to be of interest to me. Teach me to enjoy the experience of every moment—everything I observe or experience. Save me from wasting moments that could have been enjoyed as an experience of the unfolding of Your plan, but which were instead ignored as meaningless droning on of time. Ignite my heart to be aware of Your working in every moment, that I might enjoy You and Your wisdom and glory more and more often. So much time goes by in between my thoughts about Your glory. Lord, instruct and train Your servant’s heart that the gaps might become smaller and smaller. And as I witness the unfolding of providence teach me to take an interest in what interests You.

Think: It is not possible to consciously think about God every moment of the day, but are there times in your life, when you are alone, that you could give more thought to enjoying the fact that it is just you and God at that moment?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 33:13-15 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth —15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55  The God Who Listens (part 2)

Meditation #135: God Listens, Cares and Responds to My Sighing

Psalm 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay (Heb. “make a case” or “arrange a sacrifice on the altar”) my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Listen, dear Father. Let me offer to You this morning that which You will be inclined to attend to and consider.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

his text shows us the very inner workings of the Spirit as He inspires a prayer—from conception through birth. David’s prayer in verse 1 is mere sighing. Unarticulated expression of emotion as his feelings, attitudes, affections, ideas, and mood begin to coalesce in the caldron of his soul. In verse two there are strong, loud cries for help. By verse three he is laying out an arranged, ordered case before God.

It begins with David’s sighs. He asks God to consider them. God already knows the full meaning and significance of everything. So what does it mean for Him to consider something? It means for Him to regard it and respond to it in a favorable way. David was asking God to answer not just his requests, but his feelings, emotions, and groanings as well. God can make sense out of what does not yet make sense in our own hearts. He understands what we cannot.

Psalm 104:21 Lions roar for their prey and then seek their food from God.

This is not to suggest that lions have any conscious awareness of God. Their roar is simply a sound they make when they are hungry that God takes as a kind of a prayer. If the lion’s ignorant, instinctive roar can be taken as a prayer for help, how much more the groans of your heart! Even your weak and broken sighings that cannot be put into words, if you direct them heavenward, are accepted and heard by God, and touch His heart of compassion. To direct them heavenward means to have the inclinations and affections of your heart and the determination of your resolve be set on Him as your Helper.

Beware, then, of lying prayers—asking for something in prayer that you do not desire enough to seek it diligently. The lions in Psalm 104 roar their “prayer,” but they also work hard. It takes all the effort that is within them to catch food. Their dependence on God does not lessen their need to strive. If you truly desire something, pray for it, and then act accordingly.

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.

Like a mother whose ear is sensitized to her baby’s cry and will hear it over all other noises—even in her sleep, the Lord has promised to attend to the cries of those who fear Him. Human parents know the difference between their children’s various cries, many times understanding them more than the child understands his own cries. In the same way, God knows when our cries are serious.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s attentiveness to your sighs today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Thank You, dear Lord, that You consider my sighing. Shape me, Lord, more and more so that all my groanings are prayers to You. You are the God who listens. You see and understand my sighs, groans, and desires, and You allow Your emotions to be touched by the shrill cries for help that come to Your fatherly ears from Your injured child.

Whenever I am musing in my heart about serious things or have powerful feelings—even if they are powerful feelings of emptiness or lethargy—let that remind me that You are a God who considers all that (if offered to You as prayer), and who responds with blessing. And let me enjoy the presence of such a God. Whenever I am crying out to You asking for something, let that remind me that You allow the strings of Your heart to be plucked, like mine are by the desperate cries of my children. And let me enjoy belonging to such a Father.

Think: Are your prayers the product of sincere affections, feelings, thoughts, and resolve coalescing in the caldron of your soul? Or are they just words that you crank out because it is time to say your prayers?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you strengthen his heart, and you listen attentively.[87]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55  The God Who Listens (part 3)

Meditation #136:  The God Who Hears Desire

Did you know your desires make a sound in heaven?

Psalm 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you strengthen his heart, and you listen attentively.[88]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

W

e might have expected it to say that God knows our desires—but it says He hears them. Every time you want something, that wanting makes a sound in heaven.[89] God inclines His gracious, favorable, loving ear to all your desires. This is not to imply that prayer is unnecessary. The fact that God is attending to you does not mean you should fail to attend to Him. But oh, what a blessed truth that His great heart is moved by your desires when you are in trouble.

Words are not prayer—they are just the garments of prayer. Desire is the heart and soul of prayer. As the body without the soul is dead, so is a prayer not driven by desire. God attends not to the words but the desires, as prayer is not prayer unless animated by desire. We pray only when we are aware of God’s presence and are interacting with Him. Words are of invaluable assistance to the soul in that activity, but they are not the activity itself. We can spew forth a million words without a single prayer actually taking place. True prayer is the expression of a genuine desire. At a loss to know what to pray? Pour out your heart to God. Come to Him with your deepest desires. Do not just pray for the things you think are most important, but seek to make those things your greatest desire so your prayers are real prayers.

O Lord, let all the desires You hear from my heart be righteous desires. And let my righteous desires be powerful.

It is especially the desires of the afflicted that God hears. That means the more afflicted you are the more attentive God is to you. God inclines His gracious, favorable, loving ear to all our non-sinful desires. God already knows all things, yet right now He is straining His ears to listen to your desires for relief—not to gain information, but just because that is the activity of love.

And the effect of God’s attention is the strengthening of your heart. All the strength you have enjoyed has come from Him. When you have been able to weather disappointments, criticisms, humiliations, losses, attacks—all of those would have destroyed you had it not been for God’s strengthening love. What a treasure is a strengthened, established heart!

Forgive me, dear Lord, for taking it for granted when I am strong. Forgive me for imagining it was my own strength. My ability to endure the things I am now enduring is the direct strengthening work of Your blessed hand on my heart right at this moment. Thank You, dear Father.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s attentive and compassionate ear today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you pray, remind yourself that it is not the words you are saying that make up the essence of the prayer—it is the desires in your heart. Think about what is really rising up to heaven, and strive to make your righteous desires powerful and intense.

The word afflicted carries the idea of the humility that results from trouble. Let all your affliction humble you. That is what it is for.

I am so prideful and self-centered. I have so little humility, meekness, and gentleness. Dear Father, please humble me. Bring me down to the dust, for he who dwells in the dust dwells nearest heaven. The lower I descend the higher my prayers ascend. Make me a man who draws attention to You and not to me. Make me a man who thinks about Your kingdom and not my immediate impulses. Make me a man who is constantly concerned with others instead of myself.

Think: What are the deepest desires of your heart right now? And where did those desires come from—the world or from the Word of God?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you strengthen his heart, and you listen attentively.[90]

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55  The God Who Listens (part 4)

Meditation #137:  Complex Prayers

Psalm 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay (Heb. “make a case” or “arrange a sacrifice on the altar”) my requests before you and wait in expectation.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

D

avid’s prayer progresses from mere sighing, to cries for help, to articulated prayers, to structured, ordered, arranged offerings—a well-thought out case laid out with beauty and complexity (such as a psalm). There is a place for simple prayers—sighing or simply crying out for help, but there is also a need for more structured, reasoned prayers. Our prayers should not just be heaps of words, like a pile of ingredients thrown together randomly. Some of our prayers should be thoughtfully and carefully laid out before God.

God is a God who is pleased not only by simple prayers but also by complex ones. He listens to them and is especially delighted by them—looking at them as a pleasing sacrifice. What a marvelous truth! Think of the times when you have wanted so desperately for certain people to listen to you, or when you have been aggravated because someone does not care at all about something that is tremendously important to you. What joy is to be had if we could only have greater conscious awareness of God’s listening, interested ear.

Dear Lord, let me have ten times the desire for the enjoyment of having You listen to me than I do to have others listen and care; so that the most hopeful, joy-inducing event coming up in my near future is my next extended time alone with You.

This is hard because we cannot see God listening. And trusting that He is listening is more than just acknowledging that it is true. You can acknowledge that it is true without enjoying it. And if you are not enjoying it you are not really experiencing it, which means nothing is taking place that will increase your delight in God. If God listens to you and you have no enjoyment of it, you bring God no glory at all. He is honored when you desire Him by loving this aspect of what He is like.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s delight in complex prayers today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Learn to enjoy being listened to by a God who delights in complex prayers.

Your prayer should begin well before you say, “Dear Lord.” Let the musings, longings, impulses, and stirrings of your inner man be directed upward, that they might be the precursors and foundation of deep prayer, rather than distractions from prayer. If you are going to be moved; if you are going to feel something—whether it be joy, sorrow, zeal, confusion, satisfaction, frustration, or anything else—let it be feeling directed heavenward so that the feeling is itself a prayer.

One of the best ways to experience this attribute of God is to write out your prayers. The psalmists did not have word processors to backspace, delete, spell check, or move paragraphs around. For them writing was an expensive, inconvenient, slow, difficult process. But none of that stopped them from writing their prayers and songs. It is impossible to know how many drafts had to be crumpled and thrown away before they came up with the amazing acrostics and grand chiasms they produced, but they were clearly not written off the top of their head or scribbled out in the span of ten or twenty minutes.

Think: Do your prayers top out at the bumper sticker level? Why not try writing out a prayer/psalm to God? Put some effort into it over the course of several days and construct an offering for the Lord that is as beautiful as you can make it (beautiful both because of the structure and language as well as because of how it rises up from the deepest and most genuine cries and longings of your heart).

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55  The God Who Listens (part 5)

Meditation #138:  We Can Pray Expectantly

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

A

fter David’s final “product” was produced and sent off to heaven, still the prayer was not over. He did not say “amen” and then get up and go about his day. Like an archer who shoots and then watches to see where his arrow goes, David offered his prayer to God and then looked up. David offered prayers in the morning—the first priority of the day before anything else; and then he watched eagerly for a response… in the morning! He did not wait a year or a month for an answer; he did not even wait until noon. He looked for an immediate response.

If you send a letter to a friend overseas in the morning it would be silly to check your mailbox for a reply that same day. But the Lord so eagerly listens to the prayers of His saints and is so ready to respond that it is appropriate to look to heaven for an immediate response.

God responds in mighty ways to prayer. Upon hearing the cries of the saints God has broken literal iron chains, opened prison doors, destroyed entire armies, stopped the sun, raised the dead, and brought wretched, rebellious sinners to love Him. “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the mighty muscle of omnipotence.”[91]

What an unspeakable gift, dear Lord, that You have given us prayer. Teach me to treasure it more. Teach me to treasure being listened to by You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s eagerness to answer prayer today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Pray expectantly. And when there is not an immediate response, wait—like a little child looking out the window waiting for grandma and grandpa to arrive.

Prayer should be a two-way interaction. Do not be like a man who makes a speech to his wife and then walks away from her without even looking at her face to see her response. When you pray, speak and then look. Pray in a posture of eager, expectant watching and waiting for God’s response.

If we do not believe God will respond, why do we pray? And if we do believe, why do we not sit in earnest, eager expectation after we have prayed? If we speak words to God but then do not look to Him for a response, is that not close to taking His name in vain?

For many this will require significant changes in the kinds of things they ask for in prayer. Some of us rarely pray for anything that could be granted immediately (except in times of intense pain or sorrow over sin when they ask for relief or forgiveness). The psalmists frequently prayed for things that could be immediately granted, such as having their eyes opened to see the beauty of God’s glory, or strength or insight or joy or nearness to the presence of God or a sense of safety and security. All too often we fail to ask for such things, or we ask and do not even expect a specific answer, or we ask and get what we requested and it does not even occur to us that it was because of the prayer.

This is not to say it is wrong to pray for long term requests. That is also appropriate. But even then we can pray expectantly. If we have really prayed for the deep desires of our hearts, and we truly believe God responds to prayer, we should be like the child who goes out every morning, first thing, and checks to see if the seed he planted is poking up above the soil yet, or like one who checks his email every few minutes to see if a response has come.

Think: What do you think the Lord would have you ask of Him that He is likely to grant right now?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 58:8-9 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #55  The God Who Listens (part 6)

Meditation #139: God Rends the Heavens when I Cry for Help

Psalm 18:3-19 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. … 13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. 15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

A

ll this happened just because of the first two words in verse 3—“I call.” What imbalance between the cause and the effect! The tiny squeak of a broken man brings about the shaking, burning and rending of heaven and earth, and the swift, glorious and devastating movement of the Almighty! When you cry out to God, offering true prayer (the cry of faith to the ears of mercy), not even all the loud shouts and praises of ten million angels around His throne can drown out the sound of your voice in the ears of the Almighty. God is like a mother whose hearing is so sensitized to the cries of her baby that she can hear them above anything. They wake her from her sleep, and move her heart more powerfully than any other influence. In a fraction of a second they affect the color of her skin, her heart rate, her blood pressure—the entire orientation of her soul is instantly redirected from whatever was occupying her attention toward that child. Few influences are more powerful than that of the real cries of pain or terror to the ears of a mother. But the effect that has on her is zero compared to the effect your cries have on the heart of God. Mothers do not mount up on clouds and split the heavens in half and flatten the mountains.

As a parent I remember well the several times I heard that sickening sound of that shrill kind of scream from one of my children that signaled serious pain. That sound instantly squeezed the very core of my body with pain, flooded my mind with thoughts and set me running instantly as fast as I could.

Do your cries really come to God’s ears that way? Yes!

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

O Lord, what a fool I have been in those times when I imagine You will place fellowship with You out of my reach! What righteous Father would not allow Himself to be found by His children? You are the God who listens, considers, understands, cares, and responds. I believe that, Lord, but help my unbelief. When I pray, most of the time the earth seems decidedly unshaken and the heavens unrended—no smoke, no fire, and my enemies unrouted. But, Lord, I believe Your Word above the way things seem in my infinitely limited observation. Either You have already responded this way or You will. Help my unbelief.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s drastic and disproportionate response to your prayers today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience this kind of response from God by crying out to God for grace. When my kids were young and would cry some half-hearted, distracted cry designed just as a reaction against an irritation but without any real pain, I often did not respond at all. Every parent knows the difference between a real cry and a manipulation. And now that they are older I am deeply interested in anything one of them says to me that is of deep concern to them and comes from their innermost thoughts and desires. But I have no interest if they just rattle off some words to me that they think they have the duty to recite.

Lord, may I offer to You real cries and not whinings. Heartfelt pleas, not grumbling. Beseeching, not complaining. Let my prayers rise up from the deepest part of my soul that is moved by great things; not the surface nerve endings that bellyache about trifles. Let me never offer You jumbles of words that have no relation to the core of my soul. Let me offer to You not my words but myself each time I pray.

Think: How genuine are your cries at this moment?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 18:3-9 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. …9 He parted the heavens and came down

Write your own prayer

Attribute #56 Available to His People

Meditation #140: The Many Different Avenues of Fellowship with God

John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.

Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od is always available for fellowship with His children. And there are many different ways to enjoy fellowship with Him. Prayer, of course, is an important way. But it is not the only way. You can have communion with God …

- by being enlightened by Him, as you submissively learn at His feet

- by being listened to by Him, as you lift your hands to Him in prayer as a child in His lap

- by being thrilled by His glory, kneeling before His throne in praise

- by being sheltered and protected by Him, as you run into His refuge

- by being provided for by Him, as you take a seat at His bountiful table

- by being used by Him, as a tool in His hand or as a fountainhead through which His grace flows to others

- by being close to Him, as you walk by His side by having the same affections He has

- by being strengthened by Him as you feel His power through your trials when He takes you by the hand

- by being chastised by Him as you walk with Him to the woodshed

- by being healed and restored by Him as you lie on His operating table

- by being conformed to Christ’s image by Him as you are shaped on His potter’s wheel

- by suffering with our Lord Jesus, as you join Him at the cross.

So many ways to draw near, but oh, how often His presence is available to us and we ignore it or prefer some earthly amusement.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’ varied availability today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God visits us with His marvelous presence to tutor us and open our eyes to some wonderful truth; and so often we just think of it as a moment of clear thinking, oblivious to His immediate presence and special act of grace. Many times we come to Him in prayer and He listens and cares and attends to us, and we hardly notice His presence and fail to appreciate the blessing of being listened to. So often His glory is there to behold, but we fail to seek Him enough to be able to see it. He provides for us, and we assume it came from the work of our own hands or from people. We do His work without any appreciation of being a tool in His hand. We are strengthened by Him but fail to realize it is an alien strength. We suffer the sting of His rod but fail to feel His displeasure or fear His anger. We are restored and healed by Him, but it does not generate much gratitude. We are shaped by Him and conformed to His image, and we just interpret it all as the normal circumstances of life.

O Lord, how many opportunities to commune with You do I pass up every single day? Am I even communing with You right now? Dear Father, teach me to delight in these ways of having fellowship with You. Teach me to eagerly anticipate them. In the morning, before the time arrives for me to begin my work, teach me to look forward to having the experience of the power of Your Spirit course through me as I carry on with my day. When I think of all the material things You are giving me, and I see all the food in the house, let me delight in being provided for by You. When I resist some temptation, let me enjoy the sensation of being protected by You. When I see a needy person, let me joyfully anticipate the experience of having the wind of Your grace flow from me to that person. When I like or dislike as You like or dislike, let me enjoy the closeness of being near to Your heart. When it is clear that You have a hard test in store for me, let me delight in anticipation of the experience of being strengthened by Your direct hand, and being taken by the hand like a child. When I am in the woodshed, let me rejoice that the pain is all corrective and redeeming rather than condemnation. When I suffer, let me rejoice that I participate in the sufferings of Christ that I might be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.

Think: God is available to you right now for fellowship. Are you taking advantage of that?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #56  Available  (part 2)

Meditation #141: God’s Presence is Available Every Moment

Psalm 16:9-11 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see the pit. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you fill (satiate, satisfy) me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures in your right hand.[92]

G

ood morning, blessed Father,

Thank You for being with me here this morning and listening to my prayers and attending to me and caring about the cries and desires of my heart. Lord, may those desires honor You.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

It is only in the presence of God that we find joy. Joy does not come from His gifts, only from His presence. When His presence is experienced through His gifts, they can be the bearers of joy, but when His gifts are experienced apart from His presence they bring no joy at all.

What fullness of joy there is in His presence! For quality, there is pleasure. For quantity there is fullness. For duration, eternal. For availability, at His right hand. There is never any sorrow or trouble that could come into your life that is so great that it could be greater than the joy available in His presence.

Dear God, teach me to crave You instead of Your gifts. And teach me to desire Your gifts only as an expression of my desire for You.

The word “fill” means to satiate or satisfy—“fill” in the sense of being filled by a meal. You have never experienced pleasure from a sin that was more satisfying than His presence would have been at that moment, and you never will. The wonderful statements of today’s passage of Scripture leave no nook or cranny of lacking where you might point as an excuse for seeking some other pleasure besides the presence of God. You can never pursue a sin or earthly pleasure or any substitute for His presence and claim, “I had to do that to find satisfaction, because the joy of His presence was lacking in that area.” You can never claim that you needed to do it because while His joy has enough quality, it lacks in quantity or availability. His grace is superior in every conceivable way.

O Lord, help my heart to believe that throughout the day today.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s all-satisfying, available presence today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The only thing that will be good about heaven will be fellowship with God. Whatever we will be doing there—ruling cities, judging angels, rejoicing in all kinds of work in His great kingdom—all of it will be glorious and joyful and fulfilling and delightful only inasmuch as they will be acts of personal fellowship with Him. The Lord is the delight of heaven. He is the only delight of heaven. His presence is the only reason heaven is good at all. And that same God—that same all-satisfying, pleasure-giving Spring of living water, is in this very room right now attending to you! He is listening intently to the desires of His child right now. He will be with you all day long today. His glorious presence will be available to you every moment! Heaven is right here for the seeking, if you turn to Him and set Him ever before you and follow hard after Him with all your being and desire Him. You can have a piece of heaven now!

