Reminding Ourselves of Who God Is
Last year we did a sermon series called God Is: Four Kingdom Truths for Everyday Life, where we focused on four key attributes of God: God is Great; God is Glorious; God is Good; God is Gracious. With each of these truths, we attached a “so we don’t” phrase explaining how we are to live our lives in light of the truths about who God is. Here’s what I mean:
God is great, so we don’t have to be in control.
God is glorious, so we don’t have to fear others.
God is good, so we don’t have to look elsewhere for satisfaction.
God is gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves.
If you haven’t heard the sermon series or need a refresher, I recommend you go back and listen. Why? We believe it helps battle unbelief in our lives and helps us reorient our heads, hearts, and hands around some of God’s fundamental and powerful truths.
We may find it challenging to identify when we fail to believe God is great, glorious, good, and gracious. Here’s a chart we’ve put together that might help you recognize when you’re living in unbelief. Click the chart for a full-size view OR click here to take a quick one-minute assessment to help identify where you struggle the most.
Remember this: Change takes place through faith in our great, glorious, good, and gracious God. It takes place as we preach God’s truth to our hearts. What does this mean in practice?
First, we need to nurture our trust in God’s greatness, our fear of God’s glory, our delight in God’s goodness, our longing for God’s future, and our rest in God’s grace. We need to do this daily as we depend upon the Holy Spirit to transform us through the Word, prayer, and the Christian community.
Second, when we face temptation, we need to say not only “I should not do this,” but also “I need not do this.” For example, when tempted to worry, we say not only “I must not worry,” but “I need not worry because God is in control.” Whatever sin offers, God is bigger and better. To say to temptation, “I must not do this,” is legalism. To say, “I need not do this because God is bigger and better,” is good news!
This week, take some time to review the Four G’s chart (see link above). Where do you see the “fruit of unbelief” manifesting in your life?
Spend time praying and ask God to reveal his glorious truths that can help you fight unbelief. And consider going a bit further to find Scripture passages that you can meditate on and memorize to help you fight the lies of heart idolatry. We need God’s word hidden in our hearts!
I’m praying for all of us, FBC! Let us fight unbelief with the glorious truth of God’s gospel!
-Wade
