I am excited to announce the release of my first publication: God’s Attributes: Rest for Life’s Struggles.
The Back Story: I came home from church discouraged after hearing a great sermon. Sounds awkward, I know, but it felt even more awkward. I knew I shouldn’t feel that way. Hearing a clear presentation of who God is should have either brought conviction or motivation. But in this case, I was just discouraged.
That led to some soul searching. I realized I was feeling pressure. I didn’t want to know “one more thing” about God that I couldn’t do when I was still working on emulating what I did know. As I put this into words, I realized I needed to think differently about how I related to God.
That led to the first major insight of this booklet:
I should seek to rest in any attribute of God (i.e., find comfort, trust, or security) before I try to emulate that attribute. Resting in God is what makes imitation a sustainable life of worship rather than a driven life of performance.
I had quit resting in God’s character. God was my benchmark more than He was my refuge. As this changed, I noticed how the Psalms–which frequently celebrate God as our rock, refuge, hiding place, etc. — came alive to me in fresh ways.
That brought me to the second major insight of this booklet:
Our battle from and against suffering and sin is first and foremost a battle towards and for God.
My discouragement stemmed from the fact that I was battling alone. I was treating God as an observer of my battle from suffering and against in. I was living as if God was just there to be the standard against which I measured my efforts.
As that veil lifted, I came to the third and most soul-refreshing insight of this booklet:
If in our struggle to conquer sin and alleviate suffering we fail to learn and treasure God more, we have missed the most important thing God is doing in the midst of these experiences.
Doctrine was no longer mere doctrine. It was an invitation to a relationship. Performance was no longer strained moral effort, but the imitation of a child towards a good father. I was being drawn to someone who loved me. The journey was now part of the relationship.
That is what led me to write God’s Attributes: Rest for Life’s Struggles. I hope that those who have fallen into a similar mode of relating to God will benefit from this resource. In the next post, I will say more about the format and devotional nature of this booklet.
Ordering Information:
You can purchase copy now on Amazon.
You can preview the first six pages through P&R.
You can also review other booklets in The Gospel for Real Life series.
- Vulnerability: Blessing in the Beatitudes by Brad Hambrick
- Anxiety: Anatomy and Cure by Bob Kellemen
- Cutting: A Healing Response by Jeremy Lelek
- Abuse: Finding Hope in Christ by John Henderson
- Borderline Personality: A Scriptural Perspective by Cathy Wiseman