Think: Have you experienced His presence yet in this prayer time? If not, seek harder!

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 16:10-11 You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see the pit. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures in your right hand.

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Attribute #56  Available  (part 3)

Meditation #142: The God Who is Sympathetic to Our Sorrows

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before His face, for God is our refuge. Selah

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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e usually do not doubt that God is available for us to come to Him at all times. What we do often doubt, however, is that He will be enough at all times. In difficult times we are tempted with fear to think that consolation and refreshment are not accessible, as though His ocean of grace will not be adequate to fill our teaspoon of need. For the one who knows of God’s ever-present trustworthiness, despair is an impossibility. There are some times when His favorable presence cannot be easily found—times when He turns His face away, and withdraws His presence to a degree. But never is there a time when we cannot trust Him. Even when the lights go out for a season and in the darkness we cannot see that He is there, still we can trust Him. Oh, thank You, tender, loving, caretaking, reliable, faithful Father!

Because of His trustworthiness we are called to pour out our hearts before His face. The imagery of pouring out one’s heart is vivid. There are times when what is inside us becomes so overwhelming that it comes pouring out like a flood. We go to a friend with our crippling anxiety or our overflowing happiness and talk nonstop about what is on our heart. God wants us to talk to Him like that.

Sometimes we are reluctant to speak to God that way because it seems so redundant, since He already knows all our thoughts. But knowing about someone’s thoughts is not the same thing as having that person pour them out to you. It is in the act of pouring them out that we experience Him as a trustworthy refuge. God may be full of compassion toward you, but you will not experience that compassion until you have poured out your anxious heart to Him and enjoyed His listening, interested, compassionate ear.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s sympathetic, interested ear today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When there is a great anxiety in your heart, and you go to a friend with an effusive gushing of words, you may do it because you want sympathy, comfort, encouragement, or guidance. Sometimes we do it because the articulation of our confused thoughts can help us put them in some kind of meaningful order and begin to better understand what is happening. And sometimes we do it simply as a relief valve, because we can no longer contain what is boiling inside. Whatever it is we are seeking when we do that we must learn to seek from God.

Sympathy is a wonderful thing. It helps in times of pain when someone else knows what you are going through, and it feels good if they love you enough to be troubled by what troubles you. It takes effort, however, to learn how to appreciate sympathy from God. We must activate faith, and think deeply about the fact that God does understand, He is interested, He delights in being the one to whom we pour out our hearts, and His great heart is deeply moved by what troubles us.

Teach me to look to You for all that, dear Lord. Teach me to cast my cares before You, because You care for me. Teach me to crave sympathy and pity from You alone. Teach me to look to You for comfort, encouragement, strengthening, and guidance.

Learn to do this as an instant reflex whenever you feel anxiety. So often something goes wrong in our lives and right at the moment that happens it does not even occur to us to pour out our anxiety before the Lord. We might ask Him for help and guidance, but that is not the same thing as pouring out your heart. How much closer would we be to God if our natural reflex were always to pour out our hearts before Him—with an eye to receive and enjoy His sympathy?

Thank You, dear Lord, that at any time when I am being tossed at sea by a storm I can throw my anchor upward and it always holds. No one but Your children can do that. Worldlings cast their anchor downward in vain. Other religionists may throw their anchor upward only to have it drop right back down on their heads. But Your quick and mighty hand is always there, like the lightning-fast hand of Jesus grabbing Peter as he started to sink, catching my anchor even if I can only heave it an inch up into the air.

Think: What has been most on your heart lately? Have you poured that out before the face of God? Is there anything on your heart that you have not poured out to Him? Should there be more on your heart than there is?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you strengthen his heart; you listen attentively.[93]

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Attribute #56  Available  (part 4)

Meditation #143: The God Who Delights in Our Joys

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before His face, for God is our refuge. Selah

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he two occasions when we are most prone to pour out our hearts in an effusive gushing of words are times of great anxiety and times of great joy, because a joy shared is a double joy; and a sorrow shared is a half sorrow. The fact that God has built that law into the natural fabric of human life is an example of how the whole earth is full of His glory! There is a comforting effect of pouring out our anxieties to the Lord. But there is also a delightful increase in our happiness when we pour out our joys to Him.

If something has been especially enjoyable or interesting, we can hardly wait to tell a friend or loved one. It can actually be somewhat painful if we do not have a chance to tell them right away. This is because the sharing of the joy actually increases our experience of that joy. When someone we love is happy along with us, it increases our happiness.

When we experience some thrilling joy, there is a big difference between mumbling a quick “thank You” to God and pouring out your heart to Him in gratitude. One of the things that might prevent us from pouring out all that is in our hearts to God in times of joy is the fact that He already knows the good news. If we tell someone else, they enjoy hearing it because they are hearing something new. But we can never tell God anything that is new to Him. But God’s prior knowledge of the good news does not reduce His ability to rejoice with us. When one of my children runs to me with some exciting news about which they are thrilled, I am elated, not because of the news, but because of their happiness in the news. If I already heard the news from my wife earlier in the day that one of my kids won some contest, then I have the knowledge. But when he comes home smiling from ear to ear and jumping around and laughing—that fills my heart with joy that was not there when I first became aware of the news. My joy comes not from the knowledge of the news but from my child’s happiness.

When David’s men risked their lives to get him some of the water he so craved, rather than drink it he poured it out on the ground before them to honor what they had done. But when God gives us some wonderful happiness in life, we honor Him not by refusing it but by drinking deeply, and then pouring out our hearts before Him. And the pouring out of our joy to Him causes joy in His great heart and increases the joy in ours.

A second reason we might be reluctant is we tend to think of God’s emotions as steady and unchanging, and therefore unaffected by our “news.” Scripture is clear, however, that God is delighted by specific things and grieved by other things. He wants us to think of His emotions as responsive to good and bad things. We do not serve a God who is indifferent and unaffectable.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s interest in the joys of your heart today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When there is a great joy in your heart, do more than mumble “thank You” toward heaven. Share your joy with God! Rejoice with Him. Pour out all that is inside you—all that you feel and all your thoughts about why this joy is such a good thing. True prayer is the pouring out of a full heart to God, which means times when our hearts are empty are times when prayer is especially difficult. Take advantage of the times when your heart is full—whether it be full of sorrow or full of joy!

Think: What is there to rejoice over right now in your life? Increase the level of joy in your heart over those things right now by pouring out your heart to God. And take time to think about the joy it brings to the heart of God when you do so.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 35:27 The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #56  Available  (part 5)

Meditation #144:  Availability at Night and in the Morning

Psalm 139:17-18 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

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t is amazing, Father, that You would have any thoughts of me at all, much less thoughts more numerous than the grains of sand. Those thoughts are precious to me. I cannot even begin to know a fraction of them, yet I can know many of the thousands of them that You have revealed. What a privilege, dear Lord, that I can be involved with the workings inside Your infinite, perfect mind! That I could sit here and commune with You, speak to You and be listened to by You, hear from You through Your Word and Your Spirit. To receive into my feeble mind Your actual thoughts! What unholy ground such precious, holy feet suffer to traverse! How unworthy I am to have such priceless, undefiled, holy treasures enter into my innermost being and be joined together with my own thoughts—to actually become my own thoughts. I praise You, dear Lord, for lifting up my lowly thoughts into the heavenlies as they are conformed to Your marvelous thoughts.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What a hell the world has invented in their theories about an impersonal God—such a ridiculous contradiction in terms. What a cold, dead world it would be if everything were mere impersonal machinery. What a grim, hard, cold existence! Thoughts of such a “god” could no sooner bring rest or peace or joy to the soul than you could rest your head on a razor blade at night to fall asleep.

I rejoice in You, God—a Person I can know and speak to and hear from!

18 When I awake I am still with You.

When you awake you are still with Him in that He is there, available to be communed with—available to speak to and hear from and to be comforted and encouraged by. He is available to fill you with all His fullness and awe you with His greatness and holiness and to awaken your joy with enthralled delight in His attributes.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s availability for fellowship today?

Experiencing this attribute:

What blessedness and joy belongs to the person who falls asleep every night in the arms of God—like a baby that cannot go to sleep unless his mother rocks him to sleep in her arms; and then wakes up in the morning with her as his very first desire.

Lord, let me attain to that. Let me lie restless in bed each night until my soul finds rest in You and in Your great and precious promises. And then when I find comfort and rest, and I begin to drift off to sleep, let my last thoughts be enjoyment of recounting Your mercies and faithfulness and grace over the previous 24 hours. Work in me enough love for You that my mind would fixate on those things as I fall asleep, that I may dream often of the joy of Your presence, so wonderful thoughts of You would be the first things to greet my conscious mind in the morning.

There are so many dangers and threats and perils at night. Think of how rare it is to have dreams of sweet fellowship with God, but how often we have dreams of all kinds of evil. So many times we awake in the morning like Sampson waking up with the Philistines already upon him and having to instantly fight the moment he woke up—the first seconds of consciousness the enemy is upon us assaulting us with fiery arrows from every direction—thoughts of worry, lust, pride, anger, folly, trivia… Oh, the fierceness of the battle in those first waking moments of the day. What a comfort to know God is there guarding us!

Train my heart, dear Lord, to look to You and Your glory as the first impulse of my heart upon waking up—let it begin even before I am fully conscious. The man who deeply loves will enjoy thinking about the object of his love a hundred times a day. He falls asleep with a smile on his face as enjoyable thoughts of the one he loves are his last thoughts at night and his first thoughts in the morning. Teach me to love You like that, dear Lord. Why shouldn’t my love for my God be more intense, moving, and enjoyable than even the most powerful earthly infatuation or romantic love?

Think: What could you change in your life in order to take more delight in God’s availability for fellowship at night and in the morning when you wake up?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 139:18 When I awake, I am still with you.

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Attribute #56  Available  (part 6)

Meditation #145:  God is Close to those who Take Refuge in Him

Psalm 34:17-22 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he LORD delivers us from all our troubles, but not immediately, otherwise the righteous would never have an occasion to cry out for deliverance. Often our trials seem to drag on endlessly before God comes with deliverance. But when the time is right, His mighty right hand will take hold of you and lift you out of the pit.

Thank You, Lord, for not coming too soon, before Your great purposes began to take effect in my heart. You do deliver me from all my troubles, but never before they do their perfect work. Lord, I bless Your name that I do not have to worry myself about how much suffering is the right amount, how much is too much or too little. What a horrible existence, Lord, if that were left up to me!

When His deliverance finally comes it is sweet—so sweet it makes the suffering more than worth it—more than a thousand times worth the pain. He hears our cries and His hearing is also delivering. His hands are never tied. He is never too weak to save or ignorant of how to save. He never lacks the compassion that compels Him to save.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Even while He waits for the right time to deliver, He remains close by, offering strengthening grace. Sometimes when we are brokenhearted God does not seem close at all. He saves those who are crushed in spirit, but sometimes not until they are truly crushed. There may be a season of desperation and sorrow before comfort and joy return. But He has not abandoned us. He is still close by, waiting for the right time.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

The figure of broken bones points to the deepest kind of injury. The trials and sorrows and pains of life, as acute as they may be, can never penetrate below the surface to do fatal spiritual harm to one of God’s children. He allows enormous pain sometimes, but He always provides enough grace such that the pain need not destroy us.

You are so merciful and forgiving, Lord. So tender with me. So gentle with Your broken servant. So faithful to save, even when my peril is the fruit of my own rebellion against You.

21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

Oh, the blessedness of refuge in You, dear Lord. This is indeed one of those very great and very precious promises with which You give Your servant life and knowledge of You, participation in Your nature and escape from the corruption of the world! You redeemed me at my conversion and You redeem me over and over again when I keep straying away. In my stupidity I run back into the arms of my old oppressor, and re-enslave myself to sins of the flesh. My own efforts to free myself have been utterly worthless. Only Your grace can break the chains.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your refuge today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When we are undergoing the many troubles that verse 19 promises, our natural response is to think God has abandoned us. He may indeed have withdrawn His favorable presence from us in a partial, temporary way, but even when that is the case He has not withdrawn completely. There are still experiences of His presence that are immediately available if we seek hard after Him. In fact, it is doubtful that there is ever a time when we are experiencing all of the joy of His presence that is available to us. And this is wonderful news, because it means at any moment, it is always possible to have greater joy than we have.

So how do we experience more of His presence in times of sorrow? One way is to be crushed over our sin. He comes to comfort the crushed. So when we have meager, partial, half-hearted repentance that does not really crush us, we postpone His coming to us in comfort.

Think: Is there any sin in your life for which your repentance is inadequate? Are you provoking God to send chastisement and painful consequences to finish the job of crushing you over your sin so He can finally come and comfort you?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #57 God Who Speaks

Meditation #146:  He Confides in Us

Psalm 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

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et me see Your glory this morning, Father. Show me the wonder of this particular grace, and dear Lord—please, do what I cannot do: lodge it in my heart and make the connections with other understandings of You that the memory of this attribute would not dissipate after a few days but would linger in my heart and become a part of my conception of You throughout the rest of my life. I do not know how to bring that about. I just know it sometimes happens but often does not. Please, Lord, let it happen this time. I pray that my time with You this morning—and every morning—would not be like eating breakfast, but like waking up. Eating breakfast is an event that takes place for a few minutes and then it is over—albeit with a lingering effect. I do not want my morning devotions to be like that—a shot in the arm in the morning. I want it to be more analogous to waking up—entrance into a condition or state that continues all day (the condition of having fellowship with You).

When I begin my day my mind starts racing with all kinds of thoughts about the coming day, about yesterday, and all kinds of other things, and so often my fellowship with You and my awareness of Your presence is so meager at that point that it is almost as though I were dead to You. Let my morning devotions be that which wakes me up to Your presence—putting me in a condition (wakefulness) in which I remain throughout the day. Let this time with You not be something I start now and complete in an hour, but rather something that takes an hour to start but that lasts until tomorrow morning when I come before You again.

That will be hard today because of _______________________. Lord, give me Your grace.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

One scholar defines the Hebrew word for “confides” this way: “God opens his mouth to speak to them without any reserve.”[94] If you fear Him, He will open His mouth to speak to you without reserve, as one of His inner circle. That is not a reference to the mere print on the pages of the Bible. Unbelievers can read the Bible. This is a promise of special, unique communications to you specifically and individually.

This is not a superstitious mysticism that misuses or bypasses God’s holy Word. Rather it is insight into the correct, intended meaning of His Word, and providential guiding of your thoughts to see applications that fit just what God wants you to understand for your circumstances. God actually teaches you His Word! He shows you specific applications just for you! He talks to you!

O Lord, open my ears to hear. Let me be a listener to You. Let me miss nothing that You are saying. Do not let my own loud, obnoxious thoughts drown out Your voice in Your Word.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s voice today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The LORD is a God who gathers an inner circle, includes people like us in it, and confides in us holy thoughts that He does not give to others. Experience this attribute by being eager and expectant about receiving those thoughts. When you understand something from Scripture be alert to the fact that those thoughts are coming directly from God, who is present with you at that moment! Do not just enjoy the thought as a mere interesting or helpful insight for living your Christian life. Enjoy the experience of being taught and confided in by God. Every time an insight comes remember that it is not merely a chance occurrence of your brain figuring something out; it is a direct experience of God! It is a direct encounter with His presence in which He has spoken to you and imparted a wonderful grace to you. Let those times become intensely personal acts of fellowship, not just lessons learned.

Think: Has the Almighty King of the universe—the Creator of the heavens and earth who is the Ground of all being confided in you this morning?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58 Refuge

Meditation #147:  God’s Refuge is a Delight to Those in Trouble

Psalm 34:8 Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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aking refuge in God is at the same time hard and easy. When this world seems to offer securities and refuges that we can see, it is hard to trust in one we cannot see. And yet the world’s refuges offer no real refuge. They require that we supply all the actual safety and power. And we have none to supply (if we did, we would not need a refuge!).

On the other hand, taking refuge in God requires only that we trust Him. We do not have to go anywhere or supply anything. We run to Him but we add nothing to the strength of the refuge. The world’s glass fortresses leave us awake and anxious day and night looking around at possible dangers. But the man who takes refuge in the Lord can sleep and rest in blessed peace. The only danger we have to be concerned with is the danger that we will be enticed by the world or the Devil or our flesh to come out of the refuge.

Remind me, Lord, how blessed I am when I am in the refuge. Remind me of how safe I am. The things that have hurt me so much, that have destroyed that which was most precious to me—they cannot ultimately harm me. I am safe if I take refuge in You. The moment I step out of Your refuge, though, I am in fatal danger. I am naked, crippled, and blind in the heat of the battle. By stepping away from the blessedness of Your shelter I open myself to dangers that can inflict massive damage on me that will last years—even for the rest of my life. What foolishness, Lord, for me to ever step out of Your refuge!

Psalm 34:1 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

What a terrifying experience that must have been for David to be completely at the mercy of such a merciless enemy with no way out except for this risky plan that was so unlikely to work and could have gone wrong so many ways. He must have feared that his humiliation, torture and doom at the hands of his enemy were almost a certainty. God had delivered him from the Philistines many times, but this time it must have seemed that it was not going to happen.

Anticipation of suffering is very often worse than the suffering itself. But the Lord delivers us not only from our troubles but also from our fears.

Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

If you have never had a night this dark it is impossible to fully appreciate how joyful this kind of praise really is. Being in utter hopelessness and then being rescued by God generates feelings of closeness to His presence and warmth in being enveloped in His tender love that are hard to put into words.

Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your refuge today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The best time to experience this attribute is, of course, when you are afraid. However, it is also possible to experience it other times. Even when you are not afraid of anything and there seem to be no significant threats, that is only the case because of the protective hand of the Lord. If you do not feel threatened right now, it is because you are experiencing the safety of God as refuge, which means you are in His presence!

Teach my soul more about what it means to take refuge in You. Forgive Your servant for worrying and fretting and complaining and acting as though I had no Protector. Show me, dear Lord, how to lock the giant iron gates behind me as I enter Your fortress so that I do not leave.

Think: Throughout the day today ask yourself, “At this moment am I running into or stepping out of His refuge?”

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 34:8 Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 2)

Meditation #148:  Shelter, Safety and Rock.

Psalm 27:5-6 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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welling in God’s presence (being in close fellowship with Him, enjoying His beauty, and seeking after Him) is the only place of safety in the day of trouble.

But what is safety? The complete removal of the difficulty? Is this a promise that we will have trouble-free lives? Obviously not. The promise is not that there will be no trouble, but that the trouble will not harm us.

The question, then, is, “What constitutes harm?” Pain is not in itself harm, so what is?

The only harm that trouble can inflict is getting you to exchange God’s glory for some other prize in your heart, and to prefer some pleasure or achievement or earthly thing more than His glory. That is the grave danger from which you are utterly safe when you are in His presence enthralled by His glory.

But when we become dull to the wonder of God’s glory, and we see it without seeing it—think true things about God without actually experiencing and enjoying Him—then we are utterly vulnerable and defenseless and fall like a house of cards before Satan’s slightest enticements.

If you will only seek and enjoy God alone, He will hide you away in the back of the Holy of holies itself, where not even the boldest enemy would dare come after you. He will receive you into His own house and show you the hospitality of Lot—sacrificing His own Child to keep you safe.

