10 Powerful Realities about Who God Is

“God is good all the time, and all the time God is good” is a common phrase we repeat, but it is not simply a phrase, it is rooted in truth. Exodus 34:6 reminds us that, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” Even in the worst of times, the grimmest of circumstances, or the most treacherous of storms we can abide in the peace that indeed God is good and full of grace.  

As believers, we can take comfort in knowing that He is not a God who delights in pain, rather He seeks to be there with us in our sufferings. Mankind chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden, yet God never lost His compassion or heart for mankind. Psalm 56:8 goes as far to remind us that, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” God has such a heart of compassion and concern that He literally records our sorrows. What pains us, pains Him as well. This is evidence of not only a good God but a God of empathy. 

In times of great uncertainty in the climate of the world, or within the circumstances of our own life recording in our own hearts, minds, spirits, and books if you will His attributes will bring into focus the reminder that we serve a God who intends His best for us. This may come on this side of the veil or the next, but regardless of how or when the tide changes, we can find rest in knowing He has plans of goodness, not to harm us, but to prosper us when we yield our hearts in obedience to Him (Jeremiah 29:11). 

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To be holy means to be set apart, and God is Holy. He is perfect in all ways, and there is no other like Him. Idols, distractions, and false gods hold no power or worth for He alone is worthy of praise. Even in His utmost and highest, His heart is for us. Isaiah 57:15 shares, “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, 'I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'” God is so holy that He could choose to sit arrogantly above us, yet He chose to send His own Son as a lowly servant to die on a cross for us. Daily He sends His Spirit to abide in and with us, to comfort and to instruct. 

God’s Holy Spirit is the Spirit reserved for truth. 1 John 4 instructs us to test all spirits, ensuring that they are indeed of the Holy Spirit, claiming Christ to be Savior. Because of this holiness, we can rely upon that what is given of the Holy Spirit is indeed true. The Bible in itself was revealed to man by the Holy Spirit and recorded by human hands. It was not of human inspiration, rather, of His holy and divine Spirit. The Spirit inspired humans chosen by God to record His truth; this truth was preserved in writing so that it could be read for centuries as infallible under God's authority as the ultimate Author and Protector of His Word. And the LORD who is holy is making us holy too; He is making His children holier and holier through the process of sanctification, which continues through our earthly life until we join Jesus in the heavenly realm. 

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Justice is of the Lord and it is for Him to grant. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 declares, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” God is a God of justice and truth, it is His character to reveal through His Light what is genuine and expose what is not. 1 Corinthians 4:5 reminds that “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.”  

Waiting on God for justice is vital for believers. It is in His timing to shed light on the sincerity and actuality of facets of our world, in His way. The name of the Lord will not be mocked, and in that perfect timing, justice will indeed be given on earth and beyond. 

4. God Is Merciful

Lamentations 3:23 firmly reminds us that God’s mercies are new each and every single day, “Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” The faithfulness of God to not sparingly offer mercy and grace, rather, lavish it daily as He did in providing manna for the people of Israel in the desert each morning. This mercy is an act of His love poured out daily for His children.  

Such mercies should not be valued less because they are given daily, rather, they should be upheld with the utmost worth. Not a person alive is without sin, yet He is full of mercy to forgive us when we seek Him sincerely. That amount of debt absolved is beyond measure and should be rejoiced in daily. 

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Jesus did not ascend to Heaven without the promise of God’s Holy Spirit to be with us. His Spirit is near to us at all times, we are never alone. Because of such a promise we can firmly take hold of the truth that no matter how precarious the situation, no matter how lonely we feel, or no matter how bleak perspectives occur He is right there. 

We are never alone. Psalm 145:18 verbalizes, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” When we call upon God, He is right there with us. His Spirit is of peace beyond understanding, of hope beyond compare, and of friendship. John 15:15 imparts to us that He counts us as friends, He readily gives to us what the Father has given to Him. He is always near to us, but it falls upon us to invite Him to be close. 

