What is God Like? Evidence of His Kindness

Graham Cooke often says, "God is the kindest Being in the Universe." And as I have reflected this week on last week's question ("What is God like?"), I realized that this time of testing for Jettie and me has provided us with overwhelming evidence that God is indeed kind beyond comprehension. And His kindness extends down to the most minute details of our lives and contains subtle nuances and loving touches on our lives that cause me to bow in stunned worship. Let me illustrate with a couple of touches that Papa recently gave to me.

As you can imagine, Jettie's health battle has caused me to be very much the object of repeated attacks designed to make me afraid. Many times, those attacks succeeded to the point that I would find myself crying out to God while clinging to one of my theme verses, Psalm 56:3, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in (lean into, lean upon) You." Two of God's recent responses to my desperate cries deeply touched me with His kindness and attention to detail.

First, a couple of weeks ago I went to bed wrestling with various fears, falling into fitful sleep while calling out to God (whimpering to God?). In the middle of the night, I rolled over and glanced at the clock, which read 3:57. As soon as I did, I heard Papa whisper, "Mark that time." So I did just that, marking in my mind those numbers. In the morning, I realized that it probably pointed to a Bible verse, but I assumed that it would point to something like 35:7 ("Surely there are no chapters that long in the Bible," I thought). But as I began my search for a meaningful 35:7 (Psalms, Isaiah, etc.), I heard Papa say, "No, look at 3:57!"). Sigh...so I did a quick search, not really confident that I was hearing God at that point. But wait! There is one 3:57 in the Bible--in Lamentations! By now I am thinking that this can't be good (Lamentations!), but then I read it: "You came near when I called you, and you said, 'Do not fear.'” I was stunned, and began weeping, not only because of the "spot on" words but because of my wonder at God orchestrating so many things to speak directly to my fears. And as I wept I felt His smile.

The second and more recent evidence I will relate via a journal entry from November 17.

Ah, Father, you take me to the Smith Wigglesworth devotional not to read the entry (although it was good), but to remind me of the Ellel bookmark there with the incredible picture I noticed the other day of a young man holding his baby aloft!

“Yes, little one, so precious to me; you are the child, I AM the Father. Ponder that, my beloved!”
Oh, Father! As I look back at Isaiah 63:9, I see the rest of the verse! “In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.” And then you have me look again at the love-locked gaze between father and child and then at the pictures on my blog where my gaze is lovingly locked on my sons. Ah, Papa! Thank you for reminding me in ways beyond comprehension what it looks like to "live in the Father’s affection." You are an infinitely better and more loving father than I ever could be and yet… I am so undone!

I suppose that some folks might find the above either too "mystical" or too syrupy, but I make no apology for these two stories. They are two of thousands that happen all the time to God's children who have learned to live "loved and listening." For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, God is always speaking, always encouraging, always expressing His love in remarkably consistent and precise ways. And these to me are part of the answer to the question, "What is God like?" He truly is the kindest Being in the Universe!

Finally, I am having second thoughts about the book I mentioned last week (The Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford). Although the book has some really good thoughts, it also has some spots where the author tends to obscure or confuse things a bit. No need to illustrate this here, but I just wanted to be sure that if you do read the book, that you read it with the understanding that I am not necessarily recommending it.

Learning to look for His Kindness, even in the storm,

Tom, one of Abba's children