God to Me

To much of our world the religion of choice is "God to me". Here's how it works. "Do you believe in God?" "Oh, sure," followed absolutely and necessarily with "God to me is ..." There are those who claim that God is a warm feeling or a spiritual sense. To some, God is "mother earth". "God to me" might be "goodness" or "love". Some even believe that "God to me ... is me. I am a part of the divine. We are all God, and God is in all." (There are even those who place themselves in the realm of Christendom who claim that God is making us all into little gods.)

These people don't realize that removing any genuine reality of what God is simply removes any genuine reality of God. On the other hand, the Bible isn't so vague. God has lots of definition in the pages of Scripture, including holy, love, just, sovereign, almighty, all-seeing, and on and on. Most interesting to me today, however, is what the Bible say that God is ... to me, to the believer.

"The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him" (Exo 15:2).

He said, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence" (2 Sam 22:2-3).

The LORD is my light and my salvation (Psa 27:1).

God is my strength and song, my salvation, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my refuge, my shield, my stronghold, my light. Contrast that with our world's perceptions. Strength is in muscles or money or power. Salvation is in "good living". Security is in a good portfolio. Light is in science or education or "self-discovery". None of this matches Scripture. All of this is found in God for the believer.

If it is indeed true that God is all of this to the believer, what difference will it make in his or her life? If God is your strength, if God is your security and salvation, if God is your refuge, your stronghold, your fortress, if God is your light, it seems to me that this would make a radical change in both your perspective and direction. It should certainly give cause for rejoicing on a Sunday morning.