Recently, some ladies and I were discussing an issue that concerned us, and one of my friends made the comment, “God is spontaneous!”  Her statement got me to thinking about some of the characteristics of God and from my experiences and Bible reading, “spontaneous” was not a word that I could reasonably attribute to Him.  Patient—yes.  Long-suffering—yes.  Intentional or purposeful, yes.  But spontaneous, with all of its implications, such as feeling-based action, or an impulse without premeditation, runs counter to One who knows everything and all time is within His view.

…and that got me to thinking about what I wrote the other day concerning “bias”.  Do we hold views of God based on our limited experience and understanding without truly grasping just who the Bible reveals Him to be?   Often we can discover the basis of our God-bias in our life experiences or the doctrines taught to us early on in our lives—it is difficult to grasp the tenderness of our heavenly Father with souls touched by childhood trauma or lessons of a vindictive God, eager to punish our slightest misstep.

Many people, Christians and non-believers alike, grapple with the issue of suffering, particularly in the light of the current tragedies in Syria and Egypt and violence within schools and communities—If God is a loving God, why does He allow this suffering to go on?  Christians recognize that suffering is the result of sinful human nature running its course throughout history, yet many people see God, if they think for a moment that He exists, through the glasses of a God-bias which paints Him as uncaring, indifferent, a spectator to the events on earth but uninvolved, or a cruel deity, perhaps able to intervene in the affairs of man but unwilling to get involved.  Minds unwilling or unable to grasp a realm outside of the visible world around us have a God-bias that proclaims He could not possibly exist, particularly as Creator, all-powerful, omniscient, and eternal.

As easy as it would be to digress into exploring different views of God, that is not my purpose here.

The best way to know God is to explore the life and the teachings of Jesus, God embodied in a man.  The New Testament teaches about a Savior who offers salvation and redemption; yet, we find words in the Old Testament that reveal God’s character and identity; and His interactions with people in ancient times foreshadow the relationship of faith that is available to us as Christians.

I have been reading the book of Ezekiel lately and am overwhelmingly touched by God’s desire for relationship with people, His unwillingness to allow anything to get in the way of that, His defense of those He calls His own, and His commitment to healing and restoring the lives of His children.

The Psalms record many of God’s characteristics:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits;  Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed….The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy….For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:2-6, 8, 11-14).

Isaiah describes Jesus as one without physical attraction, who was despised and rejected by mankind—both then and continuing to this day.  Yet, “surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  We have turned everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

As I get older, I am beginning to see the value of patience.  Paul identifies God as being the God of patience and comfort and he prays that our Father grant us like-mindedness (patient and comforting) towards each other (Romans 15:5).  He writes to the Thessalonian church and instructs them, “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)—the testing of our faith produces patience; it is through patience we inherit the promises, and we become complete, lacking nothing.

Why do I bring up patience?  Because the description of God in the Bible may not fit into your experiences, understanding, or view of the world as it exists today.  But God is faithful and “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”  (2 Peter 3:9).  Because of His grace, we can be confident that no matter how bleak our lives, our communities, our nation, and the world may appear at times, we can trust in the faithfulness of God.  …and that every attempt of the enemy to destroy our faith, our hope, and our presence in the love of God, will work contrary to his purposes; instead, his attacks will work to strengthen our patience and confidence in the goodness of the One who is good and whose steadfast love endures forever!