We can trust God's Character

September 11-15, 2023 | Always Peachy Devotionals | 4 Things We Can Trust About God Week 2

Character is who you are when no one else is watching.

That was something my youth pastor declared when I was in high school, and it has stuck with me since then. I pray it sticks with me for the rest of my life, because it’s a truth that’s worth remembering.

If you want to know if you can trust someone, you examine his or her character. How do they behave when no one is watching them? How do they act when they aren’t in the spotlight? (Or how do they act when they are in the spotlight?) What do they do when they have authority over someone else? How do they treat others who can’t do anything for them in return?

If you can find answers to all those questions, you’ll have a pretty good picture of whether or not that person is worthy of your trust.

Fortunately for us, the Bible goes over and above what is necessary to answer all of those questions and more about God. We know a lot about who God is because He made a point of revealing it to us. God has always been open about His character because He wants us to trust Him. He wants to be in relationship with us, and the best way for us to know we can trust Him is to have access to His character.

So this week, we’re going to talk about a few of the character qualities we can know from God’s word. There are just a few of them represented here. Honestly, there are so many of God’s character qualities reflected in Scripture that we could take a whole year and probably not get to them all. But this is a decent overview:

• Sept 11 - God is Light

• Sept 12 - God is Compassionate

• Sept 13 - God is a Giver

• Sept 14 - God is Good

• Sept 15 - God is True

If you know someone with all of those character qualities, wouldn’t you feel safe with them? Wouldn’t you be willing to trust someone like that?

I would.

Something that’s also important to note is that when you make the choice to follow Jesus, many of God’s character qualities will begin to appear in your life. Now, not all of God’s qualities are ones that we can reflect. Many of His qualities are eternal and holy and righteous and so completely Other that they are outside the bounds of what is possible for us, even as His children. But much of who He is will show up in our lives simply by us trying to be like Him.

You become like what you worship, after all.

But one of the qualities I didn’t mention in this list is featured in our memory verse this week, 1 John 4:8.

God is love. We hear that a lot, and though we don’t want to forget that God is also holy, we can’t forget that He is love. And it’s not just that He is loving: He Is Love.

Real love. Not sex. Not physical attraction. Not gender identity. None of that has anything to do with real love as the Bible describes it.

Unconditional, relentless, undeserved sacrifice—that is real love. And that is what God offers to us. More than that, it’s who He is.

So let’s take time this week to get to know Him deeply, to spend some effort exploring His characteristics. And then we can decide for ourselves if He is worthy of trusting or not.

I already made my choice a long time ago, but if you haven’t, this is a great opportunity to get to know God for who He truly is and not based on what you’ve heard.

Hugs!

Amy

---

Remember! These Sunday intro emails are free, but if you want the actual daily devotions, you need to subscribe: