Debbie Swindell

A.W. Tozer once wisely stated, “What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” This powerful insight invites us to reflect on our perceptions of the divine. Our imagined versions of God often fall short of His true glory—sometimes we envision Him as “the man upstairs,” inadvertently projecting our own traits onto Him. However, the reality is that God transcends our understanding. If you desire a deeper relationship with Him, there is good news: you can truly know Him.

Let’s dive into a vital truth about God—He is undeniably trustworthy, especially in times of suffering. I remember my own darkest moments, which weren’t marked by physical pain but rather by a heavy emotional burden. This experience taught me that suffering can manifest in various forms. Facing tough decisions without quick solutions, I turned to prayer and Bible study, seeking wisdom in the midst of heartache.

Why did I choose this path? Because of the intimacy I share with God—a God who knows me completely. Even during struggles, I discovered a profound truth: God is actively at work within our suffering. He remains steadfast. As Paul Tripp reminds us, “God is not shocked or surprised that you are discouraged. He doesn’t wring His hands, wondering what to do next.” Instead, He understands our struggles and offers strength precisely when we feel most vulnerable.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism beautifully encapsulates this sentiment with its definition of God: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” Such a profound statement encourages us to ponder the immense reality of who God truly is.

J.I. Packer encourages us to “occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God.” The more we learn about Him, the more our desire to understand Him deepens. In the chaos of daily life—whether as spouses, parents, singles, or within our church communities—we need a strong, biblical foundation of who God is.

There are five foundational truths from Packer’s work that can anchor our understanding of God and enrich our relationship with Him. These truths also help us navigate challenges we encounter:

1. God has spoken to humanity—His Word, the Bible, equips us for salvation.
2. God reigns as Lord and King, orchestrating all things for His glory, revealing His perfections for our worship.
3. God is a Savior, actively working in sovereign love through Jesus Christ to rescue believers from sin and adopt them as His children.
4. God is triune; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit collaboratively work in salvation—each playing a distinct role.
5. Godliness involves responding to God’s revelation with trust, obedience, faith, worship, and service.

Imagine how limited our understanding would be if God hadn’t chosen to reveal Himself to us! Thankfully, He has communicated His story through His prophets, apostles, and most intimately through the life and teachings of Jesus. This act of divine revelation allows us to appreciate the greatness and mystery of God.

We owe a daily debt of gratitude for Bible translations in our language! Grasping the magnitude of God’s wonders fills us with humility and ignites our desire for deeper worship—a heartfelt response to all He has accomplished. Let’s celebrate this incredible gift and the closeness it affords us to Him.

Ultimately, pondering how we can truly know God leads us to a fundamental question: How does He choose to reveal Himself? Through His desire to communicate with us, we gain invaluable insight. The Bible, as the collection of His revealed truth, paints a vivid picture of God’s character, love, and plan for humanity.

Every day, let’s express our gratitude for this opportunity to know Him on a profound level. Let’s cherish the revelations we have received and let them guide us as we grow in our faith and relationship with the Creator. Are you ready to take the first step on this meaningful journey?

My Testimony

Allow me to take you back to the summer of 1970. It was a time of bell-bottom jeans, long hair, and rock-n-roll music. It was also when my family lived in Little Rock; we had a small home and were a family of modest means. My dad was a hard worker, and he worked long hours. Although Dad was gone much of the time, he set the tone of our home.

There was no talk of the Bible and most certainly not of Jesus. In fact, instead of a family Bible placed on the coffee table, you would find a Time-Life book showing the progression of man in evolution. There was no mention of church, no blessing before meals, no bedtime prayers.

God orchestrated my friendship with a fourth-grade classmate whose home looked much different. Because of that friendship, I would benefit from Sunday School, and then later that year, in VBS, I would hear the gospel message. God saved me the summer I turned 10 years old.

I consider it no less than a rescue as written about Lydia, Paul’s first European convert in Acts 16:14, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention,” Whether curiosity or a God-given desire to know more of Jesus, I continued walking to church on many Sunday mornings and learned from a faithful teacher named Joy Young. About six months in, I was baptized. John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,” and I am so grateful. I’m a child of the King! [Read more here.]

J.I. Packer says, What matters supremely, therefore, is not in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it – the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16). I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

Although there are some benefits to living in the Bible Belt, there can be confusion about who God truly is. We live in a time when the name “God” appears on bumper stickers, t-shirts, and even billboards. How can we be assured that we are not worshiping the God of the age but instead worshiping the Only True God? The answer is simple: we fix our eyes on Jesus.

In knowing that the Lord saves and sustains you, you will find peace amidst life’s storms and discover the ability to rest even on the toughest days. We can sleep because He does not.

God Understands Our Suffering

The Bible tells us that it is impossible to fully understand what God is doing. His ways are higher than ours. However, an eternal perspective can offer wisdom and encouragement to those who are suffering (Psalm 73). Although Christ is not suffering as He once did when He paid the price for the atonement of His people, He enters into and understands the experience of His suffering people.

