If someone asked you to describe your loved one, what words would you use? Perhaps you would start with the way they look, such as that he has wavy, light brown hair and blue eyes. Or you might list some character qualities that they have, such as that she is even-tempered, clever, and helpful. You also might describe some of their talents, such as how he's handy at fixing things around the house, or that she is a good cook. He’s a good gardener and she writes interesting mysteries. Descriptions like these help us to know what another person is like. How about with God? What words would you use to describe Him to someone who is not a Christian, words that would set Him apart from pagan or other false gods?
In our psalm for this week, the writer gives a description of some of God’s characteristics, to tell others what Yahweh was like, particularly compared to other pagan gods. One thing about false, pagan gods and goddesses, is that they do not love or personally care about their worshipers. They are vindictive and quick to anger. They are fickle, petty, lustful, and often have many other human-like failings and faults. We see that God is good, righteous, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and merciful (vs. 7-9). Each of these characteristics show His love for us.
This answers the question of whether God personally cares about us or not. Sometimes, especially when we are going through any particularly difficult times, we might feel that God doesn’t care about us. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to question the goodness of God. He does that to us today. Satan tells us that if God really loved us, then why did this or that happen to us. That is a ploy that he uses to tempt us to turn away from God, to get us to stop loving and worshiping Him. As we look at God’s characteristics, though, we see that this is not the case.
The psalmist’s description of God that we see here, answers the accusation that Satan tries to put in our minds, and answers the question that we sometimes have when we face hard and grueling problems. To not love or care for us would go against God’s character. Our personalities may change a bit over time. We may have been a hard-nosed stickler for rules when younger, but then having gone through some circumstances in our own life, we become more merciful to others. Or we may be sweet-natured, but then things happen and unfortunately we turn bitter and shut others out of our life. That is never the case with God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His characteristics will never change or alter. God has always been, and will always be good, loving, and merciful.
One thing that we can observe when we read through the psalms is that when the authors of the psalms faced some difficulty, they would focus on a particular characteristic of God, and make that characteristic personal for their particular needs right at that time. When David was fleeing from Saul’s murderous intentions against him, David knew that God cared for him. David prayed that back to God, claiming His care for himself. He often even pictured that love and care as a refuge and a fortress in which he could hide himself from the danger that surrounded him (Psalm 31:3). When Asaph had physical needs, he knew that God owned the cattle upon a thousand hills, and that He would provide for him (Psalm 50:10). When sorrowful, David knew that God cared so much that He kept all of his tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).
When difficulties arise in our life we need to follow their example and put our focus on God and His sufficiency rather than on the problem. Meditating on God will give strength and hope. Match a character quality of the Lord to our dilemma. If we’re facing danger, meditate on how God is our refuge and fortress, as David did. If we are mourning a tragedy, meditate on God’s presence and comfort.
All of God’s characteristics are good and loving. Those who have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, can depend on them for ourselves and our needs.
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