This past weekend in our message my prayer was to help us see God more clearly in terms of His character and His grace in the Gospel. The key to faithfulness is embracing all of Who God is and all of Who He is for us as loving Father, Savior and King Jesus, and indwelling Holy Spirit. If seeing God correctly is so critical, how do we see Him in High Definition? Here are 5 ways to see Him better …
1. The enemy does NOT want us to see God correctly.
Satan works by blinding us to the glory of God expressed in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, any thought that diminishes God or contemplates sin against Him must be taken captive (2 Cor. 10:5).
2. We see God primarily through faith.
Trying to see God is not like trying to find a four-leaf clover. It’s the opposite of “seeing is believing.” Faith equals believing is seeing (Hebrews 11:1).
3. The Word of God must become our “eyes.” Faith comes from hearing and, specifically, from hearing the message about Christ (Romans 10:17).
Perhaps an example will help. You go to the grocery store and are checking out. As you stand in line the messages of the magazine rack speak to you that you are what you own, you are how you look, you are what you wear, and your life would be better if you only had ‘X.’ So, you start believing that message and the result is some combination of vanity, materialism, insecurity, bitterness, envy, and/or covetousness.
But then you open the Word of God and read, “…Your faithful love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3b, HCSB). Now you have a crisis of belief/faith. Does People Magazine or Psalm 63:3 win? Which “word” do you trust? This is the fight of faith; this is the fight to see; this is the fight to understand Who God really is and how He is for you.
4. Think about God more. How often do we go without even thinking about God and yet we are told to “set our minds” on Him (Colossians 3:2)? Thinking about God requires effort and intentionality but it is well worth the effort.
5. Think correctly & deeply about God, focusing on His attributes. In church, we often talk about God’s grace and mercy and about His desire to have a personal relationship with us. But what about God makes Him gracious and merciful? What about God makes Him desire a relationship with us? It’s not because He is insufficient, incomplete, lonely, or needy. Press deep. It’s not because He needs us. Press deep. He is totally sufficient in and of Himself. He is totally happy being God. Press deep. From within Himself—not because of us—God is good, just, and loving. Mercy is His goodness meeting us in our pain and guilt; Grace is His goodness directing itself toward our sin debt. All of God’s reasons for creation and redemption come from within His uncreated Being (from Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer)! Ultimately, words like majesty, infinite, and perfection are the only words that start to do justice to Who God really is.
What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
A.W. Tozer