GGGG

On the intern training retreat (it feels like it was forever ago) we learned about the Four G's, a set of basic principles about God.  The Four G's state that God is Great, Glorious, Good, and Gracious.  As we dove deeper into what each G means, we spent a lot of time focusing on whether or not we really believe that God is each of the things we were discussing.  Here's a bit more in-depth of a look at the Four G's.

God is Great.  

Sure He is.  We all know that, right?  Well as we look a bit deeper into this principle, we find that because God is great we don't need to be in control.

Ouch.  That's a bit more difficult to swallow.

I think we all like to agree that God is great and in control and everything, but when it all boils down to it how much are we really trusting that this principle is true?  We can acknowledge it with our mouths, but are we actually placing our full trust in the Lord?  

God has taught our team a LOT about this principle as the camps have progressed, and He's teaching me a lot about it individually as I work my way through Job.  Job was one tough cookie, but he still knew that God was in control, even when his Captain BuzzKill, Negative Nancy, and Debbie Downer friends were telling him otherwise.  I could talk about God's greatness for awhile, but I'll just end this G with a challenge for you:  when you or someone you are talking to is questioning a situation or trying to fix something that isn't going according to plan, try asking if they (or you) really believe that God is great.  It's a thought-provoking and humbling question.  Try it.  I dare you.

Next G.  God is Glorious.

We sing worship songs about it.  We know He is worthy of all our praise.  What we often forget is that because God is glorious (and we are not), we don't have to fear others.  God is the only one worthy of praise; Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?"  

God is teaching me more than I could imagine about His glory; He is giving me a spirit of freedom and teaching me to find my identity solely in Him.  As much as I love my friends and family, I don't find my worth in who they see me as.  I know who I am in the Lord, and I know that I will find security and value as long as I am seeking after Him.  Nobody is greater or more glorious than God, so I have nobody to fear except for God.  As long as I listen to Him I will not fear what others think of me.  I am free in the Lord, free of fearing others and free to love.  It's wonderful, isn't it?

Next up is Goodness.  God is Good, so we don't need to look elsewhere (you'll see as we progress that the G's all start to relate to each other).  At camp, one thing we repeat over and over to the students is that God is holy, meaning He is good, right, and perfect.  We talk about how when Adam and Eve sinned, doubt also entered the world.  We began to doubt that God doesn't want what's best for us.  The truth is that God wants us to find our fulfillment in Him, and in order to do that we have to acknowledge that we are powerless (meaning we have to acknowledge that He is Great) and that only God can satisfy our needs.  

So many people get stuck on this one because they have trouble recognizing that they truly need to be rescued.  It's easy to "accept Christ" and to continue to try to save ourselves.  That's what the world tells us to do.  In today's society, it's exceedingly more difficult to admit that we are helpless creatures.  But that is, in fact, what we are.  Helpless.  So why not go ahead and recognize that God is good, right, and perfect and allow Him to satisfy our needs like He so wants to?  Exactly, you're catching my drift now...

Last but not least, God is Gracious.  

This one has wreaked a bit of havoc on all of our lives.  

God is Gracious, so we don't have to prove ourselves (to others or to God).  

This is the one that is so easy to confess with our lips then deny with our actions.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast," (Ephesians 2:8-9).  I have heard that verse over and over from a very young age, yet I find myself trying to disprove it over and over again.  I may not do it consciously, but I've come to realize that I don't always accept grace.  I think it's because it's almost unfathomable to think that the perfect Lamb of God could be slain for me without me needing to give something in return.  I mean, I've been raised in the South, for crying out loud; I'm expected to take a gift of some sort if I'm invited to a friend's house for a cook-out.  Based on Mrs. Manners' guide to proper etiquette, wouldn't it be somewhat appropriate for me to try to find some way of paying back the God of the Universe for giving me His Son to forgive my countless sins?

But that's just it...my gift is acceptance.  That's what God wants from me.  Acceptance and obedience.  That's why He gave us His Word as a guideline for our lives; we don't accept and obey so we'll be loved, but we accept and obey BECAUSE we are loved.  

Crazy, huh?

Instead of dwelling on everything we've done wrong, or feeling proud of what we've done right, or trying to do everything we can to please others and to maybe make things a little better, we can just accept grace and stop trying to manipulate God.  Then we won't have to try to prove ourselves to others or to God, and that will make life a whole lot more simple (since we will never actually be able to prove ourselves to others since only God is Glorious, thus also meaning that we can't prove ourselves to Him because we're epic failures...and we're okay with it!).  

All that being said, God's grace can wreck lives in the best way possible.  It's been happening a lot here, and it's absolutely beautiful.

So yes, the Four G's are just a new way of looking at the fundamental truths about God, but I think they are much easier to grasp (at least for our team) now that we've really dissected them and studied what it means to know and believe these truths.

I'm finding so much freedom in the G's, specifically in Glory and Grace (or at least lately).  It's the best feeling to know that I am who I am because I AM made me this way.  He, the One that created every freaking star in the sky, made me unique and in His image.  I can place my trust fully in Him and not in what others think of me because He alone is worthy of praise and fear.  

Life is good.  God is good (great, glorious, and gracious).  Carpe diem.

Peace and Love,

Lo B.