3 Sciences: Hands On, Minds On, Hearts On

Here is an example of how to apply God’s attributes to any situation you may have to face in your life time as a Christian. If you have not looked at the list of God’s attributes, you will find it helpful to study them before studying this approach (Attributes of God).

When I am placed in a difficult situation this is how I handle it. By difficult I am referring to those times when the pressure of a situation is often so great that you have a hard time of even claiming a promise from God’s word. In fact the pressure may be so great that you cannot even think of a promise. It is in these times that I often go through a list of God’s attributes. When I get to the end of the list I often have a peace that passes understanding. Why? Because I finally see the problem or situation from His perspective, not mine. It is a pattern of thinking. The pattern will vary to some degree for each person. But this gives you an idea of how to think when facing great pressure. You talk to yourself through the attributes of God. Give it a try and see what effect it has on your thinking.

SOVEREIGN

Since God is in absolute control of all of history, He has allowed this difficulty to occur in my life.

GOOD

Because He is good, what is happening to me is good since He cannot allow anything to come into my life that is not good.

LOVE

Because He loves me He is doing for me and for His glory that which is best for me. Being perfect in love He can only do that which comes from His loving nature. He has established a personal loving relationship with me. Having died on the Cross for my sins - when in me there was no value or worth for His doing it - then it is now easy for Him to love me for “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

RIGHTEOUS

It is right for Him to let this situation come into my life since He can not do anything that is wrong.

JUST

He is being totally fair in the allowing this thing to come into my life. He promised to never test me above what I am able to handle (I Corinthians 10:13).

HOLY

Since He is holy He will not permit anything contrary to His perfect character to keep me from being in the center of His will for He has set me apart to be of service and honor to Him.

OMNISCIENT

He knows absolutely everything there is to know about my situation. There is no unknown fact about the situation I am in that He is not knowledgeable about. He cannot be caught off guard by some unknown factor of which He is not aware.

WISE

Being omniscient He knows how to make every bit of knowledge work together in infinite ways so that His purpose for this situation will work out perfectly as He has planned. If necessary He may have to spank me in this situation so that I will obey what is best for me.

OMNIPRESENT

Since He is present at every point in space He is here with me “now” and knows all of the conditions that I am facing.

OMNIPOTENT

Since He is the source of all power He can change my situation or relationship “now.” He is in absolute control of all the innumerable factors, even of my personal desires, so that nothing can happen that He does not want to happen and that He cannot change instantly.

IMMUTABLE

Every promise He has ever made He will keep. He has the power to keep them. And since He has promised to supply for my every need He will do it – even now. Being immutable, He cannot fail to keep His promises.

MERCIFUL

Even if I fail Him, because of the Cross and His having taken on a human nature like mine and becoming my peer, He therefore understands my infirmities and therefore invites me to come to His throne of grace where I can receive grace and mercy about my situation (Hebrews 4:16)

LONGSUFFERING

As our creator He knows our weaknesses and proneness to wander and suffers through them until we learn His ways, whether the hard or easy way, but we will learn them. I am so thankful that He is patient with me rather than exercising judgment which so often I deserve.

ACCOMMODATING

If Christ Jesus, who is God, by condescending to become a human and suffer through the kind of life I live on this sin-filed earth, and was willing to accommodate Himself to such a low sinful state as mine and suffer a horrible death on the cross for my sins, then I should accommodate to the situation I am in, not complain, and see what He would have me learn in it (James 1:2-4).

ETERNAL

God, being eternal, and knowing all there is to know about history - past, present, and future - including mine, knew in eternity past that I would be in this situation and its conditions. He knew what would happen but has provided everything I need to endure in this situation.

JEALOUS

God is jealous for what His name means (the meaning of all of the attributes listed in this paper and others not listed) and will not allow anything to be exalted in its place. He expects me in this situation to exalt and honor His right to do with me as He pleases. He will not allow me to expect Him to condescend to my wishes and desires that are contrary to His will and word. He is sovereign and holy and I am to give Him all respect, honor, and obedience. I tremble and stand in awe that He is even willing to consider who and what I am and that He even looks upon me, and this in grace and mercy rather than the judgment that I really deserve. If I have “a poor and of a contrite spirit, and tremble at His word” (Isaiah 66:2) in this situation He will look upon me with great favor for He is gracious.

WRATHFUL

Because God is holy, righteous, and just, He cannot and will not tolerate sin in my life. At times He has been patient with my disobedience but there have been those times in which He exercised His wrath against my sin by spanking me so that I will know that He is God and that He is holy and just, and will not tolerate sin in me. He wants me to be happy and knows that sin ruins all potential for happiness.

FAITHFUL

God is faithful to keep His word. He cannot be otherwise. He never acts contrary to what His word says nor will He ever.

VERACITY

I know that true truth exists because God cannot lie. Therefore for me to question what His word says and means is to make me a liar. I cannot expect Him to compromise based on what I might want or like. He said “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.” I will have to pay the wages for my sin because He cannot lie. But He can also forgive me of my sins when I confess them and turn to Him from them. These two truths are like two sides of a coin. On one side is sin and death, on the other forgiveness and eternal life. I can choose which side I want to live on. These things are true because God cannot lie.

INCOMPREHENSIBLE

Since I am finite I will never be able to fully understand why He has allowed this situation to happen to me. My first duty is to accept the responsibility and consequences for the choices that have got me into this situation. At the same time I am to rest in the sovereignty and goodness of God in this situation and not try to depend upon my own understanding of it. Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and do not lean upon your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5, 6)

INFINITE

I am finite, always limited in my ability to think and understand what is really going on. Therefore I will just trust Him according to all of His attributes and how each one relates to me in this situation. By thinking this way I hope that I can develop the attitude of the Apostle Paul who “learned that whatsoever state he was in to be content” (Philippians 4:9).  I will therefore endeavor in this situation to do the same and learn as he did and praise the Lord for what He is doing and teaching me.

I AM

God as the great ‘I AM’ exists without being dependent upon anything outside of Himself. I am a dependent being. I am limited not only physically, but mentally, socially, and spiritually. I must depend upon Him for everything. And so I pray, Dear Father in heaven, help me so that in whatever situation I am in, to learn to know You better in it, and to praise and give you thanks for it, and how to know what I should do about it, according to all of your attributes. Amen. 

In any situation following is a great promise to hold on. This promise is then followed by how to think Biblically about it. However if you have a small view of God you may find it difficult to believe this promise. This is why the knowing of God according to many of His attributes greatly convinces you that it is true!

      “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

      “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.

      Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”   Philippians 4:6-9.

Because of The Cross,