I did not expect to continue this series but realized my schedule will not allow me to develop the theme I have in mind next. I will not apologize because nothing can do more for our hearts, minds, and spirits than dwelling on the attributes of God. These weeks of focusing on God’s strength, love, and presence have given me great peace when world events (and personal challenges) scream with distractions. These are three words that minister to me. I’m sure you can come up with more.

• Dauntless. Wars and rumors of war, pain and dire diagnoses, a fluctuating economy, fracturing relationships—no threats cause God to look for a quick solution or an alternate strategy. He is never discouraged or dismayed. His plans are not threatened and cannot be circumvented. He does not retreat. From the fall of man until the day of our full redemption, God dauntlessly moves forward. Be comforted.
• Dogged. God persistently and resolutely works for our blessing and growth. He is determined to reveal Himself to us and develop an intimate relationship. Our running and rebelling does not deter Him—He doggedly pursues us. He loves us that much.
• Deliverer. Think of a delivery truck in your neighborhood. It’s probably UPS… or Amazon… or FedEx. Their job is take a package from point A to point B. There are other stops along the way, but your package is specifically addressed to your house. God moves us from point A to point B. Point A may be a place of despair, or a place that’s good but not good enough, or a comfortable deception we’re not even aware of. He will bring us out of there and deliver us to place of health, strength, wisdom—a place near to Him. He’s that good!

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

You may also want to consider these words: Dedicated. Devoted. Determined. Divine. Dominant.
For Such a Time 11/9, 16

So many choices! After weeks of thanking God for attributes that begin with the letter C, I’ve narrowed my focus to these three:

• Compassionate. The best way to appreciate God’s compassion is to compare it to our own. Ours is moody, emotion driven, conditional, and often stingy. (Being honest here, my friends!) God’s compassion doesn’t fluctuate—He always cares and is always generous. He’s aware of our humanity and considerate of our weakness but it doesn’t affect His compassion, if anything, it stimulates it. God’s compassion isn’t conditional and does not waver.

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15

• Complete. God is not lacking. There is no aspect of His nature that is deficient or in need of improvement. He has enough patience for our ignorance, ample grace for our rebellions, abundant mercy for our sin, and sufficient love for our needy hearts. He has the supply for  all our emotional, spiritual, and physical needs, generously giving us the wisdom we need, the encouragement we require, and the resources that meet our needs.

For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:36

• Consistent. God is reliable, steady, constant, dependable, unswerving, unfailing. Yes, I used the thesaurus—I simply could not find words adequate to express God’s consistency, probably because everything in our time, space, and experience is so inconsistent. We cannot assume our best laid plans will come to pass or our most earnest goals will be met. We cannot count on anything, except God. And, praise His name, we can fully and forever count on Him because He is consistent.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

You may want to think about these words as well: Caring, Comforting, Creator, Counselor, Champion, Carrier (the One who carries us).

I hope the A words in last week’s post bolstered your confidence and shriveled your concerns. Today’s thoughts should further seal the holes in our buckets—and in the light of current world news, we need to stop up the leaks and walk in faith. Contemplating God’s attributes will shift our focus from the chaos to the King. “Give me a B!”

• Bountiful. God is rich—in mercy, grace, provision. I cannot describe the magnitude of His bounty, nor can I do justice to the benevolence of His heart in sharing His bounty with us. His provision and His generosity is boundless. I know this paragraph is filled with redundant thoughts, but in a budgetary world where we scrape, earn, and calculate our income and outgo, God’s bounty is limitless. He is Bountiful.  

We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—blessing upon blessing heaped upon us! John 1:16 (TLB)

• Brilliant. When we say someone is brilliant we are usually referring to their mind. Although God’s mind is brilliant, we fall short if we stop there. He is altogether brilliant. His appearance is brilliant. Selah. His purposes and plans, His working and weaving, His love and encompassing care—Brilliant!

 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

• Bold. I love this—I need this. I need to realize God is bold to confront His enemies, to rescue us from trouble, to say, “Enough” and “No more.” We may tremble but God does not cower in the face of brazen attacks on Israel. In this, and in every confrontation of evil, God is Bold.

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.  Psalm 138:3

*You may want to think about these words as well: Beautiful, the Blesser, Bread-of-Life, Builder.

The best solution to plugging up the holes in our buckets, mentioned in last week’s post, is by focusing on what is true. When we contemplate God’s character, our insecurities, fears, and anger dissipate. To shift our focus from what causes leaks in our faith, we’ll spend three weeks looking at God’s attributes. Today, “Give me an A!”

• Alpha. God is the Beginning. He was present before there was a world or a single life. He is not only before all things, but He holds all things together and all things exist for Him. He holds us together and He gives us purpose. Our life, physically and spiritually, begins with Him. We refer to Alpha people as top dogs, leaders—Jesus is the only true Alpha.
• All. God is All—all we need because He is all-sufficient, all-knowing, all-mighty. There is no need He cannot meet, no problem He cannot solve, no situation He cannot unscramble. He knows the end from the beginning and understands times and seasons.  He is strong enough, wise enough, and caring enough. He is All.
• Able. He has the strength, the authority, the power. He created the world with a word and has legions of angels at His call. His wisdom guides His ability and His love curtails His actions. There is nothing beyond His reach. He is Able.

When we keep these truths foremost, our lives remain whole and strong. No leaks!

*You may want to think about these words as well: Adonai (Lord, Ruler), Advocate, Almighty, Anointed One.