Lord, let me dwell in Your presence! Let me seek You and enjoy Your beauty and splendor. Open my eyes and soften my heart that I might see You today!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your shelter today?

Experiencing this attribute:

David was sure he would be offering sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and making joyful music to the Lord. But very often for us that kind of joy seems so far off.

Dear Father, I do not know how far off that is right now, but please, at least set Your servant’s foot on the path toward that kind of joy in You. Show me how to find it, for Your name’s sake.

Lord, today let me see and rejoice in the fact that Your presence is utter safety for Your children. That same presence that would instantly consume anyone else, the most dangerous place there is in the universe, for Your children is refuge and safety and comfort and glory. The very thing that makes Your presence so safe is the fierce danger of it. It is safe for me because it is so dangerous for them. You hate evil so much that You will not let it near You, which means You will not let it near me when I am near You.

Lord, purge from my life all the sin that keeps me from that glorious presence and that puts distance between me and You. Do not let me be found defenseless and vulnerable when that day of trouble arrives. And keep me from doing that which makes Your presence dangerous for me! Oh, woe to me if my only refuge becomes a place of danger. Keep me from sin, dear Lord.

Think: What is it that is keeping you from rejoicing with literal shouts of joy at this time? If you were enjoying God’s presence like the psalmist was, then there would be that much joy in your heart. What could you do today to move closer to that?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 27:5-6 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 3)

Meditation #149:  Rock, Salvation and Fortress

Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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avid’s many years of combat no doubt found him often trying to defend himself from a position of weakness and disadvantage, struggling to survive against an enemy coming from a higher, stronger position. He knew what it was like to try to retreat while bogged down in the mud, to have arrows rain down from above, or to be blocked by obstacles. But he also knew what it was like to be on the other end of all that—up high on a rock where he could see all around him, where his footing was solid and secure, where his enemies knew better than to attack from their inferior position. When that happened, as David stood upon the rock he allowed that wonderful position to teach his soul what the presence of God is like. All the advantages of being up on the rock exist for the purpose of reflecting truth about God.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your rock today?

Experiencing this attribute:

It is hard to appreciate God as a rock and fortress if you have never been in a position in which your enemies had the upper hand, so that no matter how hard you tried to escape or defend yourself it never worked. In times like that there is no escape. Everything you try fails. You become target practice for those firing down at you, and you cannot lift yourself out. After a time like that, when God finally lifts you out, it can be one of the most delightful kinds of fellowship with God (if you recognize that it is God who is lifting you).

Father, when I have troubles, my anxious, self-reliant heart starts scrambling to fix the problem on its own, looking to itself as its own rock. Lord, teach me to look only to You as my deliverer, no matter what the size of the trial. Whenever people support me in a conflict, teach me to interpret that as Your lifting me up, rather than chalking it up to my own trustworthiness. Thank You dear Father, for the favor that You have granted me in the eyes of so many!

You are my only rock. When my mind is stuck in distraction like a car in mud, only You can lift me up to focus fully on You. When my heart is in a pit of ignorance and dullness to You, so that the handholds and footholds to climb out are utterly out of my reach—and I look into Your Word and understand nothing; only You can lift me out of that. When my affections are deflated and depressed, so that the platform of hope from which I can view the vistas of Your promises is out of my reach, only You can lift me up. When circumstances, enemies, or Satan has me pinned down with no escape, only You can set my feet upon the rock.

You are my Rock. Teach me never to seek any other. Let me not stand on anything else for my confidence or deliverance from trouble. Let me prefer death rather than run to any fortress besides You. Let me not look to men. O Lord, so often I want to talk to everyone but You about my troubles, and look to men to deliver or comfort me. I want their sympathy more than I want Yours. So I just spread my misery more widely. I know You delight in sending help through the brothers, but teach me to always seek help only from You, so even when You send it through people I see it as coming from You.

Whenever I have the sensation of needing to be lifted up, let that remind me that You are my rock. And my only hope is to stand upon You and find within You my safe haven.

Whenever I feel safe and secure and on top of the world, let that remind me that it is only because of Your rock-likeness that I am that way, and let that make my heart love Your rock-likeness more.

If you stand upon the Lord as your rock, and hide within Him as your safe refuge, you will never be shaken. Nothing can upend you. Even though you are weak and helpless in yourself—a little lamb surrounded by wolves, not a hair on your head can be touched while you are in the safety of His presence. It would take more than all the demons in hell and on earth to shake the heart who knows the Rock as his God.

Thank You, dear Lord, for giving me safety and rest and security. Help me to take the dangers more seriously, that I might enjoy Your protection more fully.

Think: Are you on high ground right now or down in the pit? If you are secure, spend a few moments interpreting your circumstances for what they are—an experience of the rock-likeness of God. If you are in the pit use those circumstances to increase your hunger and thirst for an experience of the rock-likeness of God.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 4)

Meditation #150: The ONLY Savior from the Enemy’s Traps

Psalm 25:15 My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Psalm 33:18-19 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Blessed is the man stuck in a snare who looks to a Savior in heaven. His eyes are in the very heavenlies, while his feet are stuck on earth. His heart seeks and finds the Lord in real communion, while his flesh and bone are embroiled in some earthly trouble. He looks to God alone.

Holy Father, only You can deliver from calamity. Remind me when I am enticed by the world that sinning against You invites a disaster that no one can save me from except the very Husband against which I am committing adultery.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your only rescue today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Father, open my eyes to the many snares all around me. You alone can rescue me from the traps of the enemy. When I think of You, I want that to be part of what comes to my mind—that You are the only rescuer from the snares of the enemy, which means I must become more cognizant of the snares. The enemy has camouflaged them and I am, no doubt, oblivious to the great majority of them. Father, open my eyes. Let me see the horrors from which You are protecting me, and incline my heart to rejoice in that protection!

I now take this day You have made and have placed into my hands, and lay it on Your altar. It is a day when I will have to make decisions all day long. Lord, my resolve is that I will make those decisions all for Your glory and Your honor. I will take delight in living this day for You, because it is Yours and I am Yours. I will encounter many obstacles, temptations, trials, joys, pleasures, distractions, tasks, opportunities, gifts of Your grace, forks in the road—Lord, let my interaction with each of those be an act of sweet communion with You and holy worship. If each moment is a step in my walk, I will take thousands of steps between now and when I sit here with You tomorrow morning. Dear Father, let each of those steps be in stride with Your Spirit—close by Your side. Let my soul cling to You. And when I drop behind, make me follow hard after You to get back in step. Keep me close to You, dear Father. This is a scary, dangerous world, and only You can protect me. The enemy’s goal is for me to arrive at the end of this day a little farther from You. And if I drift from You, even if it is only a few inches per day, eventually it will add up and I will be far from You. O Lord, his methods are so subtle and imperceptible. If he succeeds in his goal today I will probably not even be aware of it. Please, dear Father, protect me! Hold me close by Your side.

I resolve to keep my eyes continually upon You. I look to You with my whole being—all my affections turn themselves toward You, dear Lord, precious Savior, who died for me. I will not look to the creation to rescue me. The enemy’s traps are all around me, and false saviors are many. No sooner do I step into the trap of boredom than ten false saviors arrive with effusive offers and promises to release me. The false saviors of daydreaming, TV, the Internet, worthless conversation—they shout their oaths that if I look to them instead of You I will be more satisfied. Lord, please, save me from those worthless rescuers. Do not let me fall for their lies.

The worst of all the snares is the trap of distraction. I go such long periods without any thought of You at all, simply because my mind is so occupied with what I am doing. O Lord, please teach me how to commune with You even while concentrating on other things. Surely it is possible for my eyes to be ever upon You. Teach me to look to You. Teach me to look to You in faith as my only Savior from every trouble. Draw out from my heart the expectant look of hope, and the obedient look of service, and the adoring look of affection, and the exuberant look of joy. Blessed is the man whose gaze is never turned from the divine glory! Attract my attention to You, dear Lord, or my dull heart will not be inclined even to gaze upon the beauty that You have revealed.

Think: How long is the interval likely to be between now and the next time you take a moment to enjoy the experience of fixing your eyes upon the glory of this attribute of God? Why not set an alarm or some other reminder half way through that interval, to make the intervals shorter today?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:15 My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 5)

Meditation #151: Guard, Rescuer and Refuge

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ood morning,g Father. Please, move by Your Spirit in my heart to still and quiet my soul before You. I desire not to dishonor You by dragging the hubbub of my day into our morning fellowship. I want to honor You by being distracted from all that by Your glory, rather than being distracted from Your glory by all that.

Psalm 25:19-22 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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ow fiercely Satan hates you! The psalmists did not know all that we know about the spiritual realm. Their attention was mainly on flesh and blood foes. But we know our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan and his minions. Satan often uses people in his attacks against us, but those people are mere tools in the hand of our true opponent. The psalmist was distressed because his enemies had increased in strength. We face an enemy stronger than all David’s foes combined, and with ten times the hatred.

Apart from the protecting hand of God our situation would be hopeless. Our enemy would be far too strong for us, and we would have no chance. However, we tend to become so accustomed to being protected that we take it for granted and imagine there is no real danger. It is impossible to appreciate being protected without realizing the severity of the peril that surrounds us.

If it were not for God’s protecting hand you would be quickly and utterly put to shame and destroyed over the course of the next hour. Even in the next several minutes, if God lifted His hand of protection from you, complete disaster would strike and you would be able to do nothing about it.

And that means you are experiencing the guarding hand of God right now. God is right here, now, in this very room with you, actively protecting you from deadly assaults.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as the rescuer of those who hope in Him today?

Experiencing this attribute:

David asked God to look upon his enemies to see how numerous and fierce they were. But many times we need to do just the reverse—ask God to make us look upon our enemies, because we are oblivious to the spiritual dangers that surround us, and we fail to run to Him and pray earnestly for refuge.

Dear Lord, make me alert to the seriousness of the damage that could be done today if my enemy succeeds in his plans to entrap me today. Awaken me to the danger, dear Lord, that I might glorify You by taking refuge in the shadow of Your wings. Guard me, dear Lord. Protect me. Help me dress myself in Your armor. Draw out from my heart joyful hope in You, that I might be the recipient today of the grace of this attribute.

I have placed my hope in You, dear Lord. So protect me. Do not let me fall, lest Your name be compromised through the failure of one who hoped in You. Magnify Your name in me by protecting me from harm. Keep me from any kind of dishonesty, error, or foolishness. Remind me as I work that I am being sheltered from deadly satanic volleys the entire time. There is so much busy work that awaits me today—I fear my mind and heart will be far from You most of the time, if not all of it. Please protect me from that, Lord. Keep me from drifting. I need Your grace to do simple chores just as much as any other time. Keep my heart close to You today. May integrity and uprightness guard me today.

Think: Take some time to consider how many deadly traps and vicious attacks by the enemy could destroy you between now and when you go to bed tonight. Remind yourself of how much protection you need, and prepare your soul to enjoy that protection throughout the day.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 121:7-8 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 6)

Meditation #152:  The Only Refuge from His Own Wrath

Psalm 5:9-12 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit. 10 Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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od divides all of humanity into two categories. But the categories are not those who sin and those who do not. If those were the categories God would be just, but there would be no hope for us. We would be justly condemned to hell—right now. Those who are agonizing in hell and screaming in torment right now are suffering that way because of the fact that they committed the exact same sins that we have committed and are committing right now. If God judged by justice alone, all would be lost.

But He is the God who divides not according to innocent or guilty, but according to rebels and refuge-takers. The two categories God divides mankind into are: 1) evil, rebellious liars, and 2) those who take refuge in God and love His name. All God requires for our entire 10,000-talent debt to be cancelled and for the precious blood of His own Son to be applied to us is that we take refuge in Him. He is the only refuge that can protect us from His wrath.

Father, may I run to You for refuge from all danger and calamity—especially the danger and threat of Your own punishment (which is the only real threat anyway).

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your refuge today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Who can stand before God when He is angry? Even in Christ we face the possibility of angering Him and being chastised in His anger.

Lord, teach me to fear that. And let that fear drive me to flee from Your displeasure.

If it were a man's displeasure we were fleeing we would run away from his presence. A child escaping an angry, abusive father might run out of the house. But we cannot escape the Lord’s anger by fleeing from Him. There is no place where He is not. If we run away from Him we are running right into the woodshed where He awaits us. There is only one place you can flee to escape His chastising anger—and that is into His favorable presence. You cannot flee from His wrath by running from His presence. You can only flee from His wrath by running into His presence. The only safe haven in the universe from God’s anger is God’s love. So our fear of Him drives us to Him. We escape anger only through intimacy with Him—no other way.

O Lord, what a blessed truth this is! First, that the chastising anger of an infinite God can be escaped at all; and then the fact that it is escaped by running into Your loving, sheltering, fatherly arms! You are the God who spreads protection over those who take refuge in You. The shield that surrounds and protects me—the only hope of my protection—is Your favor and blessing.

And You do that so that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. Teach me to love Your name, that I might rejoice in You. Let me not rejoice in anything or anyone else. Protect me from taking my own way and trying to rejoice in that. Show me the folly of that, Lord.

Think: When you fall into sin, how do you usually respond? Do you tend to flee from God’s presence as though there were some other refuge besides God, or avoid seeking Him until His displeasure blows over? Or do you fall into the opposite error of not even realizing that there is divine displeasure from which you need refuge?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 7)

Meditation #153: The God Whose Favor is Our Protection

Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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eavenly Father, what an evil it is for me to take refuge in You and not be glad or sing for joy over it. If the experience of You as my refuge does not move my heart to gladness and rejoicing, my heart is declaring Your refuge to be insufficient to bring joy to the heart. Lord, do not let Your name be so dishonored! Especially not in my heart! Glorify Yourself by bringing Your servant to the point of being enthralled with Your protective shelter.

Teach Your servant to understand that and to love it. Open my eyes, Lord. Like Hagar, who was right there by water, but it was useless to her until You opened her eyes to see it—or Abraham, who could make no use of the ram until You opened his eyes to see it—open my eyes that I might see and make full use of Your favor-shield. Open my eyes, that I might see this wonderful thing from Your law. I know it to be marvelous, yet I do not marvel at it. I know it to be wonderful, yet I fail to wonder. I know it to be staggering, yet I am not staggered at all. Awaken my heart, dear Lord, and show me Your glory.

When we run to God for refuge, the material He uses to build the fortress is His own favor. If you reach out and touch the walls of your secure haven, you touch nothing but His pure, unmixed grace. What a blessed condition to be protected at all—but so much more to be protected by His favor!

Since God’s protective care is something the psalmists sought to experience more of, clearly it is possible to experience less of it some times than you do other times—which means there is a real possibility of losing the fullness of God’s shielding favor and spreading protection. It is important to take seriously the real calamity that the Lord could very well allow to overtake us if we prefer evil to Him.

Lord, let me love Your protecting grace so deeply that the thought of it being removed—even partially—would strike serious fear in my heart and make me tremble.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience favor-protection today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you pray for protection from some threat or problem, realize what you are praying for—divine favor the smile of God on your life. Even the most wicked of men desire relief from their problems. What sets the believer apart is the fact that the favor of God, whatever form it takes, is his greatest desire and is all that is required to satisfy his heart. We greatly dishonor God when we pray for deliverance or protection and give no thought to His favor.

And when you receive protection (which is any moment that you are not in disastrous peril), do not assume it is because there is no threat, or that there is no enemy trying to destroy you. Every moment that you are safe is a moment you are experiencing protective favor of God.

Think: Take a moment to consider some of the horrific things that would be happening to you right now if God withdrew His protective hand.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 5:12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #58  Refuge (part 8)

Meditation #154:  Our Constant Protector

Psalm 121:3-8 May he not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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his psalm speaks of constant, continual protection. How does that fit with the fact that we suffer trials and severe hardship—and death? Verse 7 sounds almost like it promises there will be no trouble at all, but clearly there is or he would not be looking for help in verse 1.

Evidently this protection is like the protection Jesus promised in Luke 21:16-18, where He said we would be betrayed by family and friends, hated, persecuted and even put to death, but not a hair of our heads will perish. As a Christian you will go through all the perils of life just like everyone else—maybe even more so, but in walking through them you will find the Lord walking with you sheltering you from any real harm. You might experience painful trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword; you will face death, demons, and every other hostile power in creation; but none of it will be able to separate you from the love of Christ.

God delivered David in various ways - sometimes quietly through providence, sometimes indirectly through people, and sometimes dramatically through direct, supernatural power. God’s tools for protecting and saving us are just as wide and varied as are our trials. For every new struggle we face God has ten new creative ways of saving us. And most of those ways are not obvious. When He works through people it seems to us like it is those people who are the authors, rather than the mere tools of our deliverance. When He uses quiet providence it seems like luck or chance are the authors of our deliverance—or that there was no deliverance because there was no actual threat.

Father, You move heaven and earth in Your mighty providence to fulfill Your great and precious promises to Your servant. Forgive me when I have attributed that to luck and not to You. Forgive me for acting as though You do not even exist when You do Your most marvelous (but quiet) providential acts. Teach me to love Your deliverance. You have been so gracious in protecting me from the hundreds of invisible perils that threaten me each day, but instead of appreciating Your protection I have tended to just assume there is no real danger out there. Open my eyes to see what it is You are protecting me from. Thank You, dear God, for those times when You do let me see—times of fear and terror. They are painful to endure, but if it were not for them I would never have any idea what Your protection and deliverance are like. Teach me not to ever waste any of my fears. Let me use them all to train my heart to delight in Your protection and deliverance.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s watchcare today?

Experiencing this attribute:

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or this promise to bring joy to your heart it is necessary to be aware of the dangers from which you are being protected. When we think of dangers, we think mostly of painful things that might happen. But those are not the real threats. They are only the context of the real threats. The real threats are those forces that would push you into sin, draw you away from God’s presence, turn your heart cold against the Lord, pull your heart toward unbelief, make you inclined to ignore God instead of loving Him, to be bored with His Word instead of finding it sweet to your taste, to experience His laws as burdensome instead of delightful, to prefer some false treasure to the true treasure, or to become blind to the truth about God—unable to perceive His glory. That is the real danger, and from all that you have access to protection and shelter.

Open my eyes, Lord, to those, the real dangers. Let me think nothing of the trials that are not real dangers. They are only tools in Your hand that You use as protective armor for me. They can only benefit me.

What comfort this should bring to our hearts! Think about it often. You can sleep only because He never sleeps. If He rested or was distracted for even one second, one of the eternally deadly missiles of the enemy would certainly destroy you utterly.

Think: Whenever you feel fear let that remind you to ask, “Is this something that can do any real harm?” If it is, you are protected if you run to God as your refuge. If it is not, then what’s to fear?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 121:7-8 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Write your own prayer

Part 4 GRACE

Attribute #59 Worthy of Hope

Meditation #155:

Psalm 42:5-6 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise my God for the salvation of His presence. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.[95]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he psalmist’s enemies are way out of line and should be rebuked. But in verse 5 he does not speak about them. They are not the problem. His soul, which buys into the enemies’ taunts, is the problem. Yes, the enemies should be rebuked—but much more urgent and more important is the rebuke of his own soul. It is irrational to be downcast when you belong to a God whose very presence is salvation. He is so good that His nearness alone automatically brings deliverance. How worthy He is of our hope!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s worthiness of hope today?

Experiencing this attribute:

This psalm teaches us how to deal with a divided heart. So often we are like this psalmist—simultaneously a man of convictions and a creature of change. Our resolve remains steadfast in its course while our soul—that part of us driven by appetites—wavers and falters. Steadfastness of resolve is important, but alone it is not enough. The wavering and faltering of your affections and appetites must be reined in and set on the right course as well.

