You Are God

At the beginning of this new year, I have been finishing up writing in my Write the Word Journal (which has been SUCH a blessing in my life, and I highly recommend them!). For a couple of days in a row the passages that I was copying down were from Nehemiah 9. In every set of verses there was a phrase that jumped out at me that was a great reminder of what God does for us, and who He is. I won’t type out the entire passage here since it is quite long, but I do encourage you to go to read it for yourself! I did want to share the verses that stood out to me, and that speak about what God did for the children of Israel (and how He is doing the same for His children today!), and God’s character.

• “You saw” – “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea.” (Nehemiah 9:9) God saw the affliction of the children of Israel, and He sees the afflictions of His children today. He sees YOU and whatever you are going through.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.” (Psalm 33:18)

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.” (Psalm 139:1-3)

“Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” (Genesis 16:13)

“But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, and You have tested my heart toward You.” (Jeremiah 12:3)

• “You heard” – “Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven.” (Nehemiah 9:28) God heard the cries of the children of Israel, and He hears the cries of His children today. We can rest in the promise that God WILL hear us, even if it doesn’t seem like we are hearing anything in return. He tells us to come to Him with all our joys and our sorrows, for He is a kind Heavenly Father who delights in listening to and giving aid to His children.

“I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!” (Psalm 66:17-20)

“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13)

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

• “You gave” – “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:15) God is a GOOD Heavenly Father who gives good gifts to His children, even when we don’t deserve them. The most important gift He has given us is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered a cruel death on the cross to pay for our sins.

“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

• “You delivered” – “And many times, You delivered them according to Your mercies.” (Nehemiah 9:28) He is not only the God who sees and hears us, but He is also the God who delivers us. I know this to be true not just because of the promises in Scripture, but in my own life I have seen Him come to my aid and give help right when I needed it. And the greatest deliverance God gives us is the spiritual deliverance from the power of darkness and bringing us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:10)

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)

“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7)

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

• You are God – “But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

Our God is an awesome God. All throughout this chapter, different descriptions of God’s character are listed. He is: gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abundantly kind, never forsakes, good, patient, just, faithful, mighty, covenant keeper. And I’m sure there are countless other descriptions of His amazing character throughout Scripture. Lately, I’ve been comforted with this truth here in verse 17 –

YOU ARE GOD

And I am only human and cannot comprehend what He is doing – “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9) So we are called to trust our all-seeing, all-knowing, compassionate, good, wise Heavenly Father. Even when the hurts run deep. Even when things are confusing and don’t make sense. I love these lines from a song titled “You Are God” by Coffey Ministries:

May we go into this new year with the full assurance that our amazing, good God will direct our paths as we acknowledge Him and trust in Him with our whole heart. ❤️

Sincerely,