How does the Bible describe God? part 5

Welcome again, my dear reader. This is part 5 of a series of seven articles that address the question, How does the Bible describe God? So let us continue from where we stopped in the previous article.

29. God is wise in heart

The Bible describes God as being wise in heart. This is recorded in Job 9:4, which says

“GOD IS WISE IN HEART and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?”

This means that no one can contend with God and succeed.

Unfortunately, there are people who believe that they are wiser than God, who created them! Some have even rejected the idea that God is the creator of the universe. Instead, they have postulated theories to explain the origin of life. What a joke!

It is this category of people that the Apostle Paul had in mind when he penned the words found in 1 Corinthians 1:25. Here, the scripture says:

“The FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN, and the weakness of God is stronger than men!’

God’s wisdom is so great that no one can purport to counsel Him. This is according to Romans 11:33–36, that says

“Oh, THE DEPTH OF THE RICHES BOTH OF THE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD! HOW UNSEARCHABLE ARE HIS JUDGEMENTS AND HIS WAYS ARE PAST FINDING OUT! Who has known the mind of the Lord? OR WHO HAS BECOME HIS COUNSELOR? Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

The book of Job 11:7-9 speaks of the difficulties you will encounter in trying to understand the deep things of God. It says

“CAN YOU SEARCH OUT THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.”

Lesson for us: As human beings, our wisdom is no match for the wisdom of God. This is because, our wisdom is finite or limited.

The Scriptures say that our wisdom cannot even come close to God’s foolishness! Just ponder this statement in light of the many sophisticated technological inventions man has made! No matter how high-tech such inventions appear to be, the wisdom used to develop them cannot come close to the foolishness of God! Simply put, God’s foolishness can develop more superior gadgets! For this reason, man should esteem God highly and worship Him alone.

30. God is with the generation of the righteous

The Bible describes God as being with the generation of the righteous. This means that God shows favor to the descendants of a person who does what is right in His sight.

Psalm 14:5 puts it this way:

“There they are in great fear, for God IS WITH THE GENERATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS.”

Similar sentiments are echoed in Psalm 112:1-2, that says

“Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD and delights greatly in His commandments. HIS DESCENDANTS WIL BE MIGHTY ON EARTH; THE GENERATION OF THE UPRIGHT WILL BE BLESSED.”

In the Bible, there are two individuals who walked with God and, as a result, had their descendants blessed. The two are Abraham and David.

Because Abraham walked in the ways of God, His descendants were greatly blessed. They eventually inherited the land of Promise by the hand of Joshua, God’s servant (Joshua 1–24).

David is another man who did what was right in the eyes of God. Consequently, God promised that there would always be one of his descendants sitting on the throne of Israel as King (1 Kings 15:1–5).

Lesson for us: The Bible teaches that God punishes sons for the sins committed by their fathers. It also teaches that God shows mercy to the descendants of righteous people. We read this in Deuteronomy 5:9–10, and we quote

“You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, AM A JEALOUS GOD, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THEIR CHILDREN TO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATIONS OF THOSE WHO HATE ME, BUT SHOWING MERCY TO THOUSANDS, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

This means that if we walk in the ways of God while still alive, our descendants will be blessed long after we are gone. But if we rebel against God’s commandments, we will suffer punishment.

So, while still alive, be very careful how you conduct yourself, for this will greatly impact the lives of your descendants.

31. God is with us

The Bible also describes God as Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us’. This means that God is always with His people. We read this in Isaiah 8:10, which says

“Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak the word, but it will not stand, for God IS WITH US.”

In this passage, the prophet issues a warning to those who plot evil against the people of God. He tells them that their plans will never succeed because God is always present with His people to protect them from every evil scheme of the enemy.

Moses knew the importance of God’s presence and pleaded with Him never to abandon Israel as they journeyed from Egypt to the Land of Promise. This is recorded in the book of Exodus 33:12–14. It says

“Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’ AND HE SAID, ‘MY PRESENCE WILL GO WITH YOU, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.’”

From this passage, we learn that when God’s Presence is with you, He gives you REST.

This is the point that Jesus emphasized to His disciples in Matthew 11:28 when He said:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”

So when you are in Christ, He gives you rest.

Psalm 46:11 assures readers of the Bible that God’s presence is always with His people by stating as follows:

“The LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US; The God of Jacob is our refuge.”

Lesson for us: God has assured every believer of His Presence in every moment of their life. This is signified by the Presence of the Holy Spirit in every person who has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

God’s Presence is crucial in the life of every believer, as it shields them from the attacks of the enemy.

In addition, we have seen that God’s Presence brings REST to His people. This rest helps believers remain calm when trouble comes knocking at their doors.

32. God is our refuge

The Bible describes God as our refuge. This means that He is a place of escape from the troubles that continually dog our lives. Therefore, by remaining in Him, our safety and security are guaranteed.

In the book of Psalm 46:1, the Psalmist boasts of God as his refuge and strength by saying:

“GOD IS OUR REFUGE and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 9:9 talks of God being our refuge from oppression as follows:

“The LORD also will be a REFUGE FOR THE OPPRESSED, a REFUGE IN TIMES OF TROUBLE.”

In Deuteronomy 33:27, Moses reminds the children of Israel that God is their refuge by saying

“The eternal GOD IS YOUR REFUGE, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you and will say, ‘Destroy!’”

