Monthly Women's Devotional
God’s Attributes
In my quiet time today, I thought about God's attributes and how I have found great comfort in seeing them actualized in my life. Don’t misunderstand me… they are always present. It’s just that sometimes I have a hard time recognizing them when I’m preoccupied with “life.” Merriam-Webster defines an attribute as a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone. A few of God’s attributes that came to mind this morning were His sovereignty, His goodness, His mercy, His compassion, His grace, His generosity, and His faithfulness.
One example of God’s compassion in my life happened during the COVID outbreak. I had ventured out to get “supplies” and was totally blown away by God’s concern with my personal needs. I know each of us has things we consider “most important” to exist comfortably in our day-to-day lives. A few of mine are toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, and paper towels. Anyway, I set my alarm for a time that I usually never see; let’s just say it was still dark outside as I headed off to Target to see what I could find. Much to my surprise, half of Pasadena had the same idea. I hurried back (as you can guess) to the toilet paper and paper towel aisle. And there it was, like a pot of gold, both toilet paper and paper towels! You would have thought I had found $1,000. And when I found Clorox wipes and Ajax dishwashing soap too, I almost started crying from joy. I just looked up to heaven and smiled because I realized, in that very moment…He knows me, and He knew this was exactly what I needed. I absolutely love how God is so personal and intimate with us, don’t you?
In Matthew 8:23-27, we read about Jesus getting into the boat with his disciples, when out of nowhere comes a violent storm. Now, if you have ever been on a lake when a storm rolls in unexpectedly, it is very unnerving, to say the least. Now, in this account we are told that the very desperate disciples woke Jesus from his slumber, begging Him to save them, “for they were surely going to drown at this rate.” Jesus simply replies, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Let me just stop here and say, I can totally relate to the disciples in this story right about now; however, I would probably be a tad more dramatic. I could see myself telling Jesus, “Look here! Things are getting out of control by the minute! I need you to rebuke the winds and calm this storm before we all drown.” And I’m sure I would have added…RIGHT THIS MINUTE! Haha!
In my limited vision, I must confess that sometimes I fail to recognize God’s attributes actively on display in my day-to-day circumstances. Even when life seems “out of control” to me (key being: to me), HE IS STILL IN CONTROL. God will never act inconsistently with His character. He IS worthy of our trust and our adoration because He IS faithful and He IS love.
Charles Spurgeon, who was a very influential English Baptist preacher, once said, “God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken; and when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” I know we know these truths, but sometimes we need a gentle reminder to replenish and refresh our strength in the heat of life’s storms.
God is good all the time! Amen!
Trish Gibb
In my quiet time today, I thought about God's attributes and how I have found great comfort in seeing them actualized in my life. Don’t misunderstand me… they are always present. It’s just that sometimes I have a hard time recognizing them when I’m preoccupied with “life.” Merriam-Webster defines an attribute as a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone. A few of God’s attributes that came to mind this morning were His sovereignty, His goodness, His mercy, His compassion, His grace, His generosity, and His faithfulness.
One example of God’s compassion in my life happened during the COVID outbreak. I had ventured out to get “supplies” and was totally blown away by God’s concern with my personal needs. I know each of us has things we consider “most important” to exist comfortably in our day-to-day lives. A few of mine are toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, and paper towels. Anyway, I set my alarm for a time that I usually never see; let’s just say it was still dark outside as I headed off to Target to see what I could find. Much to my surprise, half of Pasadena had the same idea. I hurried back (as you can guess) to the toilet paper and paper towel aisle. And there it was, like a pot of gold, both toilet paper and paper towels! You would have thought I had found $1,000. And when I found Clorox wipes and Ajax dishwashing soap too, I almost started crying from joy. I just looked up to heaven and smiled because I realized, in that very moment…He knows me, and He knew this was exactly what I needed. I absolutely love how God is so personal and intimate with us, don’t you?
In Matthew 8:23-27, we read about Jesus getting into the boat with his disciples, when out of nowhere comes a violent storm. Now, if you have ever been on a lake when a storm rolls in unexpectedly, it is very unnerving, to say the least. Now, in this account we are told that the very desperate disciples woke Jesus from his slumber, begging Him to save them, “for they were surely going to drown at this rate.” Jesus simply replies, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Let me just stop here and say, I can totally relate to the disciples in this story right about now; however, I would probably be a tad more dramatic. I could see myself telling Jesus, “Look here! Things are getting out of control by the minute! I need you to rebuke the winds and calm this storm before we all drown.” And I’m sure I would have added…RIGHT THIS MINUTE! Haha!
In my limited vision, I must confess that sometimes I fail to recognize God’s attributes actively on display in my day-to-day circumstances. Even when life seems “out of control” to me (key being: to me), HE IS STILL IN CONTROL. God will never act inconsistently with His character. He IS worthy of our trust and our adoration because He IS faithful and He IS love.
Charles Spurgeon, who was a very influential English Baptist preacher, once said, “God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken; and when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” I know we know these truths, but sometimes we need a gentle reminder to replenish and refresh our strength in the heat of life’s storms.
God is good all the time! Amen!
Trish Gibb