Teach me more, Father, about how to live in this life as a divided man; how to fight against my renegade soul when necessary; how to speak to my soul instead of listening to it; how to preach to myself.

He requires his soul to give an account for the way it is feeling—a wise practice. When your soul is pulled the wrong way by some appetite or emotion, demand an accounting from it—forcing it to put into words the justification for the way it is feeling, so that when you hear your own attempt at justification, the inadequacy of the circumstances to warrant such a response will be obvious.

And at that point, exhort your soul. Once its folly has been exposed, preach to yourself and exhort your own soul to do what it should do. And what should you preach? Preach about the great God, whose presence (face) is salvation, and who is therefore worthy of hope. Why should you be in distress? If you have the Lord what more do you need? If your soul is not satisfied with Him, what could possibly satisfy it? And if the problem is that God has turned His face away from you for a time, you have hope! God has promised not to do that forever, and that if you seek after His face He will turn to you and shine His face upon You! That kind of fellowship with God is never out of your reach! He has called upon you to seek after Him, and He has promised that such seeking will not be in vain (Isa.45:19). What a blessed condition! All that you need—all that you could possibly need—always available!

Think: What irrational anxieties are present in your heart right now? Take some time to preach to your soul.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #60 The God Who Uses Catastrophe to Draw Us to Himself

Meditation #156:

Psalm 42:1-2,6-8 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he psalmist uses the image of water both for God’s grace and God’s chastisement. He longs for cool, refreshing, satisfying, living water from God’s spring but instead gets waves, breakers, waterfalls and the ominous deep. He is in the most helpless state imaginable. Nothing can rescue a boat that is overcome by huge waves and breakers. Nothing can stop a massive waterfall. Nothing was more fearful than the deep—the embodiment of chaos and uncontrollable evil. And for him deep called out to deep—redoubling its forces to overwhelm him.

Yet he continues to remember God. So often it takes the desperate pain of overwhelming breakers on our lives before we really begin to learn what it means to remember the Lord. Wholehearted seeking would result in nearness to Him, but when things are going along smoothly we rarely have the motivation to seek with all our hearts like we do when we suffer.

In verse 6 the psalmist switches from talking to his soul to talking directly to God about his soul. It is not enough to merely preach to your soul about God; you must also speak to God. The former is useless unless it is preparation for the latter. To tell my soul to shape up will do nothing. Preaching to your soul is useful only if it is followed by a direct attending to God.

Dear Lord, I am so prone to think about You and Your truth while ignoring You. Many times I have imagined I was communing with You when all I was doing was reviewing information. Teach my dull soul not to stop until I have met with You. Make my soul thirst like the psalmist’s

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s waves and breakers today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Take careful note of the word “therefore” in verse 6. The solution to a downcast soul is always remembering the Lord and seeking hard after Him day and night (verse 8).

The psalmist remembers God in every place and in every circumstance—through the highs and lows.[96] He is preoccupied with God. Preoccupation is an amazing thing. When you are preoccupied with something it takes zero effort to think about it. In fact it takes all the effort you have not to think about it.

O dear Father, how can I become preoccupied with Your glory? Oh please, show me how! The attitude of my soul toward Your glory is almost the opposite of preoccupation. It takes hard work to think deeply about it or to even remember to think about it at all during the day. Use the delights of Your cool, refreshing spring of living water or the horrors of Your awesome waves and breakers—whatever it takes to teach Your servant how to become preoccupied with his God.

Think: Can you think of anything you could possibly do that would bring you a step closer to preoccupation with God?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 42:8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #61 The God of Gracious Memory

Meditation #157: We Can Request Gracious Memory

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ood morning, Lord. Thank You for being here with me this morning. Thank you for this time apart from people when I can focus on You alone. No other people are in the room with me right now, but I am not left alone. I am never left alone. I could not have more company than I have right now, except by having a greater fellowship with You and a more profound experience of Your presence. For that I do ask, Lord. Come and be with me today—especially now. Show me Your glory and help me understand Your gracious remembering.

Psalm 25:6-7 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

What does it mean for an omniscient being to remember something? God is always aware of everything, but He wants us to think of Him acting on the basis of certain factors rather than other factors. If He is remembering His love that means He is acting toward you mainly on the basis of His kindness rather than His anger. But if He is remembering you according to your sin that means He is acting toward you mainly on the basis of His anger rather than His kindness.

God would not be wrong to remember us according to our sin, nor is it wrong for Him to remember us according to His kindness. Sometimes He does one and other times He does the other, which is why the psalmists request that God remember Him according to His love and not the other way. It is the great privilege of the child of God to be able to make such a request!

So, Lord, I ask again today, please act toward me on the basis of Your favor, not on the basis of my sin. I can ask this, because You are good and because the Lord Jesus purchased this great privilege for me. I praise You this day, dear Lord, for Your wonderful goodness.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s gracious memory today?

Experiencing this attribute:

One way to experience and enjoy the attribute of God’s gracious memory is to be the tool through which it is expressed to others.

Lord, let me learn how to reflect and exemplify this attribute in my life. Let me be a man (woman) of gracious memory. When I remember those who have hurt me let the first thoughts into my mind be gracious, favorable ones that honestly, genuinely, joyfully, and gladly (not grudgingly out of mere duty, but eagerly out of desire) remember them favorably. Let me automatically focus on their good points by default, and only be dragged kicking and screaming to think about their sins when it is absolutely necessary.

Lord, bring many people to my mind today and remind me of this each time, that I might practice and not forget this. I know it is more than just a discipline that comes through resolve alone. It will take a change in my heart. I will need greater love than I have now, and greater humility, selflessness, and grace. Those are expensive, unattainable commodities, Lord, that only the King possesses. I can only beg You for them as an unworthy subject. But also as a child who is in Your worthy Son. Please, for Christ’s sake, give Your servant greater humility, love, and grace. And let it be profound enough that it comes through in my speech—especially when others are going the opposite way. Give me the strength to contradict them and speak graciously. Make me a man of gracious words that come from deep within me; from a soft, kind heart that really does love and favor all those I remember. Let me be like You dear Lord.

Think: Is there a person in your life who does not benefit from this attribute expressed to them from God through you? That is, is there anyone you tend to remember mainly according to their sin rather than according to God’s love?

Promise to trust today:

1 John 2:1-2,12 If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake

Romans 8:34 Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #61  Gracious Memory (part 2)

Meditation #158:  The Source of Past Good

Psalm 25:6-7 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love.

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very joy you have ever experienced has come from God’s grace and from no other source (Ps.16:2). Therefore, all that would be required for you to be full of joy right now would be for God to remember His past grace toward you.

Great God of gracious memory, oh, how one deep calls to another—the depth of my multiplied miseries and needs calling upon the depth of Your manifold mercies.

You have made me so happy so many times; You have delighted me and enthralled me and filled me with joy; You have encouraged me and strengthened me and emboldened me and motivated me—You have done all those things in the past, which means You know how to do it, dear Lord. You have no trouble. I try to cheer someone up, or encourage them or motivate them, and so often I fail. I try everything I know to try, but with no success. But Lord You have no trouble doing any of those things any time You choose. So Father, I ask as the psalmist did—please remember; please do it again. Show me Your great mercy like You have in the past. Show me Your great love like You have done so many times. Remember Your favor toward me and think of me favorably. Remember not the sins of my youth. Please do not remember against me the horrible things I have done against Your name. Do not remember my rebellion against You or all the times I have preferred the world to You.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.

How rarely do we even think about the sins of our youth? We become so lackadaisical and dull to the enormous weight of our past sin. When we think of our past sin we usually only think back a matter of days or weeks, or if it is something really big, maybe a little further back. But generally we forget 99% of our sins. After we confess them they slip from our memory. And there is some sense in which that is as it should be. God does not want us to constantly wallow in sorrow over forgiven sin. He calls for joy as the norm for the Christian life. But at the same time, for that joy to be full we must have a sense of how much we have been forgiven. And so often we do not.

The psalmist’s prayer seems to show that God may remember His great mercy and love or He might remember the sins of the psalmist’s youth. And the fact that we can ask God in prayer for the former rather than the latter is due to the wonderful attribute of God’s tendency toward gracious rather than wrathful memory.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s gracious memory today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience the gracious memory of God is to pray for it, as the psalmist did, and then to recognize it for what it is when God grants it. When we are experiencing chastisement for our sin (God turns His face away, His presence seems distant, the Bible seems like mere print on the page, prayer seem to bounce off the ceiling, and the joy of His presence seems miles away), we must recognize it for what it is and cry out to God for restoration. And when we do have the joy of His presence we must appreciate that for what it is, rather than attributing it to earthly circumstances.

Think: Is God’s favorable presence nearby to you today, or afar off?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 32:5-7 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence … so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #61  Gracious Memory (part 3)

Meditation #159:  The Weight of Sin

Psalm 25:6-7 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hen a memory of someone who has hurt you pops into your mind, you have the option of remembering that person in a favorable way or according to his sins. God faces that same option when remembering you. He could remember you according to your sin or according to His grace. Either one would be righteous and good. And either one is possible (which is why David requests gracious memory).

It would be wrong for us to remember others according to their sin instead of graciously and favorably. We are incompetent judges who cannot see the heart, nor do we have an adequate understanding of right and wrong. And we are not innocent ourselves. We sit on the bench, gavel in hand, as guilty judges. We are in no position to withhold grace from fellow sinners. It would not be wrong, however, for God to remember us according to our sin. In fact, it would be fitting. But He is so gracious!

I love Your gracious memory, dear Lord! You do for me what I am so often not willing to do for others—remember me according to grace instead of my sin.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s gracious memory today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Considering God’s gracious memory is a pleasant thought, but how do we get beyond it merely being a pleasant thought to having it create the kind of joy that drove David to sing and shout and dance for joy?

To begin, we need an awareness of what a horror it would be for God to remember our sin against us. Secondly, we must understand that God’s gracious memory is not completely guaranteed in an absolute way in this life. There is a real possibility that He might, in a specific instance, decide to deal harshly with us rather than gently. When we are enjoying His favor it seems like we will always enjoy it. We take it for granted and then start expecting it (Ps.30:6-7).

Lord, teach me just how evil my sin is—and not just sin that does obvious harm to people, but all my rebellion and unfaithfulness to You. Help me to feel the weight of the guilt of my selfishness, pride, idolatry, laziness, dull affections, little faith, tepid love, lustful eyes, passionless evangelism, and distracted prayers. Father, what will it take for it to sink in to my soul how evil those things are? That they really do deserve eternal hell? What will it take for me to really understand, so that my heart believes, that to commit one of those sins one time is intolerable, and that the fact that they are ongoing in my life is cosmic treason? When will there be tears in the eyes of Your servant when I realize how weak (or even non-existent) is my repentance of those sins? Is there something else besides a massive fall that can break this hard heart? Father, I want to feel the wonder of Your grace, but I cannot really feel it until I feel the flames of hell almost reaching me. I want to feel the fullness of Your forgiveness, but first I must feel the severity of my deserved condemnation. Please, dear Lord, open my eyes to see the horror of my own sin. Show it to me in striking, vivid color. And keep showing me until it crushes the pride out of my heart.

And dear Lord, whenever I am reminded of someone from the past and I am tempted to remember them according to their wrongdoings, let that remind me of how You are so inclined to remember me graciously, and let me exult in that. And let your love be reflected in my heart as I remember those people graciously.

It is Your prerogative to remember my past sins. In some cases You visit the consequences of a man’s youthful sins on him even into his old age. Sometimes Your chastising hand is heavy all the way to the grave. And if anyone is a prime candidate for that it is me. You have shown me such mercy for so many years, and I have despised it by returning again and again to the same sins—not taking Your rod seriously. I only take really drastic measures when You finally send a few drops of the ocean of Your wrath into my life. And then it is probably mostly out of selfish motives—just wanting relief from consequences rather than restoration of intimacy with You. O Lord, my desire for fellowship with You is often so low. Even when I do desire it so much of the time I am only desiring it as a means to some other end. Lord God Almighty, have mercy on Your servant. Make me desire You alone. Make me single-hearted; simple. Unscramble my motives that I might seek You with a pure heart.

Think: Imagine for a moment what would go through God’s mind if He looked at you apart from His gracious memory.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 41:4,11 I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you. … 11 I know that you are pleased with me.”

Write your own prayer

Attribute #62 The God Who is the Only Shelter from His Own Chastisement

Meditation #160:

Psalm 63:1 A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he most basic consequence of sin is the withdrawal of God’s presence and favor. We lose the joy of nearness to Him, the Scriptures become mere print on a page, prayers are lifeless and distracted, and intimacy with the Lord becomes a distant memory. Those are the symptoms of God turning His face away. Normally it is the result of sin, although God may withdraw Himself at certain times for other purposes as well.

Whether it is because of sin or not, there is only one good response. We must keep seeking after Him. What else is there to do? We have nowhere else to run. No other savior. No other refuge. If God punishes us we have no recourse but to seek all the harder after Him—even during the scourging.

O Lord, You are my only shelter—even from the pain of Your rod. You are my only refuge and my only safety. The only safe haven from Your anger is Your arms of love. You are my only security and my only comfort. I would rather be in Your presence enduring a beating from You than be in the greatest comfort anywhere else. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth certainly has nothing I desire besides You. My heart and my flesh may fail, but You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Let the dryness of my life right now set me on a trend toward greater thirst—more and more passionate desire to be in Your presence and to receive grace from You.

The desire of David here is not the groping of the blind after whatever god might be out there. It is the yearning of the soul of the beloved for the Lover. If your enemies are angry with you, you do not desire to be near them. But if the love of your life is unhappy with you, you want nothing other than restored intimacy and closeness. When God turns His face away it should do nothing but increase our desire for Him.

Father, when I feel the sting of chastisement and yet still want to be in Your presence, let that remind me of how deeply desirable You are, and what an amazing thing it is to love You. What criminal longs to appear before the judge? And yet even though You, in Your holiness, are the greatest threat and most severe danger in existence for an unholy being; still my longing is to be in Your presence because not only are You the greatest threat, You are the only source of joy and salvation from that threat. You are so delightful that even though You are my Judge I long to appear before You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as refuge today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The more distant you feel from God the greater should be your efforts to seek after Him. Never let your own failures and sins discourage you from seeking Him. Never listen to the enemy when he tells you that it is not appropriate for you to seek favor from God right away after you have sinned. There is never a time when seeking nearness to God is inappropriate. If God is going to chastise you by withdrawing His presence that is up to Him. But it is never appropriate to inflict such a punishment upon yourself.

Think: Has God withdrawn Himself from you? If so, how much further must He withdraw before you will become thirsty and desperate enough to seek more earnestly after His presence?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 32:5-7 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Micah 7:8-9 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #63 The Examiner of the Heart

Meditation #161:

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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fter having rejoiced over the fact that God had searched him (verses 1-2), David asks that God search him again. He delights in being the object of God’s scrutinizing, purifying, interested, gracious gaze. Nothing is more painful and deadly than the gaze of a holy God upon a sinful soul, and yet we long for it. We long to be the object upon which the Great Subject fixes His attention. Praise God that we are in Christ, who can withstand the Father’s gaze—upon Whom that gaze rests with perfect satisfaction and delight, and in Whom no sin is found at all!

Look at me, dear Lord. Search me. Penetrate and lay open my heart with Your gaze. Until the day I die, keep searching me with unrelenting, never-ending scrutiny, because my flesh never stops creating new rebellions and hidden, mixed motives. Alert me to the presence of new sins before they have a chance to entrench themselves in my heart.

Even while talking about all his sin, David draws a stark distinction between himself and the wicked. He was not among the wicked because he was a believer.

Thank You, dear Lord. Apart from Your grace my sin would make any distinction between me and the wicked impossible. But You honor faith, even when there is continual stumbling. Thank You for making me one whose resolve is to side with my treasured God against joy-killing sin; rather than one who treasures sin and regards You as the joy-killer.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s interested gaze today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Why does God search us? Obviously it is not an information gathering exercise. He knew every thought in every heart before the foundation of the world. The searching imagery is for us. If God searches your heart and finds sin but does not expose or reveal it to you, nothing has actually happened, since He already knew what was there. So asking to be searched means asking for sin, weakness, or unbelief to be exposed.

Search me, O God, and try me. But do not let me fall. If possible, expose the sin in my heart without letting me dishonor Your name. But whatever it takes, dear Father, expose what lies hidden.

It is striking that David calls for a deep searching of his inner being. No mention of actions or words. The problem lies deeper than that.

Penetrate to the core of what I am, Lord. Even more than I hate the wickedness in others, I hate it in myself. I hate that I bring You dishonor. I hate that my affections are so often adulterous and idolatrous against You. I hate the pull this world has on my flesh. I hate the pull my flesh has on my heart. Thank You, dear Lord, for what You have already exposed. Thank You that You are a God who purifies for Yourself a people of Your very own, eager to do what is good. Thank You that I am experiencing that aspect of Your glory right now. Thank You that all Your anger at Your children is redemptive. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You died to bring me grace. Warm Your servant’s heart with that truth. Make me faithful and zealous with spiritual fervor in my love for You.

David’s call for God to examine him comes just after David speaks against the wicked. How many sins can be disguised under the cover of righteous anger!

I spend so much time thinking about and decrying the wrongdoing of others, Father—in the midst of my outcry against them, lay open my heart and search it. Bring me before Your bar and with Your penetrating, cleansing gaze expose the evil within me. Show it to me, Lord, that I might forsake it. When my thoughts are anxious and troubled because of the wicked (especially when they have sinned against me), that is when I am usually the most blinded to my own sin and need You to examine me. Who knows what all could be lurking in my heart even right now! What a horrible thought. Search me, O God, and expose my sin. When my zeal creates anxiety or anger over those who ignore Your Word, expose which parts are sinful, selfish anger and which are righteous indignation. The two seem to blend together with such undetectable mingling. Show me my sin. When the fires of my own self-examination have found gold, fire Your hotter oven to uncover what my searching cannot.

Think: As God searches your heart right now, what is He finding? Talk to Him about it.

Promise to trust today:

Zechariah 13:9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"

Job 23:10 He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #64 The Redeemer/Crowner

Meditation #162:

Psalm 103:4 Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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o many psalms speak of God as a refuge from miseries, and it can be hard to relate to those psalms when you are not suffering. But here is a psalm that has no mention of trouble. It is pure, joyful praise. Psalm 103 teaches us how to rejoice in God in times when nothing is going wrong.

It would seem that in times like that praise would automatically flow out of us without any effort or thought. But most of the time that is not the case. It is when His blessings are poured out the most that we are most prone to become comfortable and forget Him.

O Lord, revive in me holy memory! Energize this brain to file the memories of Your mercies right in the front of the most-accessed places in my soul so that I stumble across those memories every time I retrieve any memory. But more than that, Lord, work in my affections, so that when those memories are stumbled across by my mind, I will stop in joyful distraction to savor and enjoy them again and again—just as my flesh so often wants to do with memories of past sins.

Death, destruction, and punishment were your lot. You were by nature an object of His wrath. But at great cost to Himself, God redeemed (purchased out of slavery) your life, saving you from an otherwise unchangeable demise.

What an amazing thing it is that it cost God something to redeem us. What infinite wisdom it took for Him to even conceive of a way in which it was possible for something to “cost” Him. He is the God of infinite resources. If the price were in gold, no matter how much it was, there would be no way for it to actually cost Him because His resources would be exactly the same after the payment as before. It would be impossible for God to make any actual sacrifice. But God paid your debt in a way that cost Him—cost Him more than anyone has ever sacrificed or ever will sacrifice for anything. The price He was willing to pay to save you was more than you would be willing to pay yourself! We know that because of all the times we have not even been willing to give up much smaller things (petty sins) for a much higher purpose (His glory). So God sacrificed more to save you than you would sacrifice to save yourself. What love! His love fills the heavens!

