Wholeness: Do You Know Whose You Are?

In the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty, television reporter Bruce Nolan views life as a glass half-empty. Convinced he's the unluckiest guy in the world, he complains that God must be sleeping on the job. So he gets the chance of a lifetime: God personally hands over the reigns of the world to Bruce, allowing him to run the world. Bruce relishes in his new-found powers, using them to tilt the world in his favor. He becomes "Mr. Exclusive," his station's top reporter/anchor, and his life takes a huge turn for the best... until it all begins to unravel.

While a simplistic and comical view of God and His sovereignty, Bruce Almighty actually presents us with some profound truths. I'll list a few:

• We humans sometimes wonder if God really has our best interest at heart
• We often ask the age-old question: if God is a good God, then why does He allow bad things to happen?
• Quite frankly, we sometimes think we could do a better job with our lives

Just writing that last thought made me cringe. How can we presume to think we could actually do a better job with our lives than God? If I'm honest, I must admit that there have been a few times in my life when I've felt this way. It's usually those times when it felt like my life was unraveling at the seams.

And yet, I can also recall the culmination of those times -- how God brings me to myself and reminds me of Who He really is. How unbelievably big He is. How He doesn't just see the present circumstances of my life, but the future. He reminds me that He see it all -- the past, present and future. And He reminds me that while my life is very significant to Him, it's just not all about me. It's really about Him and His plans for the entire world -- the world yesterday, today and tomorrow. He shows me that even the difficult things I go through have a greater purpose in my life and the lives of others around me.

When brought face to face with God and His enormity, I can do little but drop to my knees. I am humbled. I am in awe of how amazing He is.

In last Tuesday's blog post I listed several identifying qualities of God's children. If you haven't read them, do so when you get a chance. Now I'd like to present you with several attributes of God. My list certainly isn't all-inclusive. I don't know if the English language -- or any language for that matter -- could fully define God in His totality. He's too big for our finite man-made language. He's too big even for our minds to comprehend. But with the help of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, here's a good start for you:

God is:

Eternal - Psalm 90:2, Revelation 1:8

Omnipotent (All-powerful) - Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17

Omniscient (All-knowing) - Job 37:16

Omnipresent (Everywhere at all times) - Jeremiah 23:23-24, Psalm 139:7-10

Faithful and True - Revelation 19:11

Good - Psalm 34:8, 100:5, 106:1

Love - 1 John 4:8

Holy - Isaiah 6:3

Righteous - Romans 3:25-26

Jealous (earnestly protective or watchful) - Exodus 20:5

Merciful and Gracious - Psalm 103:8

Patient - Romans 2:4

Perfect - Matthew 5:48, Psalm 18:30

Beautiful - Psalm 27:4

We typically go through life selfishly, desiring things that we believe will make our lives better. May we desire the one thing that King David, a man after God's own heart, desired.

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

Let's end with a song by Chris Tomlin that magnifies how great God is in all His majesty, holiness and beauty. He is truly Indescribable.

Made Whole In Him,

Carla