God is good, loving, wise and sovereign.

Four important aspects of God

When my husband and I were in a period of separation, I was seeking God for answers and help.  I came across a video of a sermon by Jerry Bridges.  Jerry wrote several books in his time, including The Pursuit of Holiness; and Respectable Sins.  In the sermon I watched online, Bridges suggested that by understanding four important aspects of God, you will have a firm foundation.  God is good.  God is loving.  God is wise.  God is sovereign.  He went on to say that if one of those four characteristics were not to be true (or not believed to be true), it would undo God (or our perception of him).  However, because all four things are true, by knowing this, it can stabilise your faith and understanding of God, yourself and the world.

My mind constantly comes back to that video sermon I watched in that season of my life.  It was important then, and since that time, running through those four attributes has helped me know that in any circumstance I can trust God.  One of the attributes that I have reflected on lately is God’s goodness.  

God is Good

I often hear Christians say “God is good”.  Usually I hear this when there is one person sharing some positive news in their life and another person echoes with the phrase.  But I want to suggest that we can still use this phrase, “God is good”, when we are going through hardship and pain.  Of course I don’t mean saying it in a trite or unsympathetic way.  But in genuine acknowledgement, that in all things and through all things we can trust in God’s goodness.  His goodness might look different to what I define as good.  But I trust that God is also sovereign and loving and wise.  With this combination, I know that whatever I face, he will work good through it.  

It’s more than just clinging to a phrase like, “It wasn’t meant to be” or “It all happens for a reason”.  I do see truth in these statements.  However they are only half statements.  Once I put God in the picture and once I am confident in who God is, I can be more confident in the circumstances I find myself in.  I can stand firm, knowing that I don’t have to be shaken by this or that, no matter how hard, but I can know God.  I do know God.  My God who is good, loving, wise and sovereign is bigger than the hardship.  I am thankful in his loving kindness, that even when in pain and hurt, I can say, he is good.