And God did not stop with drawing you up out of the pit. He also crowned you. He brought you from the lowest pit to the highest glory. He made you like a king on the day of enthronement. God exalted you and made you taste of the joy that the Olympian feels when they put the gold medal around his neck.

But instead of a symbol like a crown or a medal—the Lord crowned you with His love and compassion. He made you like a king on coronation day by decking you out with His love and compassion. God felt for you in His affections, and He showed you favor—not in private, but publicly, as in a coronation. He has made it known that you are His, and that you have His favor.

How much more urgent it is, since Your bestowing Your favor on me was public, that I publically honor You with my life. What a travesty it is when You honor me and I respond by dishonoring You.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as Redeemer and Crowner today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The key to experiencing God as Redeemer is remembering the pit from which you were redeemed, and considering the price that was paid. And the key to experiencing God as Crowner is to interpret His love and compassion for what they are (rather than just writing them off as good luck, or a good day). When things go drastically wrong, look to Him as the one who redeems your life from the pit. When things go slightly wrong, let those troubles be emblems that remind you of the pit from which you were redeemed. And when things go well, interpret that as the outworking of God’s deep compassion toward you. If we received all His compassion as compassion—heartfelt pity toward us that God bestows as our crowning glory, would it not generate in us joy and gratitude?

Think: What are you doing with God’s compassion and love? Are you wearing them as a crown of glory?

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 58:9 You will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #65 Rewarder

Meditation #163:  The Promise of Reward

Psalm 62:12 Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hat mercy is God’s promise of reward on Judgment Day—that He will give you unspeakable rewards for your deeds of faith! What an incredible thing that God accepts our good deeds instead of damning us for them! They are so half-hearted and incomplete and shot through with sin, apart from grace they would merit punishment, not reward.

Thank You, dear Savior, Lord Jesus, for making my worthless offerings acceptable. They are acceptable only in You, yet, amazingly, they are somehow still my offerings!

What generosity You display in Your great and precious promises of reward. Why do they not have a greater emotional effect on my heart, Father? I think if an earthly authority rewarded me with such lavish, disproportionate generosity—giving me ten cities for picking up a scrap at his foot, or ten million dollars for paying one penny of the rent I owed him; that would greatly endear him to my heart and affections. Please, give me the faith to be touched in that way by Your generosity that I have to look forward to on Judgment Day.

And, dear God, please protect Your servant from imagining that my deeds merit Your rewards, as though picking up the scrap or paying the one cent actually made me deserve the ten cities or ten million dollars.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience the rewarding nature of God today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The ultimate experience of this attribute will take place when Christ returns. However, it is possible to experience it in part even now. We experience it every time we enjoy His grace in response to our faith. If you seek hard after Him and, as a result, have an experience of sweet communion and nearness to His presence, that is reward from Him for your faith. Any time you experience joy, peace, courage, motivation, delight, godly fear, security, insight, guidance, or any of the other benefits that come from His presence, you are experiencing the rewarding nature of God.

It is crucially important that all of those things be interpreted in our hearts for what they are—grace from God offered to us as a reward for trusting in Him. If you feel safe or confident or at peace and you attribute it to a good night’s sleep or circumstances or anything else besides the grace of God, you miss the experience of receiving it as reward from Him.

Think: Does the degree of joy and hope in your heart accurately reflect the goodness and generosity of your God?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 5:3-12 … theirs is the kingdom of heaven … they will be comforted ... they will inherit the earth ... they will be filled … they will be shown mercy ... they will see God ... they will be called sons of God ... theirs is the kingdom of heaven … Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.

Matthew 6:4-20 Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. … your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. … your heavenly Father will also forgive you. … your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you … store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #66 Omnipotent Blesser

Meditation #164:

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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hat an unspeakable privilege it is to be God’s own treasured possession! To actually be that which He desires!

As a child of God you are the beneficiary of the creating hand and purposing heart of the living God, the only sovereign of the universe. As you witness things happen around you, rejoice and revel in the knowledge that you are among the chosen of the very One who is controlling all those things in the outworking of His perfect plan.

All creation rests on and springs from His word, and all history rests on and springs from His plan. Blessed are we whom He has chosen to be part of that plan in a favorable way! Since no other plan can succeed, blessed are the people favored by the one whose plan is certain and good. If all God has in mind is good and it will all be accomplished, blessed are the ones who belong to Him.

This verse could stand alone. If we knew nothing else of God’s blessings—nothing of what His plan actually is, we could still rejoice in being His chosen because, by definition, all that is required for a being to be in the best possible circumstance is to be favored by a perfect, good, and almighty God. The very creation is manipulated beneath your feet by its own Maker in order to bring you to the place you should be. God will literally move heaven and earth to bless you!

Meanwhile the heathen grovel before their worthless, impotent idols. How pitiful are those who worship false gods. The powerless, helpless, dead, mute gods of money, sex, recreation, or prestige cannot so much as move a grain of sand under the feet of those who worship them to improve their condition. Those gods do not have the power to keep a spouse alive or provide peace in a home or even turn a stop light red or green when needed. How cursed are those whose god is not the Lord!

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s electing love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

God’s purposes do not terminate on our good, as though benefiting us were the most important thing. It is not. Our good is not the ultimate goal of anything because by itself it is of no importance. However, God does do what is best for us because our good is accomplished in the greatest way simply by God carrying out His glorious plan and doing that which is the desire of His own heart for the sake of His own glory. What is good for God is so ultimately and perfectly good that we are blessed in the greatest possible way simply by Him doing what He desires for His own purposes and glory.

Who am I, O Lord, that You should move a single molecule for my good? As I watch all the movements of Your great hand today and witness the unfolding of Your plan, let me see that not only is this the plan of the heart of the Almighty, but it is also the working of my own, dear Father who desires me and has taken me as His own possession. They are not just the movements of the creation, they are the movements of the One who has chosen me to be His—the very manipulation of the creation by my Father for my own good!

Teach my heart today to rejoice in being Yours—the beneficiary of Your creating hand and purposing heart as the living God, the only sovereign of the universe. As I witness things happen today—a cloud moving, the mountains not moving, a phone ringing, something falling off a shelf, sound traveling through the air, interactions between volitionally free human beings…let me rejoice and revel in the knowledge that I am supremely blessed, because the One who is controlling all those things in the outworking of His perfect plan is also the One who promised to take care of me and bless me! Let me exult in my relationship to the One whose perfectly good plan is being unfolded in every action that takes place and does not take place.

Think: Is there some of God’s perfect plan that you are rejecting (through complaining and grumbling to yourself)? Resolve to go the next 24 hours without grumbling a single time—out loud or in your own mind.

Promise to trust today:

Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #67 Eternal Love

Meditation #165:

Psalm 103:13-18 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children—18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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eading and thinking about verses 15-16 can be depressing at first. Soon you will be dead, and soon after that all who remember your existence will be dead and forgotten, and there will be no trace of your existence on this earth. Our transitory existence is a calamity. It is not good to flourish momentarily and then vanish, without being remembered.

But that calamity carries in it a great blessing, because it excites the compassion of an eternal God. His great heart of compassion responds to the calamity of your transitory-ness by loving you from everlasting to everlasting. Through foreknowledge and election He loves you from eternity past, and in His faithfulness and immutability He promises you love forever in the future. Your place will remember you no more, but God will remember you forever. Men will soon forget you ever existed, but God will forever take interest in you and love you and befriend you and know you and be a Father to you.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s eternal love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you are reminded of the shortness or insignificance of your life, or you are forgotten or ignored by people, let that remind you of the blessedness of being loved from everlasting to everlasting by God. Whenever your body reminds you of your mortality, let it also remind you of your immortality. Are you over 40? Then you are most likely over half way to heaven! Let that sink in for a moment.

Secondly, whenever you experience any calamity, let it bring joy knowing that your suffering elicits compassion from God.

These verses show that it is not necessarily a bad thing to desire to make your mark in this world and have an impact that extends for a long time. What makes that desire good or evil is 1) your motive and 2) your method. If your motive is to magnify your own glory, so that people are impressed by you, that is evil. And if your method is to achieve greatness through your natural abilities and human wisdom, that is folly. But if your motive is the glory of God and the benefit of others, that is righteousness. And your method should be exactly what this text calls for: fear God and keep His Word (verses 17-18).

Think: What is happening in your life right now that is exciting the compassion of God? And which part of your mortality is most troubling to you? Use every thought of that to celebrate God’s eternal love.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

Write your own prayer

Attribute #68 Pursuing Love

Meditation #166:

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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he 23rd Psalm is an amazing journey. You begin with the Lord in the beautiful green pastures, then travel with Him along all the paths of righteousness, then down to the dreadful bottom of the deep darkness of the valley, finally to end up here, in His blessed house forever. Now here you are, in His glorious presence—no longer limited to the image of a sheep with a shepherd in a field (just one specific aspect of His goodness and glory), but now in the very Holy of Holies—God’s own dwelling place, the residence of His presence and fellowship.

Dear Lord, this is where I want to stay forever. Why would I wander outside again? It would seem unthinkable. And yet I know myself well enough to know that not only is it not unthinkable, it seems almost inevitable. O Lord, please, please draw Your servant continually and powerfully closer into Your presence every hour and lock the door behind me. Awaken this dead heart to perceive and be enraptured by Your glory. Dear Father, I detest those moments when I think of Your glory and it has almost no effect on my heart. Make me responsive to Your beauty and goodness, Lord, that I would be drawn into Your love and prefer fellowship with You much more than any water from any other well.

God has ordained that both goodness and love would hunt you down for the rest of your life! You are not on your own in pursuing closeness with God. He has promised to pursue you! And He has. When you have strayed and wandered and rebelled, God many times pursued you not with the hand of judgment, but with goodness and love. When over the years your heart preferred sin to communion with God it would have made perfect sense for Him to just let you go. But instead He hunted you down with goodness. God supported you with His covenant loyalty and tender love. He protected you so many times from so many dangers. All of those things are so much more than gifts. They are expressions of God’s very glory—that same goodness that was put on display in the days of Creation when God said, “It is very good,” and the same love that followed the children of Israel all the way through the desert and into paradise.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s pursuing love today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Lord, today let me be reminded of (so that I can enjoy and revel in) the pursuing nature of Your goodness and love. You are the God of chasing good and pursuing love. Whenever I see wind, instead of complaining about how cold or unpleasant it is, as I feel the wind overtake me let it remind me to enjoy the truth that Your goodness and love are like that. They pursue, and not sluggishly or slowly. I can no sooner outrun them than I can outrun the howling wind. And when they catch me, they do not just have some small contact, but they completely envelop me and sweep me along.

Remind me also, Father, that the whole purpose of the journey through the dark valley was to bring Your servant into Your presence. Let me ever seek Your presence and enjoy fellowship with You at Your table.

Think: Take some time to think of examples of how God’s goodness has pursued you in the past.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #69 Omniscient God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #167:  Constant Company

Psalm 139:1-4 O LORD, you have searched me and you know. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.[97]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he Bible is not a theology textbook that merely presents the attributes of God as generalized abstractions. His attributes are presented in specific and personalized contexts. Psalm 139 does not speak of God’s omniscience generally. It does imply complete omniscience in every area, but what the psalm speaks of specifically is God’s omniscient gaze of you, the individual reader. The term, “omniscience” is an abstract word that does little to generate awe or love in the heart. But God knowing everything about me touches my heart and strengthens my conscience.

Lord, protect me from depersonalizing Your attributes and reducing You down to a mere set of propositions or abstractions.

Scripture does not speak of God searching animals or stars—only us. Why? God knows everything that can be known about everything and does not have to search in order to acquire knowledge, yet His knowledge of you is connected here with His searching you. So what is the purpose of the searching?

The act of searching points to interest and attention. God is much more interested in you than He is in the rest of His creation. God pays attention to you. Right now you are, perhaps, trying to attend to God, but most of the time we pay very little attention to Him. We long to attend to Him more, but we are hindered by the fact that our minds have to concentrate on other things throughout the day, so most of the time we are not paying direct attention to God. But there is never a moment in which He is not paying attention to you! You are never alone.

It is good, Father, to be thoroughly known. If You did not know me, I would be mostly unknown by anyone, including myself. I rejoice, Father, that there are no facts about me that are utterly unknown and undiscoverable. You know everything about me. You know all my words—even the unspoken ones. You know the words I would have said if circumstances had been different. Lord, if someone else—anyone else—knew all my unspoken words, I would be regarded as a vile individual, and I would be an outcast. You know all my thoughts, and You love me and accept me in Christ! What mercy! How astonishing and wonderful is the fact that even with such full knowledge of me, You still accept me and love me! Oh, the wonder of Your infinite forgiveness and grace!

What a horrible calamity aloneness would be, were it possible. I remember as a child getting separated from my father on a hunting trip. It terrified me to be lost, alone in the woods. But the child of God, while he can distance himself from God’s presence somewhat through sin, is never left completely alone.

Lord, teach me to take delight in the fact that aloneness is impossible for a Christian, and at the same time to fear any degree of withdrawal of Your presence.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s interest in you today?

Experiencing this attribute:

How crucial it is that we learn to enjoy God’s attention! Each time you breathe a prayer or pay direct attention to God today, take a moment to think of how long it has been since the last time you paid direct attention to Him. Then remind yourself that He has been attending to you that whole time!

Think: What could you do to make those intervals shorter?

Promise to trust today:

Matthew 28:20 Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #69  Omniscience  (part 2)

Meditation #168:  God Sees My Resolve and Love

Psalm 139:1-4 O LORD, you have searched me and you know. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.[98]

What is wonderful about this attribute:

Sometimes a woman will be frustrated with her husband because there are gestures of love that she desires that he never thinks of unless she tells him. But she feels that if she has to ask for them, it ruins it. She wants her husband to know her so deeply that he knows what she wants without her having to ask. It is a wonderful thing to be deeply known. But finite human beings are the wrong place to go for this blessing. David enjoyed being deeply and thoroughly known by God.

God knows what you desire. And He knows the good that is in your heart. It is painful to deal with people who do not believe you when you tell them the truth. Nothing you do or say can convince them. How wonderful it is to serve a God who can see your heart! What a privilege to be able to say with Peter, “Lord, You know all things. You know I love You.” Those people who refuse to believe you when you tell the truth—their opinion ultimately does not really matter anyway. What a calamity it would be, though, if you really loved God or you were truly repentant over something, but you were unable to prove it to Him.

Lord, I am resolved to love You. But my actions are so contaminated with the sins of my motives and affections that apart from Your ability to perceive my resolve, I could never prove it to You. Thank You, dear Father, for looking into my heart!

You have searched me and you know everything about me. You have examined every crevice of my mind, every motive, every affection, every thought, and all the connections between the thoughts. You know which thoughts I would have had, if one distraction would have come up instead of another one—the entire resulting train from there on. You know the exact, precise intensity of each thought, each motive, each attitude, each desire, each affection, each belief, each longing.

When I consider all that, O Lord, I realize I know almost nothing of my own heart. So many times I am thinking on one topic and a few minutes later I am thinking on something completely different, and I have no idea of what train of distractions led from the beginning thought to the end. It seems that most of my own thoughts go unnoticed even by me! I cannot measure, with any accuracy, the intensity of my motives or attitudes or drives. I cannot even begin to unscramble the egg of the complex mixture of my various motives. You know my heart. I do not.

Show me, dear Lord, what I need to know about me. Reveal to me with clarity that which needs to come to my conscious attention, so I may rejoice in that which You have built by Your grace, and repent of that which provokes Your anger and keeps me from intimacy with You.

God sees you out in public, and He is there in the privacy of your bedroom. If there is any hypocrisy—if you are a different person in public than in solitude, He sees it. So often we are tempted with sin when we are “alone.” When that happens, remember—there is no such thing as alone. The very idea is an utter absurdity. If you are in the farthest, most obscure corner of creation, light-years from the rest of humanity, you are still standing before the greatest, most massive Audience there is.

People go to doctors for periodic checkups and receive peace of mind knowing that if anything is seriously wrong the physician will alert them. Let your soul rest knowing that God is performing a full checkup on you every moment of every day. No problem can run amuck because of the lack of early detection.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever an impure thought comes into my mind, teach my soul to have an instant reflex of being reminded of Your ever-present gaze into my mind. Let me say to that thought, “Not right now, God’s here.” And let my heart rejoice in those times when I can say, “You know all things, Lord—You know I love you!”

Think: As God gazes upon your affections (emotions) right now, what does He see? How about your attitudes? Resolve? Try to remember to ask yourself those questions repeatedly throughout the day today.

Promise to trust today:

Revelation 2:23 I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #70 Omnipresent God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #169:  His Hand upon Me

Psalm 139:5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od’s omnipresence is an attribute we tend to demote and downgrade to a one-word summary. We say, “God is omnipresent,” and leave it at that. What else is there to say? God is everywhere—case closed. But this is a doctrine that the Spirit moved David to keep discussing for several verses. And the beauty of the attribute is in the personal experience of it. Just as verses 1-4 describe not just that God knows everything, but that He knows everything about me; so now David describes not the mere fact that God is everywhere, but the glorious and amazing truth that God is always with me.

The repetition and beautiful poetry with which David speaks of this attribute should keep us from draining away the meaning through reductionist summarizing. God is so close, and so tender in His closeness.

O Lord, You go behind me, blotting out the memory of my sins. You go in front of me, making straight the path before my feet and blasting into oblivion any lurking threat that violates Your plan for me before my feet reach that place. You guard me from behind, against threats that would overtake me. You guard from the front, like a windshield, sheltering me from harm.

And not only does Your encompassing presence shield me from threats without, but it hems me in and prevents the disaster of unrestrained self-will, which, if it were allowed, would lead me to utter destruction. Your surrounding presence protects me from breaking out of Your perfect plan.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s constant presence with you today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Being protected by God is like being in a perfectly safe, heavily armored, impenetrable tank. But a tank is impersonal. God’s care is personal.

Father, You have laid Your hand upon me. I advance into battle with the mightiest warrior and highest officer in front and behind me, cutting down my enemies with one hand, and at the same time laying a hand of friendship and grace and care upon my shoulder, strengthening me. Lord, let me feel the sensation You designed for me to feel when You lay Your hand upon me. Let me feel it today. Let me walk through the world today enjoying the sensation of having the Mighty One of Israel, the Lord of Hosts, laying His great hand upon me.

There have been many times when my wife, simply by laying of her hand upon me, has instantly gained all the attention of my mind and heart, and has simultaneously filled me with warmth and pleasure. What magnitude of love can be communicated in an instant by the simple touch of the hand! Not just anyone’s hand will have that effect. And not even hers will all the time. But the Lord’s hand—words cannot tell the degree to which His touch exceeds that of any earthly expression of love.

And not only is the laying on of His hand wonderful because of what we feel, but because of the confidence it gives us about what God feels. You cannot move a hair’s breadth without God feeling it. He is paying attention to right where you are and He feels every move you make.

Think: Imagine a father laying his hand on his son’s shoulder to reassure him and give him courage. When God lays His hand upon you, do you pay attention to it?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #71 The God Who Reveals His Will

Meditation #170:

Matthew 7:21-22 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 12:50 Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

John 4:34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

1 Peter 4:1-2 He who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

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t is not only in the Psalms that we read about relational closeness to God. Loving God and seeking relational fellowship and communion with Him is a very prominent theme in the New Testament. For example, everywhere that the concept of God’s will is discussed it points us to relational closeness with God. What enables intimacy more than knowing, loving, and conforming to a person’s will?