6. God Is All-Knowing

The very hairs on our heads are numbered, and not a bird can fall from the sky without God knowing it occurred, this is proof of God’s omniscience. (Matthew 10:29). This complete knowledge of all things ties in with His omnipresence and omnipotence, being all places and all-powerful as well as being all-knowing. This is a great comfort in the fact that nothing occurs without His knowledge. 

This knowledge extends to the veracity that God is all-knowing of us. Jeremiah 1:5 recalls that even prior to the womb, God knew us. In that esteem, we can lean into trusting His direction for our lives. Often times we think we know ourselves better than anyone, yet He is all-knowing of our hearts, for He created our personalities and traits. Trusting His foreknowledge of our own lives will prove fruitful, but we must trust. 

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The omnipresence of God is a great comfort to place our hearts in. No matter how far we stray from the Throne, no matter how far we find ourselves in a pit, and no matter how much we fall short of perfection God is always right there if we call upon Him. We cannot escape Him, and what a blessing that is.

Psalm 139:7-12 famously explains, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there; if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.'” 

David often found himself in places of great despair or trail; yet, God was always there with him. God’s presence does not mean the absence of difficulty, but it does mean the absence of needing to worry. Knowing we are never alone and that He is always there proves that we are never facing a hardship or tribulation that He is not right there with us. 

Mark Jones writes, "Rather, without bounds or limits or degrees, God knows infinitely and is a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere. He is as present in our midst as he is farthest from us in the universe. Yet while he is present in one place, he is never confined to any place." 

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Eternity can be difficult for our minds to comprehend, but eternity is written in our own hearts for God Himself is eternal. Jeremiah 10:10 explains, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King.” God created all that is, was, and will be for He is eternal. There is no beginning or end to Him, or to His goodness. Our minds logically seek to find a finite way of understanding to compartmentalize this, yet the beauty is God is bigger than all the boxes we try to place Him into. He is eternal, and in that beyond what we could ever hope to comprehend.  

His Kingdom and reign are eternal as well. Kingdoms of the earth will rise and fall, seasons will come and pass away, but God sits on the throne for all of eternity. This promises that no evil can have the final word, for He is sovereign for all of eternity. God has won the war, and His victory is for all eternity. 

9. God Is Changeless 

It is a great security to consider that God is never changing. Hebrews 13:8 says that “God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He does not change.” What a blessing to know that the God of the Bible is unchanging, that the miracles and acts He performed then were not just for that time, but evidence of His character for all of time. It is important to recall these truths, and to not belittle them or to call into the falsehood that somehow God changes. Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29 share the enduring truth that God is not a man that would change His mind, nor lie. In knowing God, in truly placing trust in Him, we must acknowledge that He is unchanging and cannot lie. He is holy and sinless.

In a world that is ever-changing placing full esteemed hope securely in Someone who changes not is of the utmost importance. He is One that we can firmly stand strong in and by, knowing that what He says will come to pass. We need not fear to place our feet firmly in His Word, for it does not change like the tides, like the seasons, or like the day. He is unchanging, and, therefore, the One we can forever rely upon. 

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Faithfulness and love is perhaps the ever-resounding echo of every act of God. God is faithful to His character and His word, despite what may come in the world. Psalm 74:16-17 praises, “Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter. To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.” His faithfulness is because of His love, and He delights in proving faithful to His children. 

Stories of the Bible all carry the same reminder that despite the circumstances, God will prove faithful. Romans 4 recites many of the examples of God’s faithfulness despite the odds. Despite the odds, Abraham believed that God would prove faithful, and even in his old age, God did indeed prove faithful to give what was promised. His faithfulness continues today for each of us, for He is not a God that should promise and not fulfill. God is faithful, even to the end of the age. 

Relationships become stronger when character becomes known. Knowing the character of God will strengthen our faith in Him when life hits hard. Difficult times are inevitable and unavoidable, but thankfully we do not walk such times alone. God is unchanging and full of love and grace. We can continuously draw upon His Spirit for direction and hope; we can cling to His Word despite what we see, He is indeed in control. Unlike anything else of this life, we can believe and completely trust the unchanging and faithful character of God. 

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