5 Qualities of God that I have Overlooked

Honest-

Titus 1:2: “[I]n hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised

I find tons of excuses to lie: They might get angry at me, I didn't want to hurt them, I didn't want to get in trouble and it's too insignificant to hurt anyone. God does not use any excuse because he does not lie. No matter what the cost, God will always be straight with you. The problem is that so many people have found that honesty VERY UNWELCOME.  And yet, God still loves us enough to tear the band-aids of truth off the hairy leg of deception. Jesus knew this admitted that his honesty would cause wars and divisions. I used to struggle with God because I never understood that my sin was fighting his truth.  He still spoke even though I fought back.  I rejoice in the fact that God loves me enough to share reality with me. Now I just have to find out how to take it.

Enduring

Ps 145:8
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and rich in love.

Hands down, we all agree that God puts up with a lot of our crap on a world scale. The most amazing part of this is that God is more than ready to walk the journey. You can doubt him, fail him and kick him and have a total God tantrum and he still will beckon you. It's only when you practice the art of ignoring his presence will he honor your decision and let you go (God forbid!). Many people put God in the judgement seat and give him the role of beating your sins out of you. Very rarily do we consider that God's will is to clean you up and build you up. The life of Jesus is testimony to this. He is slow to anger, which means that God doesn't have the agenda to destroy anyone who hiccups out of place. His joy is to endure us, clean us and rebuild us to our original mint condition and purpose.

Holy

Rom 3:22-23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, NIV,

1 John 3:66 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. NIV

I absolutely hate trying to explain to people that we have failed God and have EARNED his righteous punishment. It sounds so manipulative to talk about punishment. Children need punishment--not normal humans. Talking about sin is the ultimate rain on the parade of life. On the other hand, God views a million humans making choices that don't represent his intentions on a grand scale. God has given us a beautiful piece of art as a gift and we only saw it as toilet paper. We often reject the notion that sin should be punished. Really? What would you do if the entire population choose the polar opposite of your government in every facet? Thanks be to God that he endured and gave us a redemption through Jesus so punishment doesn't have to be an option.

 Immutable

Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

Day 63 billion of God's intentions will be the same as Day One. The foundations at the Earth's infacy will be the same as the Earth's old age. This is a very true quality for a society that changes its ideas every generation. We cannot survive on a shifting reality--it's impossible  I have a lot of trouble with this because it seems that society has one thought process and God has another. Society has always been louder (not to mention society promises not to be your friend anymore if you believe different). One day I know that I will look at God's immutable nature and see the total logic of it all.

 Friendly

Zeph 3:17 17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." NIV

We hear many verses on rejoicing in God, but rarely do we hear about him returning it. It always seems like a shock to me that God might be smiling, in a good mood or excited to spend time with me. Perhaps we see God as that super conservative who lives for perfection, works all the time and yells at CNN when it disagrees with him. I'm slowly trying to get it in my head that my bad moods don't necessarily dictate what mood God is in (he is immutable after all). God may hate sin, but he loves his creation and love and joy walk hand in hand. To quote my favorite devotionalist, A.W. Tozer, "When we lift our inward eyes to gaze upon God we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us, for it is written that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earthy."