My wife has often wanted me to know what she desires without having to tell me. There are times when it feels to her as though an aspect of love is spoiled if she has to tell me what she desires. If I can know it without her telling me, that is a delight to her. This is because she wants to be known—not known about, but intimately known in the biblical sense. She wants her husband to be able to see into her heart and know the deep desires of her soul, and for our souls to be so joined together that her desires, being so precious to me, become my desires because of my love for her.

That is one reason God speaks so much of His will in Scripture. Instead of saying it is His will that we be holy, God could have just commanded us to be holy. But God exposes the desires of His very soul to us, that we might, like Jesus, have such a love for Him and intimacy with Him that as we are exposed to the desires of His heart, our love for Him causes them to become the desires of our hearts as our souls are joined close to His.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s revelation of His will today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Each time you are reminded or become aware that something is God’s will, let that cause you to rejoice in the fact that God has revealed His heart to you, and that you can experience intimacy and fellowship with Him as your will becomes entwined with and shaped by His.

Think: Think of something that you know for sure God wants that has to do with your day today, and take a moment to relish the fact that God has revealed His heart to you and granted you such closeness to Him that you would know His desires.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #72 Mercy and Compassion

Meditation #171:

Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he words of Psalm 145:8 should help us be more thrilled and enthralled by God. However, the truths of this verse are repeated in Scripture so often, there is a danger that they would turn to hollow platitudes in our hearts. When a truth is heard over and over, sometimes it can become difficult to get beneath the words to the reality, and the words then just bounce off our ears, miss our heart, and we struggle in prayer because of an unaffected heart.

Affect my heart, O Lord! Smite it. Warm it. Work it into a malleable lump in Your hands. Excite it in You, and let it awaken and become responsive to this amazing truth of Your mercy and love. Almighty and glorious Lord, the all-satisfying, all-desirable One whose grace is far more than enough to overfill my cup, what a high and holy privilege it is to speak to You in response to Your Word to me. No step I could take in any direction could possibly move me more toward joy than focusing all my attention on Your glory. No work I could be doing could accomplish as much as I am accomplishing right now, by seeking to enter Your presence. Your presence is so wonderful that it is a more fit object of my pursuit than anything else. I believe all that, Lord; help my unbelief. Teach Your servant to long more and more for You and Your presence, and to be eager to come into it and slow to go out.

Of all the truths in Scripture about God, this one is so close to the center of the way He reveals Himself that when Moses asked to see God, this is what God showed him. No statement about God is more often quoted in the Old Testament. And the entirety of the New Testament is the display of this truth in Christ. He is gracious and compassionate.

When we have our little struggles, anxieties, and problems God is moved. It is incomprehensible how an infinite God could be moved by the infinitely small, infinitely short-lived, and ultimately meaningless trials of a speck of dust on a speck of dust in space. And yet He cares when you suffer. When your joints ache, when you are tired and lack energy for work, when you struggle to get a computer program working, when you have the frustration of running out of time each day—all of that moves His great heart.

And He is not moved with some small, token compassion, like a parent feigning pity on a child whose injury is really nothing. “Oh, poor thing,” a pat on the head and then a return to what he was doing completely forgetting about the child’s little crisis. God is not like that. His compassion is great—filling the heavens! Scripture compares His compassion to the sunshine. Just one ray from the sun engulfs the entire earth. And the good accomplished by that one ray from the sun is incalculable. Even if it were possible to conceive of all the sunshine spread abroad over all the land in sight, on millions of gardens and yards and through millions of windows and upon billions of heads, warming countless throngs of animals and insects, shining over the entire ocean, penetrating the water, scorching the vast deserts and lighting the tops of the highest mountains—and even if that snapshot could be multiplied times all the moments in a day and times all the days, it still would not exhaust even the finite picture of sunshine much less the infinite reality it illustrates.

One single, minute ray of Your mercy, dear God, engulfs this whole planet in a bath of mercy too great for comprehension.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s mercy and compassion today?

Experiencing this attribute:

When you see the sunshine today let it remind you of how it illustrates the magnitude of God’s mercy. And when the sun goes behind the clouds let it remind you that even when God’s mercy is eclipsed by sin, and the direct rays are shaded to a degree, still the ubiquitous ocean of rebounding rays makes the difference between a cloudy day on earth and the desolate, pitch black icebox this planet would be if there were no sun at all. The day when you receive the least mercy you have ever received is a day when you are still receiving mostly mercy.

When I am disappointed or frustrated, remind me of the ubiquity of Your mercy on a cloudy moment. And also remind me at those times of the depth of genuine compassion You have for Your servant. You really, really do care when I suffer—even small things!

We know that God cares about small things because he tells us in His Word that He cares about all our suffering. Nevertheless, we would do well to discern real peril from the insignificant.

Dear Lord, so often I am like a baby, who does not know the difference between being handed over for a moment to some loving relative he does not know and being kidnapped by an abuser. He cries just as hard in either case. Teach me to discern real peril from the insignificant. Help me realize the relative meaninglessness of losing or gaining a little money or comfort or time or praise—compared to the massive significance of causing Your displeasure and having You turn Your face away from me. Help me weigh in my priorities that which is eternal and that which is temporal; that which affects Your glory in great ways and that which does not. When I suffer anything, help me discern just how important that thing is, and to enjoy being the object of a God who cares proportionately more about eternal things—being greatly moved in His heart to protect me from real danger.

Think: Think back to a time when you saw someone suffering and you had such extreme feelings of compassion that it seemed unbearable. Consider how much greater is the pain in the heart of God when He has compassion on you.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 103:4 He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #73 Short-Lived Anger

Meditation #172:

Psalm 103:9-13 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Micah 7:8-9 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

G

od does sometimes accuse and become angry, for the good of His name and for our good, but He does not persist in that. What does persist is His love and kindness. His anger is like lightening—awesome and dangerous, but momentary. His love is like sunshine—constant, pervasive, enduring—persisting even when our eyes are closed.

He does chasten, but after He has chastened His child He is done with anger. He is a Judge, but He does not deal with His children as a judge—handing down life sentences with judicial blindness and disinterest. He is like a loving, tender-hearted father, who, after a few blows, ends the matter, and after the tears of repentance have flowed, gathers the child in his arms in forgiving embrace, making it clear that the child is free to smile and laugh and play again.

God is not like men. He is never too hard or too soft. He does not turn His head away and ignore His child who is drinking arsenic. Nor is He like the impossible-to-please parent, from whose mouth flows constant criticism, and with whom it is impossible for the child to make things right or be restored to intimacy. He never places reconciliation out of our reach. Anyone who receives chastisement at His hand can ask, “Why are You angry?” God will not hide the answer from him. The Lord is easily entreated, and ceases quickly from wrath—the moment its purposes are accomplished.

How precious is the shortness of Your anger toward me, Abba. How precious. How much to be preferred above absolutely anything. To be in Your good graces and to enjoy Your favor—is better than life at its best. It is better than the wildest thrill of the most enticing sin. It is better than all the pleasures of this world combined.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s quickness to turn away His anger today?

Experiencing this attribute:

To experience God’s forgiveness we must repent of our sin—turn back in broken contrition to seeking hard after Him and preferring Him above whatever earthly treasure was alluring us.

I bless Your name, dear Father, that You do not always accuse and You do not harbor Your anger forever. For then my spirit would grow faint before You. The human spirit cannot handle constant accusation and displeasure (though we deserve it). It would be perfectly fitting for You to be perpetually angry with me. My heart is filled with a thousand sins at all times. I am constantly preferring other things to You, enjoying Your gifts while ignoring You, being drawn, like an unfaithful wife, to one adulterous worldly pleasure after another; failing to fear You or take Your glory seriously, worshipping with tepid, half-hearted praise; being distracted after only seconds of prayer; seeking my own pleasures above the interests of those around me, taking Your gifts for granted and then complaining about them; taking no thought of those who are perishing… so many sins persisting in my heart against You at all times. It almost seems like nonsense that Your chastisement against me would ever end. What grace!

He does not treat us as our sins deserve, because He treated His Son as our sins deserve. He does not repay us according to our iniquities, because He repaid Christ for them. He repaid Jesus according to our sins and He repays us according to His merits and righteousness.

Think: Is your concept of God accurate? Do you think of His pleasure with you as being greater, more frequent, and longer lasting than His displeasure with you?

Promise to trust today:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1 if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Psalm 30:5 His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #74 The Dispenser of Grace Through Ministry

Meditation #173:

1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

I

n order to administer God’s grace we must receive it, which means the more you use your gift to serve, the more grace you receive from God. This is a marvelous truth, because nothing is more valuable than grace from God. This is what it means to serve “in the new way of the Spirit” (Ro.7:6). When you serve God by loving and ministering to others while depending on God’s grace, then the more you serve, the more grace you receive and the more God is glorified.

1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen

If you care about the glory of God you will seek to receive maximum grace from Him through loving people in God-empowered ministry.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s grace through ministry today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Enjoy being the child of a God who dispenses His grace through ministry!

Ministry is not automatically fellowship with God. If we pay no attention to Him while we are doing the work and have no awareness or enjoyment of the grace that is being supplied to us by Him, then we do not experience fellowship and we miss the opportunity to increase our delight in Him. But if we do attend to Him as we serve, then ministry can be a profound time of fellowship with God. Ministry becomes a time of experiencing the attributes of God by being a conduit for those attributes to flow from God through us to others.

If you love God’s wisdom, for example, and seek to enjoy that attribute—what better way to experience God’s wisdom than to be the mouthpiece that delivers it to others? The teacher who is consciously aware of that will experience fellowship with God in his studying and teaching. If the studying and teaching is done without paying attention to God, it is not communion with Him. But if it is carried out with a conscious, intentional sense of dependence on and trust in God as the source of the power and fruitfulness, grace flows in abundance.

Thank You, dear Lord, that You are a God who dispenses grace through ministry. Teach me, whenever I teach or serve or give advice or encouragement from Your Word, to have more and more alertness to the enjoyment of Your wisdom as I actually participate in the dispensing of it!

The same is true of each of God’s attributes. If you love God’s kindness, mercy, and love, and you want to know and understand those facets of His glory, what better way than to participate in the dispensing of those graces by being God’s tool to show kindness, mercy, and love?

Lord, let me learn, whenever I do some loving thing, to have an acute awareness of participating in and enjoying Your love.

Our goal is to bring God pleasure (2 Cor.5:9), and God is pleased with anyone who serves Christ in the way of self-sacrifice for the purpose of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Think: What could you do to increase your conscious, intentional dependence on and trust in the promises of God as you carry out ministry?

Promise to trust today:

Romans 14:1,17-18 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. … For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75 Faithfulness

Meditation #174:  Purchaser of His Own Promises for Me

2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

A

ll God’s promises are “yes” in Christ, and it is only through Christ that we can say “amen” to them. He purchased those promises for us. The fact that the promises are ours in Christ means if it were not for Jesus’ work on the cross on our behalf none of the great and precious promises in Scripture would apply to us. Instead of “yes” the answer to all our pleas would be “no.”

- Could you look to God as a refuge in times of trouble and an ever-present help in time of need? No.

- Could you rest in the promise that He will supply your needs? No.

- Could you have hope for future blessing? No.

- Forgiveness of sins? No.

- Deliverance from God’s wrath? No.

- Guidance? No.

- Confidence that God would listen to your prayers? No.

- An Advocate that speaks to the Father on your behalf? No.

- Could you offer God worship that was not detestable to Him? No.

- Could you have confidence that even the painful parts of life will be worked for your ultimate good? No.

- Could you have confidence that the pleasurable parts of life would turn out for your ultimate good? No.

- Would there be any good thing that you would be in a position to request from God? No—not one.

- Could you turn to Scripture for comfort? No. The 23rd Psalm would read, “The Lord is not my shepherd, I shall be in want…”

Imagine what a horror life would be if none of the promises of blessing applied to you. And when you have imagined that, then consider what a marvelous wonder it is that all of God’s promises are “yes” for you!

The world experiences many of the benefits that are promised only to believers. God promises to provide food and clothing to His children, and yet unbelievers all over the world receive food and clothing from the hand of God all through their lives. There is a huge difference, however, between simply receiving benefits that are not promised, versus being able to count on the promise. It is the promise that enables us to have the joy of God’s blessings before we actually receive those blessings. And it is the promise that enables us to receive them as they really are—personal expressions of God’s love rather than flukes or luck or meaningless chance happenings. The confidence that all of God’s promises are true for us at all times is a gift of unfathomable worth.

If a Christian suffers some tragedy, such as the death of a child, that broken-hearted mother can have 100% assurance that what happened was for her best. It is the work of a loving Father who could have done things differently but chose not to because this was the absolute best course. She can have full assurance that the death of her child was not meaningless, but that every detail of the entire ordeal is the work of a God who is bringing about His perfect and wonderful plan. And not one split-second of suffering is wasted or for naught.

But for the unbeliever who loses a child, there are no such promises. It may very well be that no good at all will come to that parent as a result. For the unbelieving parent, it is entirely possible that the loss is meaningless, the pain is meaningless, and the whole ordeal will result in no good for her, but only harm.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Experience the attribute of God’s faithfulness by trusting in His promises. The more you delight in them, count on them, cling to them, look to them alone for all that you need and desire, boast in them, exult in them, and treasure them; the more you experience this attribute. You are never closer to God than when you are trusting in, leaning upon, clinging to, and delighting in one of His great and precious promises.

Think: Before you conclude your time alone with God this morning, find a promise God has made that will be especially delightful for you today—whether it be the one below or some other delightful promise from Scripture, and spend the day trusting in that promise.

Promise to trust today:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75  Faithfulness (part 2)

Meditation #175:  The Benefits of God’s Promises

Lamentations 3:23 Great is your faithfulness.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

F

aithfulness is reliability with respect to an obligation—being reliable in carrying out your responsibilities. It makes sense that we should be faithful. We ought to be faithful to God because we are obligated out of duty to Him. But why should God be faithful? What obligates God? Only His promises. Had He not made any promises He could treat us in any manner and it would not be unfaithfulness on His part. God’s only obligation to treat us in any good way is self-imposed by His own promises—promises He did not have to make. It almost feels blasphemous to say, “God would be unfaithful if He failed to show me love and give me joy and bless me greatly.” And yet God has actually made that a true statement simply by promising those things—those and so many countless others. God is indeed obligated—not to us, but to Himself.

What glorious things His promises to us are! He could have just given us what He gives us without promising it. But the promises make His gifts much more wonderful, because without the promises we would not have anything to serve as the foundation for our trust in Him. They enable us to have the joy of the gifts prior to even receiving them.

God’s promises come through His glory and goodness and they enable us to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires (2 Pe.1:3-4). What an astonishing statement that is! Through His promises we can escape the corruption of the world(!) and we can actually participate in the divine nature (!!!).

O Lord, teach me to love Your promises. Teach me how to remember them and recall the right ones at the right time. Please, work in my heart by Your Spirit so that I will believe them.

Not one single word of all the good promises God gave through His servant Moses has failed—not one (1 Ki.8:56). God is never slow in keeping His promises (2 Pe.3:9). As the song says, “He’s never early; never late.” All of His promises are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ (2 Cor.1:20). God is faithful.

This is such a massive attribute. To appreciate God’s faithfulness one must have a thorough knowledge of His promises. And it would take a lifetime to even scratch the surface in understanding and appreciating all His promises.

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Thank You, dear Lord, for the knowledge and understanding of Your great and precious promises that You have given me thus far. It is so delightful to me, Lord. Knowledge of what You are like is sweet to my taste. I love it. Give me more of it, Lord. Give me more love for it. And open my eyes to the beauty and goodness of the truths about You that are not so sweet to my taste.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s faithfulness today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The way to experience God’s faithfulness is to learn the promises and trust in them. On the TreasuringGod.com website there is a list of many of God’s promises arranged by topic.[99] Look up the topic which is most relevant for what you are going through at this time, find a promise, and spend time meditating on it, leaning on it, clinging to it, and resting in it. Remember, you are never closer to God and more pleasing to God than when you are relying on one of His promises.

Think: Take a moment to consider what life would be like if it were not for God’s promises.

Promise to trust today:

2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75  Faithfulness (part 3)

Meditation #176: The God Whose Promises Preserve my Life

Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

S

o often our tendency is to do just what the world does when they suffer—look all around to find something in this world to mitigate our miseries and to use that, instead of God, as a remedy for alleviating our sorrows.

Lord, teach me not to do that. Let my heart learn what my head knows—that the comforts of this world are non-comforts. They do not give life. They do not preserve life. They do not give lasting comfort. They give no real comfort at all. They only mask the pain with a short-lived sensation of pleasure. Your life-giving, life-preserving promise is my comfort in suffering. May it be my only comfort.

Teach me to be satisfied with Your promises alone. All other refuges will fail, but Your great and precious promises will never fail. No suffering, sorrow, or pain will ever be so great that rest in Your promises will not provide greater joy and comfort. Whenever I have any kind of suffering—from mild discomfort to excruciating agony—let it drive me to find a promise to rest upon.

Most of what God has promised is still future, but do not miss the many great and precious promises that are being fulfilled right now—here in the midst of your suffering. God’s promises to strengthen, sustain, guide, comfort, revive, teach, draw, feed, nourish, satisfy, delight, protect, purify, and transform—all are taking place right now! How often we are oblivious to all of them! But if we would simply turn our attention to God and rest in His promises, they would preserve us and fill us with joy in Him and desire for Him.

Teach my ungrateful, oblivious heart, dear God, to be alert to Your faithfulness in carrying out what You have promised at all times. Let me have a constant awareness that scores of promises are being fulfilled at this very moment—promises so great and wonderful that if I were just paying attention to them I would be full of joy.

What a glorious grace is the availability and sufficiency of this comfort! Everyone has something about which their heart says, “This is my comfort.” The lover of money looks to his bank account and says, “This is my comfort.” The partier looks around at the festivities and says, “This is my comfort.” The drinker raises his glass and says, “This is my comfort.” Others look to their job, kids, spouse, house, vacations, career, hobbies, philanthropy, sleep, fleshly pleasures… everyone has something they hold up and say, “This is my comfort in suffering.” How sad for those people. Their comfort is not always available. The drinker sometimes has no alcohol. Parties end. Money runs out. Sleep can be elusive. All the world’s comforts come and go—and how often they are gone at the very moment when comfort is most desperately needed.

And even when they are available, what inadequate comfort they provide! They are more distractions than comfort. They are like morphine to someone impaled with a sword—they temporarily mask the pain, but the sword remains.

How different is Your blessed comfort, dear God! It is always available. Any moment of any day, fellowship with You can be enjoyed. Not always to the same degree, but always enough to bring great comfort and joy. When my money is gone, You are there. When sleep escapes me, You are there with me, giving rest to my weary soul if I will only get out of bed and seek hard after You. When family is not around or does not live up to expectations, You are faithful. When I lose my job, You never stop providing. When the party is over, You are not over. If I go up to the heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me” even then Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.

And not only is He always available to His children, but He is always enough. He is always satisfying. Your job, family, hobbies, projects, leisure, recreation, entertainment, money, possessions—unless they are enjoyed as fellowship with God, never satisfy. They leave you empty—longing for something more—even depressed. God never leaves you that way. Never has anyone enjoyed fellowship with God that ended in a sense of emptiness or lack of satisfaction, like the joys of this world do. This world’s pleasures drain life; God gives life. They deplete you; God builds you up. They take away strength and resources; God replenishes them. They lead to death; God gives life.

