What is your current view of God?
10 Characteristics in a great father (my responses)
1. Nurturing
2. Loving
3. Forgiving
4. Generous
5. Empathetic
6. Caring
7. Protective
8. Compassionate
9. Honest
10. Loyal
"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 them."
-1 John 4:16
God IS love.
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
-1 John 4:8
"For God so loved [Sarah] that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
-1 John 3:16
God notices me and loves me unconditionally.
"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
-2 Timothy 3:16-17
I think this verse means that everything in scripture comes from God himself, and we can use it to prepare ourselves for delivering God's word.
"God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'"
-Job 37:5-6
"The truth requires that we believe everything that God has said about himself, but also that we believe everything that he has said about us."
-A.W. Tozer
I definitely struggle with this. I know God is love, and merciful, and everything he says about himself. That's not hard for me to believe. But I devalue myself so much that anything God says about me is meaningless to me. I guess it is something I need to work on, because I know God's word is the truth, I just can't apply it to myself.
How God defines himself
"Because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate."
-Exodus 22:27
"Go, proclaim this message toward the north: 'Return faithless Israel,' declares the Lord, 'I will drown on you no longer, for I am faithful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever.'"
-Jeremiah 3:12
"After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your great reward.'"
-Genesis 15:1
"The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: 'I have drawn you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'"
-Jeremiah 31:3
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
-Ezekiel 36:26
"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 hand."
-Isaiah 41:10
-----
"Know therefor that the Lord your God is your God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."
-Deuteronomy 7:9
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He can't disown Himself."
-2 Timothy 2:13
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him."
-Nahum 1:7
-----
Reflective Questions
1. What have I learned about God that I didn't know before?
I learned that God IS love. I've heard that God is love before, but it never occurred to me that God=love. Without God in my life I can't have love. And if I can't have love, then God is not in my life. This resonates with me because I used to be so full of hate, but I was also very resentful of God and separated from him. Now that I am allowing God to fill my life, I am learning to love. Hopefully through God o can learn to love myself similarly to the way God loves me. I also didn't know that God can't lie. I always heard that God is faithful, and assumed that God would keep his word. But knowing that God is incapable of lying makes his words concrete and allows me to put more trust in Him.
2. What has God out in my life to show me that he loves me and that I need him?
As much as my eating disorder sucks, I think God gave me this challenge so I can grow in Him. Without challenges, God can't show you his unconditional love. God game me my eating disorder so I would run to him for his help in giving me strength to overcome it. Over the last few days, I have really felt God's presence in my life. I have spent the last few days really spending a lot of time with God through music, prayer, and reading about Him. I feel like God is a magnet, the more I spent time with Him the more I want to. After spending the last few days with Him, I've felt more secure in myself and have less thoughts of ending my life. That is how I see god's love and how I see him working in me.
3. What does God mean to you today? How does that differ from yesterday?
God is the ultimate healer. Through God, I have strength to overcome my ED. God is power, and merciful, and faithful. God also loves me unconditionally. God will restore my heart and make it whole again. I think it differs from yesterday because I have hope through God. I don't need to fight this battle on my own. I don't need to seek love from others because God can fill me with the love that I feel a void of.
No comments:
Post a Comment