Many Christians have an orthodox view of God, rightly believing He is all-powerful, all-knowing, self-existing, holy, and sovereign – and yet they often struggle to believe truths deep-down about who He is in relation to them.
Intellectually, you may believe He loves you and forgives you, but perhaps when you picture Him, you see an angry or disapproving face. Perhaps when you sin or experience suffering you feel He is distant and doesn’t care much about what you are experiencing. Perhaps you really struggle with the idea of Him being your Father due to your own experiences that have shaped your view of what a father is.
For better or worse, our foundational relationships with our fathers and authority figures tend to shape how we view God. And yet, God wants to heal our view of Him. He wants us to interact with Him as He truly is. But to do so, we must first identify the lies we believe so that we can start challenging them with the truth. Here are three signs that you’ve got the wrong God.
Sign #1 You Believe God is Angry and Disappointed In You
Reality is, God loves you and is pleased with you.
John 17:23b says “May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as you love Me.” God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus.
On top of this, we see how God relates to Jesus at His baptism, before He started His public ministry. Before He accomplished amazing things for His Father. In Matthew 3:17, God says “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” If you are a Christian, you have been adopted as His son or daughter (1 John 3:1). Because of who you are now, I believe He views you as a son or daughter that He loves and is well pleased with.
Sign #2 You Believe God is Uptight and Rigid
Truth is, He is gracious and forgiving, and His commandments are for our good.
Psalm 145:8 says, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” There are no ifs, ands, or buts…no exceptions…no small font disclaimers. When we confess our sins to God, He forgives us. He doesn’t scorn us. He doesn’t wait for us to try to get our act together. He doesn’t demand we make it up to Him. He forgives us.
I’ve heard so many say “I could never forgive myself for ____”…but God isn’t like that. No matter what you’ve done, you can’t out-sin His forgiveness. He is the God of second chances without end.
Sign #3 You Believe God Is Distant or Disengaged
The reality is that God is close, personal, and present.
In Jeremiah 23:24, God said “Can anyone hide out in a corner where I can’t see Him?”…“Am I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?”
Many Christians have an orthodox view of God, rightly believing He is all-powerful, all-knowing, self-existing, holy, and sovereign – and yet they often struggle to believe truths deep-down about who He is in relation to them.
God is omnipresent, meaning He is all places at all times. He is with you in your suffering. He is with you when you’re anxious or depressed. He is even with you when you go back to that sin you promised yourself you’d never return to. He is always with you. You can’t outrun Him. You can’t escape His goodness. And you can’t cause Him to walk away or turn His back on you.
Romans 8:15 says that “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” He is a kind Father who invites us to address Him as “Abba,” the Aramaic equivalent of “Daddy” or “Dada”. Think about that – the God of the universe wants you to know Him so closely that you can use a word like “Daddy” or “Dada”. He wants to know you personally, and for you to know Him rightly as He truly is.
You Can See God As He Truly Is
No matter what you have experienced, believed, or been taught about the character of God, He desires to restore your view of Him. He wants you to experience Him as your true, loving, heavenly Father who is personal and engaging. I know He can do that in your life because He’s done that in mine.
In the past when I have sinned, I thought that God was upset with me. Now when I mess up, I don’t envision God as angry but as compassionate and moving toward me. He forgives me and has better for me. In the past, I believed He loved me but had a low view of me and merely tolerated me. Through the years, having spiritual fathers and great godly mentors, getting around good fathers, and reading about His character in the Bible, I’ve begun to believe deep down that God delights in me, loves me, and is present in my life.
We have a greater Father who can heal our “father wounds.” We have a greater “daddy” who can overcome our “daddy issues” or any other hurts we have from authority figures. We have a God who promises to meet all of our needs and longings.
Here are some steps to grow in seeing and experiencing God for who He truly is.
- Regularly remember what God has done in your life
- Thank him daily for five good things He did or gave you yesterday
- Read the Bible through the lens of who God truly is as a loving and engaging Father
- Get to know and observe loving fathers who are gracious present with their kids.
To go deeper into restoring your view of God, check out my YouVersion Bible Plan, Overcoming Lies about God, right here: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/35457
For more resources on healing and freedom, check out the Resolution Movement at resolutionmovement.org
