From Comparison to Confidence: Small Steps Toward Lasting ChangeSample

Have you ever felt like no one truly knows or understands you? That feeling of being unknown can feed our deepest insecurities.

Today, I want to teach you three essential truths about God's character. Don't let the big words intimidate you - you've learned challenging words before! (If you can master the difference between a tall, grande, and venti coffee order at a Starbucks, you can handle these!)

First, we serve a God of omniscience - He knows everything. Psalm 139 tells us that God knows when we sit down and stand up. He understands our thoughts before we think them. He's aware of all our ways. Here's the beautiful thing about God's all-knowing nature: God knows everything, so we don't have to.

Many of us exhaust ourselves trying to know and control everything. Our anxiety about the future, constant "what-if" questions, and the need to figure everything out aren't knowledge problems. They're control problems. We feel the need to always be in control. However, God's omniscience frees us from that burden.

Second, God is omnipresent - He is always with us. David wrote, "Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). Some of us believe God is only present when we're "being good" and absent when we mess up. We feel close to God when we’re sustaining great habits and far from God when we’ve gone down the wrong road. But nowhere will life take us where God cannot meet us. Your best moments and worst moments - God is right there. You may not feel close to God, but your feelings and perceptions about reality don’t change the character and power of God.

Finally, God is omnipotent - He is all-powerful. David celebrates this by saying, God "knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13). Every part of who you are comes from God's handiwork. When you feel powerless to change, remember you serve an all-powerful God. No prayer is too big for Him to answer, nor is there a problem too large for Him to solve.

With those three characteristics in mind, here's a practical step my friend Josh recently reminded me about. There's a big difference between trying and training. When we try something, we judge ourselves based on whether we succeed or fail the first time. However, when we train for something, we accept that we are not ready to grow. Instead, we consistently practice training to build the capacity to do what we cannot do in the future.

Let’s apply that analogy. Following Jesus is more about training and less about trying. Meditating on your problems (worrying) is an example of trying. Meditating on God's character is an example of training. Many of us are closer to transformation than we think - we need to redirect our meditation skills! Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, what if we focus on who God is and how His character will make things right? When you’re tempted to worry today, pause and redirect your focus to the fact that God knows everything, is always with you, and is all-powerful.

Tomorrow, I'll share how these truths about God's character can transform the soundtracks playing in your mind. But today, ask yourself: Which of God's characteristics - His all-knowing nature, His constant presence, or His unlimited power - do you most need to remember right now?

Remember: If you want to reap a harvest of security in God's love, you must repeat these truths about His character!