The Following Blog Post is by Stephanie Sund
Four years ago I sat next to the bed of my 4 year old on the oncology ward of Children’s hospital. In that horrible haze of the day, when we were waiting to hear how far her cancer had spread, the words I remember uttering over and over, half to my husband, more to myself were “What do we know about God?” And then I’d answer myself, out loud “God loves us, God is merciful and just. ” Wait 10 minutes, repeat.
Fast forward to last month, when we were again at Children’s, waiting for tests to tell us if the spot they saw on our daughter’s x-ray was the return of cancer. And the weapon my mind reached for to fight the rise of anxiety was the answer to the same question “What do we know about God?” When my world is slipping, I want to know who it is that’s holding me! This time I was better equipped to preach to myself the attributes of God, the truths of his character. And to hold on to the comfort in scriptures like Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Scripture made so much more powerful when you know who is behind those promises. And, praise that is much deeper when we are not just worshiping God for what he does, but for the depth of his unchanging character. My daughter’s cancer is not back, God is good. If her cancer were back, God would still be good. God is always good.
Last fall I began memorizing the attributes of God as listed in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology and teaching them to my kids. We made up a cheesy little song to help us get snippets of gospel truths into memorizable form.
The song is to the tune of “My God is an awesome God”.
My God is independent
He doesn’t need you or me
Yet he allows us to be
A joy to his heart, and bring him glory
My God is unchanging
He’s the same day to day
In his purposes, promises and ways
He’s the solid rock on which we stand
My God is eternal
Always was and always will be
He sees all time equally
And he knows what is to come
My God is omnipresent
He’s everywhere all the time
There’s no keeping secrets from Him
And he’s always with me
My God has unity
His attributes mesh together perfectly
No wrath without mercy
And each act is of the whole person of God
My God is a spirit
He has no physical form
We cannot measure him
Like nothing we’ve seen or felt
My God is invisible
No one has ever seen God
But he does make himself known
Through creation and his Son
My God is omniscient
He know all things all the time
He knows all things possible
There’s nothing that God can learn
My God is wise
He makes the best decisions
To bring about the best results
By the best possible ways
My God is a God of truth
He does what he says he’ll do
His promises will come true
And we can trust in his word- the Bible
My God is a good God
All good comes from God
And, in his goodness
He was patience, mercy and grace
My God is a God of love
Steadfast and eternally
Giving of himself to bless me
As shown through Christ’s death on the cross
My God is a Holy God
He’s completely separate from sin
And he is devoted to
Seeking his own honor
My God is a God of peace,
Not confusion or disorder
He acts continually
In well ordered and controlled ways
My God is righteous and just
He always does what’s right
Sin deserves punishment
Christ died on the cross for my sins
My God is a jealous God
He seeks to protect his own honor
For he alone is worthy
He doesn’t want idols in our hearts
My God is a God of wrath
He intensely hates all sin
As Christians we don’t fear God’s wrath
Christ bore God’s wrath for our sins