A PERSONAL GOD

Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. “So don’t be afraid: I’m with you…I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.’”…”But you are my witnesses.” God’s Decree. “You’re my handpicked servant So that you’ll come to know and trust me, understand both that I am and who I am. Previous to me there was no such thing as a god, nor will there be after me.  I, yes I, am God. I’m the only Savior there is.”  — Isaiah 43:3-11 (MSG).

Our finite, human minds will never truly understand the vastness of God’s glory, nor the fullness of His character. When we consider His infinite greatness, it can be difficult to remember that while He is incomprehensibly omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, He is also personal and relational. He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

People have a hard time grasping the idea of a personal God.  They see God as too abstract, big, intimidating, and beyond human understanding to have a personal relationship. They struggle to reconcile a personal God with all the evil and suffering they see in the world. It can be so easy sometimes to get lost in our circumstances and wonder if God is even there. But the reality is God is present with us, deeply invested and active in each of our lives. He is a personal God.

He has a plan for you that is good: ““ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). He thinks of you often:”O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,  I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5). You are never alone: “What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15). He sustains you: Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:22 NASB). His knowledge of you is intimate:  “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord” (Psalm 139:1-4). And finally He dwells within you: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV)?

God is with you. Not only is God with you, but God knows your name, your pain, your problems, your doubts, and your fears. God knows your temptations, and God knows which ones you are yielding to. God knows the way out, how to restore joy to your life, and how to help you transcend whatever you are facing. You can’t get more personal than that.

Discussion Questions:

1. Share when God became personal for you. How do you know God wants a relationship with you? What are some ways that God reveals Himself personally to you?