“In all their affliction, he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity, he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” — Isaiah 63:9

J.I. Packer has written, “Our task is to take suffering in stride, not as if it is a pleasure (it isn’t), but with the knowledge that God will not let it overwhelm us and that He will use it, through His own supernatural means, for three good ends, at least: 1) Our suffering produces character; 2) Our suffering glorifies God; 3) Suffering fulfills the law of the harvest (John 12:24).”

God Has a Plan in Our Suffering

In Romans 8:28, we find a familiar response to suffering; it can be hard for us to grasp that our suffering is ultimately good. But then, in Romans 8:29, Paul explains what that good is. God does work all things together for our good—most importantly, He transforms us into the image of Christ. He is changing our hearts—how we live, what fruit we bear, and how we can best serve God and others. Our suffering is not merely a backup plan; it has a purpose.

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” — Romans 8:28-30 (CSB)

As noted in the ESV commentary, God weaves everything together for good for His children. The “good” in this context does not refer to earthly comfort but to conformity to Christ (v. 29), closer fellowship with God, bearing good fruit for the kingdom, and final glorification (v. 30).

We do not fully know or understand the mind of God, and as finite creatures, we cannot act as if He owes us an explanation for the events in our lives. In our frailty, we can find ourselves questioning. Sometimes, in the depths of suffering, the best thing we can do is echo Job’s words, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” Theologian Don Carson suggests, “God wants our trust [even] more than he wants our understanding.”

Application

As children of the One True King, we have hope! This hope is not only for eternity but also for the here and now for those whom God knows. Many factors in Scripture affect our spiritual well-being, but one thing is certain—our personal, intimate, experiential knowledge of God is a major factor.

The spiritual benefits of knowing God bring the purest joy. Those who truly know God gain courage and strength. They stand for righteousness, oppose wickedness, endure persecution if necessary, triumph through suffering, and accomplish great things for God’s glory. There is no other way to attain spiritual power except through the knowledge of God (Daniel 6, Acts 1:8).

Peter tells us about the people who know God, saying, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:12). This statement reveals that both grace and peace increase in a believer’s life through a thorough knowledge of God. Grace encompasses God’s favor, gracious care, faithful assistance, and help. We experience God’s help to the extent that we know Him.

Christians assert that Jesus of Nazareth was the God-man—the second person of the Godhead who became the “second man,” determining human destiny. He took on humanity without losing His deity, meaning Jesus is as truly and fully divine as He is human. We cannot fulfill our potential or perform our intended purpose independent of divine rescue, a truth I shared in my testimony. Jesus came because there was no other way to restore what sin had broken.

Left to ourselves, we are not enough, and we will never be enough. If we were sufficient—if our righteousness, power, knowledge, or spiritual health were enough—there would have been no reason for Jesus to come.

Paul Tripp puts it like this: the incarnation of Jesus, that is, the invasion by grace of the Son of God into the world he created, but which is now fallen, is the most pointed and significant moment of confrontation that has ever or will ever happen. The birth of Jesus confronts each of us with the fact that sin is real and inescapable, and it leads to death. In his coming we are forced to face the humbling fact that the greatest danger to all of us exists inside of us and not outside of us. The birth of Jesus requires us to confess that we are not okay and our world is not okay.

Further Reflection

Many of our spiritual struggles stem from our preference for a small, predictable, and controllable God. This image of God feels safe; we can understand, explain, and manage Him. However, this is not the God described in the Bible. The God of the Bible is not just great; He is much greater than we can fathom. Often, Christians seek a God who is merely a slightly bigger and brighter version of themselves, but the true God of the Bible is entirely different. Ironically, only a God like this can sustain our faith and give us the confidence to face the hardships and suffering of this world.

Acts 17:24-28 reveals who God is and our identity in Him. The God who created everything in the world is also the Lord of heaven and earth. He does not dwell in temples built by human hands, nor is He served by people as if He needed anything; rather, He gives life and breath to all mankind. From one man, He created every nation to inhabit the earth, determining their designated times and the boundaries of their dwellings.

This is so that people should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet, He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live, move, and have our being, as some of our own poets have said, “For we are indeed His offspring.” This passage invites us to reflect on our relationship with God. If Scripture shows that He is the Lord of heaven and earth, is He also the Lord of your life? How well do you know Him? Are there areas in your life that you should surrender to Him? What would that look like?

As mentioned before, I was fortunate to share some insights about suffering with Jesus during a recent workshop. My writing in this series will expand upon my breakout session. I will reference the works of authors who are far more knowledgeable and experienced than I am. These theologians provide a biblical perspective, and I highly recommend each book listed below. These resources, along with my ministry and personal experiences, aim to describe Christian suffering and how we can benefit from suffering in relationship with Jesus.

You can receive this series, How to Sustain Hope in Pain and Suffering, by email. To do so, be sure you subscribe to my blog. The primary resources for this series are:

Suffering Wisely and Well by Eric Ortlund

Suffering by Paul Tripp

Knowing God by J.I. Packer