Step 1: Look at the World thru the Lens of God’s Character
This is extremely important.
As humans, our natural tendency is to do the opposite; to look at God - and judge Him - through the lens of the world.
This can include what’s happening in our lives; in society; in the world around us. It can include events; people’s words or actions; anything really.
There are three problems with this:
We’re judging (or painting a picture of) the Creator through His creation - which we broke via sin.
We’re judging (or painting a picture of) God based on the actions, mistakes, and sins of other people who are operating under free will.
We’re judging God (or painting a picture of Him) through our exceedingly limited human understanding.
We live in a broken world that is full of broken people. Even people who are full of goodness are not capable of being good all of the time.
Everyone sins. Everyone is wounded in some way. Everyone is trying to navigate this broken world.
In addition, the actual world is suffering as a result of the Fall when sin entered the world. Romans 8:22 (NLT) says, “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Even the natural environment is broken!
The big idea behind all of this is that if we try to paint a picture of God or draw our understanding of Him by looking at our broken world, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.
As I said, it’s a natural tendency. Especially considering what environments or teachings you may be coming from. So don’t beat yourself up over it. The important thing is that God has provided you with this a-ha! Moment.
So, what should you do instead? Flip your perspective. Look at the world through the lens of God’s character.
This may take some time to implement - at least until it becomes second-nature. You may also need to purposefully remind yourself down the road. As I said earlier, even the most biblically grounded and seasoned Christians will find themselves forgetting this during challenging seasons when it’s hard not to focus on one’s circumstances.
It’s worth the work, though, because this changes everything.
Now, you’re most likely wondering, “How do I look at the world through the lens of God’s character if I’m still unsure about who He really is?”
Great question. Let’s answer that by moving on to Step 2.
Step 2: Establish Foundational Clarity on God’s Character
So, I’m going to start laying out this step by giving you a spoiler alert: God is good all of the time.
We see this throughout the Bible - both in numerous verses that say as much as well as God’s actions. For example, keeping His promises despite His people turning their backs on Him.
It’s easy for me to say that now. But back in the very beginning of my own journey, I didn’t understand what the Bible really said. If you’re in a similar place, don’t beat yourself up over it.
The good news is that you’re here now. You can easily gain clarity on God’s goodness and His entire character.
How? There are three ways:
Firstly, you have access to the entire library for the God’s Love for Women podcast.
This podcast is a FREE resource. Take full advantage of it.
This is episode #185. That means there are a ton of episodes that can provide additional clarity and biblical truth regarding God’s character - including His goodness.
Just to get you started, you might want to check out Episodes 173, 169, and 153. These all touch on the topic of God’s goodness from related angles.
Secondly, make sure you’re on my weekly Tender Tuesdays email list.
This is also a FREE resource and it’s delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning.
This is not a sales-focused email. It’s not a spammy email. This is a weekly reminder of God’s love for you conveyed through a loving note that also points to God’s character.
You can be reminded of God’s love and learn about His character at the same time. All through a short email that will take you a minute to read.
Thirdly, you can work through my foundational set of mini courses entitled Decode God’s Love, Demystify God’s Character, and Journey with Jesus.
Don’t be fooled by the word “mini” here - or the fact that the third one has “jesus” in the title. These courses are small but mighty! And they all zero in on God’s character and goodness.
My brain is highly strategic, so I love a good strategy. I’m also a big believer in working smarter not harder.
These mini courses are no different. You’ve likely been struggling for years, so what you need is a hardcore foundation of genuine biblical truth regarding God’s character that’s delivered in a timely fashion - without sacrificing the content or making you wade through a ton of it.
There’s also a workbook for each mini course that will help you apply your newfound knowledge to your relationship with God - no matter what stage it’s in.
Lastly, the mini courses have a community element so you can ask questions, get additional clarity, and meet other women who are on the same journey as you are.
Any - or all - of these resources would be a smart and strategic step to help you gain real clarity on God’s character and goodness.
And once you have that foundation, everything changes.
For one thing, how can better understanding the Creator of the Universe (and of you and me) not lead to positive changes?
But more importantly, you’ll be equipped to look at the world through the lens of God’s character (instead of the other way around). And I’m telling you from personal experience, this changes so much. Including the fact that you’ll be able to see and recognize God’s goodness where you hadn’t been able to before.
Of course, as we alluded to before, once you establish that biblical clarity about God you also need to keep it - which brings us to the next step.
Step 3: Remind Yourself of His Character
This is why implementing strategic tools and processes into your life is so important.
It’s not just about gaining the clarity or knowledge that we need to set us up for success today, but ensuring we have continued success tomorrow. (To the best of our ability, being that we’re human and life is often busy or messy.)
We need things in our lives to keep us grounded in a healthy way.
When it comes to our physical well-being, we need a good night’s sleep. When it comes to our spiritual well-being, we need to stay in God’s truth.
This can be reading the Bible everyday as well as implementing other resources such as the three I just covered.
Listening to future and past episodes of this podcast is something you can work in as you’re doing errands or chores around the house. Signing-up for the Tender Tuesdays emails doesn’t require any effort at all after joining the list; you simply read the email each week.
These are both low-effort resources that can provide you with a consistent reminder about who God is - even when you’re going through a tough season where you’re tempted to judge God - and His seemingly lack of goodness - through the circumstances around you.
The mini courses can also be something you return to during those times. Whether you decide to go through the course again or revisit your progress in the workbook. You’ll always have access as long as the courses exist.
Not to mention, you’ll also have access to the online community of women (which is NOT hosted on Facebook, by the way) to lean into when you need support or encouragement.
That being said, the big idea here is that:
One, you’re aware of the need to remind yourself of God’s character.
This is not a one-and-done thing. The broken world and Satan (our spiritual enemy) are going to wreak their havoc at times.
There are also going to be times when God is moving in such a way that we don’t understand what He’s doing yet, and so it’s tempting to start doubting who He is.
Two, you have a method on hand to quickly remind yourself.
You can choose to implement a strategy now so that you have a consistent reminder before you - such as my Tender Tuesday emails, for example.
Or, you can have a strategy in your back pocket for when the need arises. This can be as simple as making a point to carve out time to really dive into the Bible. Psalms, for example, is a great place to reside during tough seasons.
It can also be a combination of both. A kind of offense and defense strategy, if you like.
Whichever way you decide to go, just be sure that you remember to remind yourself of God’s character and goodness.
This is important for the reasons I mentioned a minute ago - but also because you’re early on in your journey of understanding who God really is. And like any new subject, the more you immerse yourself in it, the quicker you’ll gain, remember, and implement that newfound truth.