Lesson for us: Is your life full of troubles, and you don’t know whom to turn to or where to go? I have good news for you: stop searching for worldly solutions and just surrender to God. For it is only in Him that you can be assured of protection from trouble.

33. God loves a cheerful giver

The Bible describes God as one who loves a cheerful giver. A cheerful giver is one who gives from his heart. Such a person is not coerced to give but does so willingly.

In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, the Apostle Paul taught the church at Corinth how to give by saying:

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So LET EACH ONE GIVE AS HE PURPOSES IN HIS HEART, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.”

The point being made here is that giving should be done without murmuring or complaining.

This is what The Apostle Peter taught in 1 Peter 4:9. The scripture says:

“Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.”

In other words, when you help someone out, do so without making a lot of noise about it.

Moses taught the same thing about giving in Exodus 35:4-5 by saying,

“And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, ‘This is the thing the LORD commanded, saying: ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever IS OF A WILLING HEART, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze.”

In this passage, we see God instructing Moses to ensure that ONLY THOSE WITH A WILLING HEART were to participate in the giving. This tells you that God attaches greater importance to the state of your heart when giving than to the amount you are giving.

Lesson for us: The Bible tells us that the right way to give is by GIVING CHEERFULLY. When we follow this instruction, we not only attract blessings from God but His love as well.  The Bible has enough evidence to show that everyone who gave cheerfully became immensely blessed. These include characters like, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, King Solomon, and many more. We can only achieve similar results when our giving conforms to the Biblical principles of giving.

34. God does not lie

The Bible tells us that God is incapable of lying with regards to the promises He has made toward His people. This is because He is the embodiment of truth. We read this in Numbers 23:19, which says:

“God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said it, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

In other words, when God says that He will do something, He does it exactly as He says.

Men are not so. When men promise to do something, most often than not, they fail to deliver. Reason being, man is in a fallen state. That is why the Bible cautions us against putting our trust in men.

Lesson for us: As believers, we can always count on the promises that God has made in the Bible concerning our lives. This is because they will surely come to pass.

If you undertake a careful scrutiny of the Bible, you will realize that there is a promise for virtually every area of your life. This includes your career, marriage, and children, among others.

So, it is upon you to search the scriptures and find the promise that applies to the situation you are currently grappling with. Then pray to God with that scripture, and you will see results.

Take, for example, your career. You may be experiencing opposition at your workplace, so much so that resignation seems to be the only way out. However, before you tender in that resignation letter, you can petition God using a scripture like Deuteronomy 28:7, which says

“The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”

Or Psalm 18:29, which says

“For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.”

So, there you have it! The ball is in your court.

35. God is a rewarder

The Bible describes God as one who rewards good deeds. For example, the book of Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God rewards those who seek Him diligently. This is what the scripture says

“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a REWARDER OF THOSE WHO DILIGENTLY SEEK Him.”

In Psalm 58:11, the Bible is clear that the righteous shall receive a reward from God. It says

“So that men will say, ‘surely THERE IS A REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS; surely He is God who judges in the earth.’”

In Jeremiah 31:16, the prophet Jeremiah tells his people to refrain from weeping because God is going to reward their good works and deliver them from captivity. The scripture says:

“Thus says the LORD: ‘refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; FOR YOUR WORK SHALL BE REWARDED, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.’”

The Bible also teaches that children are a REWARD from God. This is according to Psalm 127:3. It says

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD; the FRUIT OF THE WOMB IS A REWARD.”

Jesus taught that those who are persecuted on earth because of the word of God HAVE A GREAT REWARD IN HEAVEN. We read this in Matthew 5:11, which says

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, FOR GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Jesus also taught that those who do charitable work, like helping the needy, will receive a reward from God. This is recorded in Matthew 6:1–4 as follows:

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have NO REWARD from your father. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, THAT YOUR CHARITABLE DEED MAY BE IN SECRET; AND YOUR FATHER WHO SEES IN SECRET WILL HIMSELF REWARD YOU OPENLY.”

The Bible also teaches that those who fast receive a reward from God. This is according to Matthew 6:17–18, which says

“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret WILL REWARD YOU OPENLY.”

The Bible also teaches that in the age to come, people will be rewarded according to their deeds. This is according to Matthew 16:27, which says

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He WILL REWARD EACH ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS.”

Lesson for us: In order to receive a reward from God, there are several things we must do. They include seeking God diligently, walking in righteousness, doing good works, doing charity work the right way, and fasting in the right way.

We have also learned that children are a reward from God. Therefore, couples who are yet to be blessed with kids should pray with this scripture and patiently wait for God to fulfill His promise.

Conclusion

This article is the fifth in a series of seven that discuss how the Bible describes God. To read Part 4 of the article, kindly click the link provided below. Through these articles, we seek to examine what the Bible says about the attributes, character, nature, and traits of God. The main goal of this article is to deepen the reader’s understanding of the topic under discussion. It also seeks to add to the already-existing body of knowledge about the attributes and nature of God. It is my sincere hope that you will find it helpful. Thank you, and God bless you.

Related Post: How does the Bible describe God?

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Prayer to become a born-again Christian

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and hereby ask for your forgiveness;

I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you are the only begotten Son of the living God.

I believe that you were sent by your Father to the earth to save sinners like me.

I now accept you as my personal Lord and Savior.

Come into my heart and baptize me with The Holy Spirit.

Thank you for saving me.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen!”

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Benediction

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.”

(Numbers 6:24-26)

Shalom.

Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/