When life is drained out of you because of distance from God, the smallest of life’s trials are too much to handle. The slightest temptation defeats you. But when God fills you with life and joy He gives you His very strength. What trial could be too much for you if you have the very life and strength of God?

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

I love it, dear Lord, when Your Word gives me life. What a gift that is! It is not something I can control. Millions of people read Your Word every day without receiving life from it. How many times I have read Your Word and received no life from it. Sometimes the eyes of my heart are crusted over and blinded to the wonders of Your Word so that when I read it, it is little more than print on a page. Only Your Spirit can make my heart such that it is able to be quickened by Your Word. Do that today in me, O Spirit of the living God.

Father, whenever I read Your Word and am comforted or strengthened by it, let me remember that it is not the print on the page that is doing that. At that moment I am actually experiencing direct interaction with You! Direct fellowship in Your immediate presence!

Think: What is your most significant suffering at this time? Think through what it means to take comfort in and have your life preserved through God’s promises.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75  Faithfulness (part 4)

Meditation #177:  When People Are Unreliable

Psalm 33:16-19 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

o really appreciate God’s faithfulness it helps if you have experienced unfaithfulness or have been hurt by relying on something that proved to be unreliable. The more painful that experience was, the more helpful in showing the value of faithfulness and reliability. When we experience unreliability, the anxiety, frustration, disappointment, sorrow, or anger that results demonstrate just how important reliability is to us (if reliability were no big deal, then unreliability would not bother us so much). But it does bother us. Feeling secure because of a good job only to suddenly lose it, banking on the “’till death do us part” you heard from your spouse on your wedding day only to be served divorce papers, counting on someone to follow through only to find they forgot or lied—these are painful ordeals that show us all the more clearly how wonderful it is to have a God who never fails, never forgets, never lies, never falls even one inch short of fulfilling every last one of His great and precious promises.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me the folly of trusting in that which seems strong. Please do not let Your servant ever forget how easily all can be lost. A horse or army does indeed have great strength. They are strong; they just are not strong enough. My opponent is Satan himself, and no earthy power is any match for him. And when I begin to trust in earthly powers I make You my Opponent, and then not all the powers in existence are any safety at all.

Each of these daily meditations, between the section on what is wonderful about the attribute and how to experience the attribute, there is the question, “What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?” The purpose of this question is to prevent these meditations from becoming merely academic. The goal is not to merely contemplate insights about God, but to draw near to a Person—and to actually have wonderful experiences of His presence. And answering that question each time will enable you to have some criteria for discerning whether you have indeed experienced that attribute or not.

In today’s meditation perhaps your answer will include things like, confidence, a sense of security, safety, boldness, or relief from worry. All of those would be typical effects on the heart of the person who experiences the faithfulness of God. However, there is another effect that is not as immediately obvious—fear. Notice verse 18.

Psalm 33:18-19 the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Why should we fear God? Because only He can deliver from calamity. If you had another way of getting out of trouble then it might not matter as much if God were displeased with you. But if God is the only Deliverer, then being at odds with Him is the worst and most terrifying predicament imaginable. So the very fact that He is our only help should cause us to fear Him—to be deathly afraid of forsaking Him or drifting from Him or provoking His displeasure.

O Lord, let me remember whenever I am tempted to sin that any unfaithfulness to You invites a disaster that no one can save me from except the very Husband against which I am committing adultery.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

The truthfulness and faithfulness of God is one of the easiest of His attributes to experience. It is everywhere! We experience it in gravity and the laws of physics and the reliable way God runs the creation. (Imagine how impossible life would be if sometimes the laws of motion worked and other times they did not, or if gravity were hit and miss.)

No one is saved by his own strength or by a horse, however, God does want us to use horses and our own muscles and resources; just so we do not trust in them.

How do I do that, Lord? Have I made my paycheck, friends and family, health, my spiritual gifts, or something else my security? Am I trusting in them instead of You? If I am trusting in those things, please show me. And teach Your servant how to trust fully in You. Lord, if that requires taking those things away, please take them away.

Think: What security in your life are you most in danger of putting your trust in so that not all your trust is in God? What would happen if all that were taken away?

Promise to trust today:

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75  Faithfulness (part 5)

Meditation #178:  Always Faithful and Loving Ways

Psalm 25:10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

T

each me today, dear Lord, my desperate need to see what is so great about this attribute—that all Your ways are loving and faithful. Just as I am so weak and helpless without food, so I will be that way spiritually in this area if I am not able taste enough of this attribute to begin to long for it like for food and water. Lord, let me see this part of Your glory. Right now it barely moves me at all. It hits me as an obvious, elementary fact, and little more. Let it overwhelm me as a deep, glorious, soul-satisfying, thrilling, joy-giving truth. Let me experience that “all” of verse 10 today. Let me enjoy the fact that there is no exception at any moment in time.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

God’s ways are loving and faithful. Those are the two attributes the psalmist asked God to remember earlier in the psalm (verse 6). God has indeed remembered them—over and over so that they are His very ways. They are the ruts marked by God’s constantly taking that path in His dealings with humble sinners and covenant keepers. ALL His ways—ALL His dealings with His people, are 100%, unmixed love and faithfulness. God never does anything in your life that is less than perfect. When people become angry at God it is because they feel that God has done something wrong. But God never does anything that violates His loving and faithful ways. It is irrational to ever be angry at God because He never veers from the path of His love and faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Be on the lookout today for each of those moments when you are tempted to grumble. Let the impulse to complain serve as a memory cue to call to your mind this amazing truth—that this very thing you are about to grumble over is none other than the goodness and faithfulness of God!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.

There is no shadow of turning with Thee.

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.

As Thou has been Thou forever wilt be!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hast provided.

Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me.

Think: When something seems too horrible for it to possibly be a good thing from the hand of God, ask yourself this: Which is more likely, that God is not really perfect after all, or that my own understanding is so limited that I cannot see the goodness of something that is ultimately good?

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 25:10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #75  Faithfulness (part 6)

Meditation #179:  Faithfulness in Affliction

Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

M

uch of God’s goodness to us does not come in the form of blessing but rather in the form of affliction—good gifts that come in packages other than what we would have chosen. God sends afflictions every day—tiny ones and huge ones. Even in the midst of incalculable blessing and generally wonderful circumstances, if you think about it, you could find affliction. Affliction is constant. Sometimes it is so little we have to think hard to even find it. Other times it swells so large that it threatens to eclipse our blessings, so we have to think hard to even see the blessings. But to one degree or another affliction is always there. And that constant affliction is God’s way of dealing with us.

“Laws” in Psalm 119:75 refers specifically to God’s judgments with regard to us and is parallel with “afflicted.” All the Lord’s hard dealings with us (the ones that hurt) are righteous. And all our affliction rises out of His faithfulness to His great and glorious promises. No matter what takes place with regard to affliction, at every split second of the day we can be absolutely assured that His faithfulness to His promises has not faltered in the slightest degree.

Oh, what a wonderful truth! God’s promises of goodness are so high and extreme and grandiose—for anything to even be somewhat in accordance with them would be great. And for anything to be in full accordance with them would be far greater! But for everything to be in total accordance with them ... what an unspeakable blessing! To know, without any possibility of contradiction, that God’s faithfulness to those promises will never even slightly waver—oh how that should make us embrace our afflictions and rejoice over them and delight in them!

God is no Eli, who could not stomach giving his sons the discipline they needed. What a peril it would be if God were that way! What a horror if His love were so weak that He could not bring Himself to give us the affliction that is best for us. We would all end up like Eli’s sons.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience this attribute today?

Experiencing this attribute:

E

njoy the fellowship that comes from experiencing God’s faithfulness in affliction. When you spend time thinking about your afflictions let it be so that you might enjoy God’s faithfulness in afflicting you—and for no other reason. Do not think about them for the purpose of complaining, self-pity, or worry; but only so that the experience of God’s faithfulness in sending them rejoices your heart and increases your love for Him.

Think: Consider for a moment yesterday’s afflictions, and the ones you are likely to face today, and meditate upon God’s faithfulness in sending those afflictions.

Promise to trust today:

Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Write your own prayer

Attribute #76 The Highest and Final Judge

Meditation #180:

Romans 8:33-34 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

What is wonderful about this attribute:

T

he answer to the rhetorical question is “nobody!” If you are a child of God there is nobody who condemns you. And yet sometimes it seems as though people are waiting in line to condemn you. God’s Word says “nobody” and your experience seems to say “multitudes.”

O Lord, thank You that Your Word is the one that is true—not my enemies’ word. Those who are waiting in line to condemn me cannot succeed. They do not have the power to condemn Your servant. You know all things; You know that I love You. Oh thank You Lord, for seeing my heart! If I could not appeal to You knowing all things I would be undone.

O Lord Jesus, thank You! I know it takes Your full time just to intercede for me. I sin so continuously. And my shallow, faulty repentance is so half-hearted and often non-existent that Your wrath and justice would call for punishment in hell; but Your mercy intercedes for me. That is my only hope, but it is a sure hope! So many times I have wished someone would stand up for me and refuse to listen to gossip. Father, teach me to rejoice over the fact that You will not listen to any condemning speech about me. Satan is the accuser. But You will not let him gossip about me in Your presence. You listen rather to Your Son, who speaks favorably on my behalf.

Notice the reason no one can condemn you. They cannot condemn because “it is God who justifies.” The verse could have said, “No one can condemn you because you are justified.” That would have been wonderful news by itself. But how much more wonderful is the fact that not only are you justified, but it is God who did the justifying! Our joy is not in our justification; it is in the God who justifies us. If some local judge gave a verdict on you, a higher court could overturn him. But if the Supreme Court rules, nothing more can be said. If a lower court thinks differently that lower court is simply overruled and irrelevant.

O Lord God, You are the SUPREME Court. And You are supreme not only in authority, but also in goodness. If a dishonest or foolish judge gave me a favorable verdict it would be of little value. But to be declared righteous by the very Holy One Himself? I rejoice not just because I have been found not guilty, but because of the Judge who rendered that verdict!

Oh, how this truth should thrill me enough to start me dancing and shouting and singing for joy! Father, You are here with me right now. You have the power to work mightily in my heart by Your Holy Spirit to open my eyes to the greatness of this reality so that it moves me as it should. Please do that, Lord. Teach Your servant the gloriousness of Your acceptance of me, and show me the wonder of it that I might see it and be staggered and ravished and awakened by it.

What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s Supreme authority in His verdict on you today?

Experiencing this attribute:

Whenever you find yourself thinking about someone’s approval or disapproval of you, let that be a memory cue to remind you of the supremacy of God’s approval or disapproval. If you enjoy someone’s praise or delight in you, let that enjoyment serve as a sample of the much greater joy of God’s approval. And if you feel the sting of someone’s disapproval let that serve as an illustration of the much greater calamity of God’s disapproval. It is God’s assessment alone that matters.

Lord, teach me to love Your approval, not the approval of man. It is always so important to me that men speak up for me. And the approval or rejection of men does have the power to affect my emotions. When no one believes me and no one speaks up for me or is on my side (even though You are) I am deeply grieved. When You are on my side it does not put me in as good a mood as when men are on my side. O Lord, I am a lover of the praise of men! I fear men in ways I should only fear You! I am seeking the praise and approval of men! Teach me to fear You alone and to prize Your approval above all.

Think: Can you think of anyone’s approval that you are enjoying right now, or whose disapproval you are feeling the sting of right now? Let both draw your attention to how delightful is God’s approval and how dreadful is His disapproval.

Promise to trust today:

Isaiah 50:8-9 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me?

Write your own prayer

WORD INDEX

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

anxiety, anxiety

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

beauty, beauty

comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

comfort, comfort

compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

compassion, compassion

depressed

depressed, depressed

depressed, depressed

depression

depression, depression

depression, depression

depression, depression

depression, depression

depression, depression

depression, depression

desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

desire, desire

enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

enjoyment, enjoyment

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

faith, faith

fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fear, fear

fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

fellowship, fellowship

food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

food, food

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

forgiveness, forgiveness

grief

grief, grief

grief, grief

grief, grief

grief, grief

grief, grief

mailman

mailman, mailman

mailman, mailman

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

pain, pain

peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

peace, peace

pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

pleasure, pleasure

prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

prefer, prefer

presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

presence, presence

promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

promises, promises

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

suffering, suffering

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

temptation, temptation

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

water, water

worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

worry, worry

TOPICAL INDEX FOR COUNSELORS

The numbers in bold are the ones that are particularly relevant or important.

NOTE: The numbers in this index are the meditation numbers, not page numbers.

Addiction (see Enslaving Sin)

Anger – Meditations #2, 51, 56, 144, 177

Anxiety – Meditations #1-20, 61, 64-69, 72, 76, 77, 80, 81-83, 87, 89, 142 (see also Worry)

Approval (God’s) – Meditations #45-49, 52, 54, 62, 69, 78, 86, 90-92, 104, 153, 172, 180

Boredom – Meditations #1-20, 33, 44, 65, 76, 134

Burnout – Meditations #1-20, 33, 35, 44, 64, 70-73, 76, 105

Comfort – Meditations #7-10, 76, 77, 80, 82

Compassion – Meditations #1-20, 46-49, 52, 66, 76, 77, 80, 142, 143, 171

Complaining (see Grumbling)

Covetousness – Meditations #1-20, 23, 31, 36, 50, 87

Critical of Others (see Faultfinding)

Depressed – Meditations #1-20, 34-37, 46-49, 59, 62, 65, 66, 67, 73, 76, 77, 94-95, 112, 118, 140, 142, 143, 155, 166

Disapproval (man’s) – Meditations #66, 69, 180

Discouragement over Failure – Meditations #46, 53, 54-56, 59, 60, 78, 79, 86, 104, 105, 123, 160

Distant from God – Meditations #1-20, 48, 51, 59, 62, 65, 73, 75-77, 80, 81, 86, 92, 102, 107-110, 111, 118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 129, 140, 141, 142, 144, 146, 150-153, 160

Enslaving Sin – Meditations #1-20, 31, 32, 76, 131, 133

Favor (God’s) – Meditations #1-20, 46-49, 53, 54, 67-69, 77, 81, 87, 100, 123, 129, 139, 153, 157-159, 169, 172, 180

Failing Health (see Getting old)

Faultfinding – Meditations #88, 96-99, 113, 157, 161

Fear of Trouble – Meditations #30, 41, 46-49, 64, 66-69, 76, 81, 82, 87, 89, 106, 107, 111, 139, 147, 148, 151, 154

Fear of Man – Meditations #30, 180

Forgiveness (God’s) – Meditations #46-49, 51-56, 59, 78, 79, 86, 90, 123, 157-159, 172

Forgiving Others – Meditations #86, 88, 93

Getting Old – Meditations #32, 33, 34, 35, 76, 165

Gossip – Meditations #113, 125

Gossip (victim of) – Meditations #125, 180

Guidance – Meditations #114-123

Guilt – Meditations #46, 51-54, 78, 79, 86, 104, 152

Grumbling – Meditations #1-20, 31, 38, 60-69, 73, 76, 77, 81, 84, 85, 94-95, 106, 112, 142, 143, 155, 164, 178, 179

Healing (Spiritual)/Restoration – Meditations #1-20, 72-74, 76, 78, 79, 86

Idolatry – Meditations #1-20, 23, 28, 31, 36, 37, 50, 86, 101, 133

Impatience with People – Meditations #86, 88, 96-99, 104

Ingratitude – Meditations #31, 61-63, 68, 69, 73, 77, 81, 83-87, 92, 94-95, 102, 106, 107, 112, 118, 143, 144, 155, 162

Injustice (victim of) – Meditations #45, 66-69, 113, 119, 136, 177, 180

Lack of Awe/Fear of God – Meditations #22-30, 57, 60, 76, 103

Lack of Brokenness over Sin – Meditations #18-19, 52, 54-56, 57, 59, 79

Lack of Desire for Scripture – Meditations #1-20, 65, 73-76, 124-128, 132

Lack of Hope – Meditations #5, 12, 17-20

Lack of Love for Others (see Loving others)

Lack of Meaning in Life – Meditations #1-20, 44, 62, 76, 83, 122, 134

Lack of Motivation – Meditations #4, 9, 35, 70, 73-75, 90, 163

Laziness – Meditations #39, 40

Legalism – Meditations #39, 93, 170

Loneliness – Meditations #13, 17-20, 48, 65, 66, 68, 69, 81, 92, 102, 134, 140, 144, 167, 168, 169

Love for the World – Meditations #1-20, 23, 31, 32, 36, 50, 101

Loving Others – Meditations #1-20, 25, 37, 49, 80, 88, 93, 96-99, 129, 130

Lust – Meditations #12-14, 17-20, 23, 31, 32, 36

Materialism – Meditations #1-20, 32, 37, 50, 66, 73, 76, 88

Mistreated by Others – Meditations #9, 45, 46-49, 67, 76, 113, 149, 177

Outward focus/Ministry – Meditations #49, 70, 96-99, 173

Prayer – Meditations #1-20, 58, 124, 129, 133, 132, 135-139, 142, 143, 144

Pride – Meditations #38-43, 81

Restoration (see Healing)

Self-Condemnation - Meditations #59, 123, 157, 158

Self-Reliance – Meditations #38-43, 68, 71-74, 77, 81-84

Self-Righteous – Meditations #39, 52-55, 74, 79, 123, 145, 159, 161

Selfishness – Meditations #37, 49, 88, 93, 96-99, 101, 173

Suffering – Meditations #7-10, 38, 46-49, 58-61, 64-68, 76-79, 89, 106, 112, 139, 142, 156, 164, 179

Superstitious Mysticism - Meditations #1-20, 116, 121

Television – Meditations #14, 18-20, 22, 50

Temptation – Meditations #1-20, 28, 31, 32, 36, 50, 57, 65, 76, 132

Unrepentance – Meditations #28, 52, 54, 56, 57, 66, 76, 79, 123,145, 148, 152, 159,161

Vindication – Meditations #45

Weariness – Meditations #1-20, 33-35, 38-41, 64-66, 70-76, 89, 105

Worldliness (see Love for the World)

Work – Meditations #1-3, 44, 70-72

Worry – Meditations #10, 37, 41, 61, 62, 68, 76, 77, 81-83, 87, 89, 106, 107, 111, 147, 151, 164, 169, 174-180

Notes

[←1]

Author’s translation

[←2]

Author’s translation.

[←3]

All Bible quotations are taken from NIV unless otherwise noted.

[←4]

Author’s translation.

[←5]

Author’s translation.

[←6]

For example, Nm.11:6, Pr.16:26, Eccl.6:7, 9, Isa.5:14, Jer.50:19.

[←7]

This was the title of Chalmers’ sermon on 1 John 2:15-17.

[←8]

Susanna Wesley (Letter, June 8, 1725)

[←9]

“likeness” is the same word as “form” in Numbers 12:8 when Moses sees the form of Yahweh.

[←10]

Ps.43:4, Author’s translation.

[←11]

Author’s translation

[←12]

Author’s translation.

[←13]

Author’s translation.

[←14]

Author’s translation אַדִּיר (ADDIR), translated with θαυμαστὸν (thoumaston) in the LXX.

[←15]

While we long for God to turn His face of favor toward us, we also plead with Him to turn His face of anger away from us.

[←16]

Author’s translation

[←17]

John Piper, The Pleasures of God, 208.

