How Do You "See" God?

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (NIV)

Happy Tuesday! Thank you for dropping by my blog today. If you read the Proverbs 31 devotion for today, your mind may already be thinking about the invisible miracles that you have seen God perform in your life, or maybe about those miracles that you may have never given Him credit for.

But what about those miracles that He performed, that we may not have known about? Is it possible, that the reason we may not see the miracles that God is performing, is because we are not "seeing" Him for who He really is?

I came across a poll, that was conducted in 2007, which asked a random group of people how they saw God. Their answers showed these results:

31% saw God as an Authoritarian God, meaning all rules, and no fun or joy
23% saw God as being a Benevolent God, meaning God loves everyone, and does not really expect people to believe in Him to get to heaven
16% saw God as a critical God, One who could never be pleased with us as imperfect people
24% saw God as a distant God, meaning we have to live life the best we can on our strength and skills and dont really expect God to intervene

What these views seemed to portray is that people really do not "see" God for who the Bible says He is. Instead, they see Him from a perspective based on what He has done, or not done, in their lives.

The truth is, that how we see God in our minds, can be the determining factor of whether or not our relationship with Him can flourish.

For example, if we see God as being distant and unconcerned about our problems, never answering our prayers the way we want, then we will eventually turn from Him and try to handle everything in our own strength.

If we see God as being greedy, begrudging that He asks for 10% of our earnings, then we will not thank Him for our blessings, but instead come to feel like we deserved them anyway because of all we have done or how hard we have worked.

But if we see God as loving, and make a conscious effort to "see" what He has done in our life and in our hearts, even if our prayers were not answered in the way we had hoped, then we will learn to look to Him for guidance, comfort, wisdom and joy. We will learn to see Him as a loving Father, who knows best.

If we see God as being the Master of the universe, orchestrating all things to bring glory to Him, even when those things are difficult or painful, we can trust Him with our whole hearts and look to Him for peace and understanding.

What I am saying, is simply that in order to see God for the sovereign God that He is, and have spiritual insight and discernment to see when He is at work, we have to first begin seeing Him for who He really is.

Here are a few verses that portray God as we should see Him:

Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (God is omniscient)

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. (God is omnipresent)

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (God is loving)

Psalm 93:2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. (God is eternal)

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (God orchestrates our lives)

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (God is caring)

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (God is forgiving)


There are countless other verses in Gods Word which portray His character, who He really is, and how we should see Him. A picture of Him is there, if we look for it.

If someone asked you how you see your God today, what would you say?