[←18]

Author’s translation

[←19]

Author’s translation

[←20]

tsalach (xlc)

[←21]

CSB

[←22]

Author’s translation

[←23]

Jesus’ death did not automatically save anyone or cause anyone to be forgiven (which is why even the elect, prior to receiving the gospel and trusting Jesus Christ, were by nature objects of God’s wrath and really were en route to hell—Eph.2:3).

[←24]

CSV

[←25]

CSV

[←26]

Author’s translation

[←27]

CSV.

[←28]

Author’s translation.

[←29]

Author’s translation

[←30]

Author’s translation

[←31]

Author’s translation.

[←32]

Suffering is not always direct chastisement for sin, but for the Christian it is always training of some kind by the hand of God.

[←33]

The words “shepherd” and “pastor” are interchangeable. They both translate the same Greek and Hebrew words.

[←34]

Author’s translation

[←35]

Author’s translation.

[←36]

I did an Internet search to discover which profession has the highest burnout rate. The answer according to Google? It turns out there is not unanimous agreement. While pastors feel they should be near the top of the list, general practice doctors say it is their profession. Other professions that are said to be among the highest? Lawyers, teachers, oncologists, psychologists, air traffic controllers, IT technicians, child welfare workers, special ed workers, nursing home workers, police officers, human resources workers, nurses, receptionists, internists, anesthesiologists, paramedics, ER doctors, tech support technicians, hair salon workers, swimmers, and anyone working in the City of Canberra, Australia. It seems just about everyone is burned out.

[←37]

There are other good reasons to take a vacation, but restoration from burnout is not one of them.

[←38]

There is a kind of unrest that is proper. Some things should indeed bother us. But the matters in this list are things we are commanded not to fret over.

[←39]

In other words, life is holiness. That is why 1 John 3:14-15 says that life is all about loving one’s neighbor (the summary of the entire law).

[←40]

Author’s translation

[←41]

According to Acts 2:25-31 David knew he was speaking of the Messiah when he wrote this psalm.

[←42]

Author’s translation

[←43]

That is, when it takes a person as its object or has no stated object.

[←44]

Author’s translation

[←45]

Author’s translation

[←46]

Perhaps this is why the psalmist looked to the mountains. In that culture the mountains were seen as the symbols of God’s dwelling place, since they were high, awesome, beautiful, unreachable, etc.

[←47]

Author’s translation

[←48]

ESV

[←49]

Author’s translation

[←50]

There are people who do not have access to food, but this is not because of a shortage of food in the world. If all the food in the world were distributed evenly each individual on the planet would have much, much more than he or she could eat each day.

[←51]

C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, 91.

[←52]

Author’s translation

[←53]

Literally, “blessedness.” Blessedness means “to have cause for joy.” It is possible to be blessed (have reason to rejoice) and be blind to that blessedness. But the fact that Paul put “blessedness” in place of “love” shows that loving the needy is blessedness.

[←54]

Lk.6:27-8.

[←55]

Ps.35:1-11.

[←56]

Ps.35:15-6.

[←57]

Ps.35:12.

[←58]

Ps.35:13-4.

[←59]

2 Sam.1:17-27.

[←60]

Mt.9:36.

[←61]

Mt.9:36.

[←62]

For an insightful discussion of the desire of God in his compassion for people see Robert Law, The Emotions of Jesus, (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1915), 82.

[←63]

Ro.14:3-19.

[←64]

CSB

[←65]

Author’s translation

[←66]

Bridal chamber—a reference to the wedding night “hotel room”

[←67]

Delitzsch

[←68]

Author’s translation.

[←69]

CSB

[←70]

CSB

[←71]

CSB

[←72]

CSB

[←73]

Author’s translation

[←74]

CSB

[←75]

Author’s translation.

[←76]

I am indebted to John Piper for this acrostic.

[←77]

The flesh clings to whatever folly allows it to indulge itself in temporary pleasure. Proverbs 1:22 How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? But when the reliable Word of God enters the heart it draws the affections in, causing a love for wisdom. It is only when the affections are thus changed that a person can become wise.

[←78]

http://treasuringgod.com/resource_library/articles/

[←79]

This word (BAR) always means pure, clean, or flawless with only one possible exception in SOS.6:10 which compares the woman’s beauty with “the beauty of the moon and the BAR of the sun.” The word is often used in pagan literature to describe the sun. But since the primary meaning is pure, the references to the sun could easily be understood in the sense of that which is pure, refined by fire, rather than bright or radiant.

[←80]

Ezra 9:9, Ps.38:10, 1 Sam.14:27.

[←81]

Job 17:7, Lam.5:17.

[←82]

1 Sam.14:27.

[←83]

Treasury of David, vol.1, pp.285-286

[←84]

Author’s translation. The Hebrew text states that man is made a little lower than elohim. (a word that can mean “God” or “gods”). The LXX (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament that the New Testament writers used) interprets the word elohim to be a reference to angels, as do the modern English translations. I believe the word should be taken in its normal sense here, as a reference to God, not angels.

The tendency to interpret this word to refer to angels comes from the fact that it seems wrong to think of man as being just a little lower than God. Even the highest of God’s creatures are far closer to the lowest of creation than they are to God, as the gap between the Creator and even the highest of the created is infinite. This is not an insurmountable difficulty, however. The psalmist is drawing upon the creation account in which man is given supremacy over the creation. Rather than simply identifying the creation as being under man, both the creation account and the psalm give extended lists of creatures over which man has dominion, thus highlighting both the expansiveness and the uniqueness of man’s dominion. No other creature is given dominion. Man shares his role of vice-regent with no one. The statement that man is a little lower than God, then, is not designed to speak of an ontological closeness to God, but rather that in the chain of command on earth, man is immediately below God with no intermediary levels. In the organizational chart of authority on earth, even though man is infinitely lower than God ontologically, man’s name still appears immediately below God’s as the very first delegated authority.

[←85]

Be careful not to confuse appetites with desires. There is such a thing as an evil desire, and we should not expect those to be satisfied by God. However, even evil desires arise from God-given appetites. For example, if a person is treated unfairly and desires revenge, that desire for revenge is an evil desire. However, it arises out of a God-given appetite for justice, which is an appropriate thing to request of God. God gave us appetites that should cause us to seek after Him, but some of them become perverted and twisted into evil desires. When that happens we must discern the good appetite behind the evil desire and make God the focus of that appetite.

[←86]

Author’s translation

[←87]

Author’s translation.

[←88]

Author’s translation.

[←89]

If the Lord hears the desires of the afflicted as prayers it stands to reason that He hears evil desires as well—not that He inclines a favorable ear toward evil desires, but that He hears them. All our evil desires, just by their mere existence, turn themselves into a kind of James 4:3-4 type praying (praying with wrong motives, that we may spend what we get selfishly). It is not enough to merely suppress evil desires. We must strive to transform them. Let every evil impulse you have serve as an alarm bell that something is wrong inside. Let it break your heart when you realize it went up to God as an adulterous prayer.

[←90]

Author’s translation.

[←91]

Martin Tupper.

[←92]

Author’s translation.

[←93]

Author’s Translation.

[←94]

Keil & Delitzsch

[←95]

Author’s translation

[←96]

The land of the Jordan most likely refers to Israel. Hermon is northeast of Israel and is the headwaters of the Jordan. Mizar is unknown. If these are all referring to the same place it would be an example of unparalleled geographical specificity for no apparent purpose. Hermon is plural in the Greek, probably referring to the entire range. Mt. Hermon is a very high mountain, and Mizar means “smallness.” I think the psalmist is most likely saying something like, “I will remember You no matter where I am—at home, away, atop the highest peak, on the smallest hill.”

[←97]

Author’s translation

[←98]

Author’s translation

[←99]

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Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1 GOD AND THE HUMAN SOUL

Attribute #1 God’s Presence

Meditation #1:      Can You Feel the Presence of God?

Meditation #2:      Benefits of the Presence of God

Meditation #3:      God’s Presence is Better than Productivity

Meditation #4:      Lovely Enough to Evoke Longing and Fainting

Meditation #5:      God’s Visible Presence is the Greatest Hope

Attribute #2 The Food-Likeness of God

Meditation #6:      Delightful to the Human Soul

Meditation #7:      Satisfying to the Human Soul

Meditation #8:      Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Thirst)

Meditation #9:      Satisfier of the Thirst of the Soul (Increase Your Faith )

Meditation #10:      The Water-Likeness of God

Meditation #11:      The Only Satisfier of the Soul

Meditation #12:      Our Appetite for Goodness

Meditation #13:      Unfulfilled Desire

Meditation #14:      Loving the World

Meditation #15:      Satisfies with His Face (Presence)

Attribute #3 The Filler of All Things

Meditation #16:      The Source of all Enjoyment

Meditation #17:      Not Dependent upon Earthly Means

Attribute #4 The God Whose Presence is Preferable to the Pleasure of Sin

Meditation #18:      Enjoying Earthly Pleasures as Worship, Not Idolatry

Meditation #19:      Waiting on God vs. Forfeiting Grace

Meditation #20:      Worth Waiting For

Attribute #5 Splendor and Majesty

Attribute #6 Magnificence

Meditation #22:      Awe

Meditation #23:      Superiority

Meditation #24:      Adorned with the Creation

Meditation #25:      Personal Majesty

Attribute #7 Worthy to be Feared

Meditation #26:      God is Huge

Meditation #27:      The God We Simultaneously Fear and Desire

Meditation #28:      The Excruciating Rod

Meditation #29:      Fearing Loss of Closeness

Meditation #30:      Worthy of ALL our Fear

Attribute #8 Generosity

Meditation #31:      The God who Gives to the Point of Satisfaction

Meditation #32:      God Supplies Much More Than What We Need

Attribute #9 Refresher and Restorer of the Soul

Meditation #33:      Refreshment

Meditation #34:      Your Best Days are Ahead of You

Meditation #35:      Recovery from iscouragement

Attribute #10 The Generous Vendor

Meditation #36:      Supplier of Both Need and Luxury

Meditation #37:      His Generosity Enables Yours

Attribute #11 Giver of Strength

Meditation #38:      Don’t Waste Your Weakness

Meditation #39:      Giver of Effort-Enabling Strength

Meditation #40:      Strength Through Quiet Trust

Meditation #41:      Eternal, Supreme, Tireless, Unsearchable, Strengthener of the Weary

Attribute #12 Giver of Success/Prosperity

Meditation #42:      What is Prosperity?

Meditation #43:      Success Through Faith

Attribute #13 Giver of Satisfaction and Enjoyment of Work

Meditation #44:

Attribute #14 Vindicator

Meditation #45:

Attribute #15 The Father of Compassion and God of All Comfort

Meditation #46:      Compassion Like a Father

Meditation #47:      Enjoying God’s Pity

Meditation #48:      His Comfort is Enough for Joy

Meditation #49:      Why it is so Important to Find Comfort

Attribute #16—The Cause of All Good Desires

Meditation #50:      The Source of Your Desires

Part 2 GOD AND OUR SIN

Attribute #17 Compassion

Meditation #51:      Meditation: Appeal to His Compassion

Attribute #18 The God Who Forgives for His Name’s Sake

Meditation #52:

Attribute #19 The God Who Forgives Through Jesus’ Intercession

Meditation #53:

Attribute #20 The God Who Thoroughly Cleanses Us

Meditation #54:

Attribute #21 The Re-Creating God

Meditation #55:

Attribute #22 The One Against Whom All Sin is Committed

Meditation #56:

Attribute #23 Crusher of Bones & Restorer of Joy

Meditation #57:      Deep Joy through Deep Sorrow

Meditation #58:      Suffering Teaches us to Pray Earnestly

Meditation #59:      The Purpose of Joy—Praise!

Attribute #24 The God Whose Discipline Is Only Redemptive

Meditation #60:

Part 3 CARE FOR US

Attribute #25 Mighty Hand

Meditation #61:

Attribute #26 The Living Counselor-King

Meditation #62:

Attribute #27 The Only Solution to Trouble

Meditation #63:      The Only Worthy Object of Complaint

Meditation #64:      A Proven Ever-Present Help

Meditation #65:      Interpreting the Thirsts of the Soul

Attribute #28 The Source of All Blessing, Whose Favor is of Great Worth

Meditation #66:

Attribute #29 The God Whose Favor is Worth Any Price

Meditation #67:

Attribute #30 Shepherd

Meditation #68:      MY Shepherd

Meditation #69:      Creation is His Rod and Staff to Comfort Me

Attribute #31 Giver of Rest

Meditation #70:      The God of the Easy, Rest-Giving Yoke

Meditation #71:      Gentle Shepherd

Meditation #72:      The Only Source of Calm

Attribute #32 Giver of Life

Meditation #73:      The Meaning of “Abundant Life”

Meditation #74:      Spiritual Life

Meditation #75:      Life through Fellowship with God

Meditation #76:      Loving Life

Meditation #77:      Deliverer from the Pit

Attribute #33 Healer

Meditation #78:      Restorer

Meditation #79:      Forgiving Judge and Healing Physician

Attribute #34 God Whose Nearness Gives Encouragement, Comfort, Fellowship, Tenderness And Compassion

Meditation #80:

Attribute #35 Foundation for Salvation, Glory, and Strength

Meditation #81:

Attribute #36 The Only Source of Help; Creator

Meditation #82:

Attribute #37 Generous Benefactor

Meditation #83:      Provider with an Open, Full Hand

Meditation #84:      Necessity, Luxury, and Multifaceted Graciousness

Meditation #85:      The God of Tailor-Made Provision

Meditation #86:      He Makes it Possible for us to Reconcile with Him

Meditation #87:      How Much Has God Given You?

Meditation #88:      Generous to Givers

Attribute #38 Strength and Love Combined

Meditation #89:

Attribute #39 Love (HESED)

Meditation #90:      That Which Grants Access Into the Presence of God

Meditation #91:      The Difference Between David and Saul: God’s HESED

Meditation #92:      The Beauty of God’s HESED

Meditation #93:      Loving in Order to Know God’s Love

Meditation #94:      Prolific Love

Meditation #95:      The Facets of God’s HESED

Attribute #40 Love That Can Be Experienced through Loving Others

Meditation #96:      Taking Pleasure in Pleasing Him

Meditation #97:      Experiencing His Attributes by Being the Means through which they Come

Meditation #98:      Enjoying God through Loving People

Meditation #99:      The God Who Loves The Unlovely

Attribute #41 Jealous Love

Meditation #100:      God Cares about Your Love!

Meditation #101:      Our Only Good

Attribute #42 Omni(favorable)presence

Meditation #102:

Attribute #43 Awesome Creation Wisdom

Meditation #103:

Attribute #44 Patience

Meditation #104:

Attribute #45 The God of New Beginnings and Ever-New Mercies

Meditation #105:

Attribute #46 Caretaker of the Details of the Creation

Meditation #106:

Attribute #47 Light

Meditation #107:      Opens the Door to Reality

Meditation #108:      Not Just the Light of the World, but My Light

Meditation #109:      Splendorous and Self- Revealing

Meditation #110:      His Presence Drives Away the Darkness

Attribute #48 My Salvation

Meditation #111:      No Need to Fear

Meditation #112:      His Presence is Salvation

Attribute #49 Giver of Justice

Meditation #113:

Attribute #50 The God Who Guides His People

Meditation #114:      The Blessings of guidance

Meditation #115:      The God Who Guides us Personally

Meditation #116:      The God Who Guides by Turning on the Lights

Meditation #117:      He Guides into His Own Presence

Meditation #118:      His Way is Better than Any Other

Meditation #119:      He Teaches Us Because of our Oppressors

Meditation #120:      He Guides Us Even after We Have Rejected Guidance

Meditation #121:      The God Who Leads Fools by the Hand

Meditation #122:      Relates to Us as a Head to a Body

Attribute #51 Eagerness to Lead Humble Sinners

Meditation #123:      Meditation:

Attribute #52 The God Whose Words are Perfect

Meditation #124:      Restoring the Soul

Meditation #125:      Trustworthy, Making Wise the Simple

Meditation #126:      Right, Giving Joy to the Heart

Meditation #127:      Radiant, Giving Light to the Eyes

Meditation #128:      Precious

Attribute #53 Mindfulness, Care and Exaltation of Puny Man

Meditation #129:      Our Unique Ability to Commune with our Creator

Meditation #130:      God’s Love for People Makes them Precious to Us

Meditation #131:      The God who Grants Co-Regency to Puny Man

Meditation #132:      God Considers and Cares for Man

Attribute #54 Worthiness and Trustworthiness to be the Object of My Desire

Meditation #133:

Attribute #55 The God Who Listens to His People

Meditation #134:      God Watches with Interest

Meditation #135:      God Listens, Cares and Responds to My Sighing

Meditation #136:      The God Who Hears Desire

Meditation #137:      Complex Prayers

Meditation #138:      We Can Pray Expectantly

Meditation #139:      God Rends the Heavens when I Cry for Help

Attribute #56 Available to His People

Meditation #140:      The Many Different Avenues of Fellowship with God

Meditation #141:      God’s Presence is Available Every Moment

Meditation #142:      The God Who is Sympathetic to Our Sorrows

Meditation #143:      The God Who Delights in Our Joys

Meditation #144:      Availability at Night and in the Morning

Meditation #145:      God is Close to those who Take Refuge in Him

Attribute #57 God Who Speaks

Meditation #146:      He Confides in Us

Attribute #58 Refuge

Meditation #147:      God’s Refuge is a Delight to Those in Trouble

Meditation #148:      Shelter, Safety and Rock.

Meditation #149:      Rock, Salvation and Fortress

Meditation #150:      The ONLY Savior from the Enemy’s Traps

Meditation #151:      Guard, Rescuer and Refuge

Meditation #152:      The Only Refuge from His Own Wrath

Meditation #153:      The God Whose Favor is Our Protection

Meditation #154:      Our Constant Protector

Part 4 GRACE

Attribute #59 Worthy of Hope

Meditation #155:

Attribute #60 The God Who Uses Catastrophe to Draw Us to Himself

Meditation #156:

Attribute #61 The God of Gracious Memory

Meditation #157:      We Can Request Gracious Memory

Meditation #158:      The Source of Past Good

Meditation #159:      The Weight of Sin

Attribute #62 The God Who is the Only Shelter from His Own Chastisement

Meditation #160:

Attribute #63 The Examiner of the Heart

Meditation #161:

Attribute #64 The Redeemer/Crowner

Meditation #162:

Attribute #65 Rewarder

Meditation #163:      The Promise of Reward

Attribute #66 Omnipotent Blesser

Meditation #164:

Attribute #67 Eternal Love

Meditation #165:

Attribute #68 Pursuing Love

Meditation #166:

Attribute #69 Omniscient God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #167:      Constant Company

Meditation #168:      God Sees My Resolve and Love

Attribute #70 Omnipresent God—With Regard to Me

Meditation #169:      His Hand upon Me

Attribute #71 The God Who Reveals His Will

Meditation #170:

Attribute #72 Mercy and Compassion

Meditation #171:

Attribute #73 Short-Lived Anger

Meditation #172:

Attribute #74 The Dispenser of Grace Through Ministry

Meditation #173:

Attribute #75 Faithfulness

Meditation #174:      Purchaser of His Own Promises for Me

Meditation #175:      The Benefits of God’s Promises

Meditation #176:      The God Whose Promises Preserve my Life

Meditation #177:      When People Are Unreliable

Meditation #178:      Always Faithful and Loving Ways

Meditation #179:      Faithfulness in Affliction

Attribute #76 The Highest and Final Judge

Meditation #180:

WORD INDEX

TOPICAL INDEX FOR COUNSELORS