Day 8

God Is Personal

from the Attributes of God reading plan


Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 14:15-21, Hebrews 1:1-4

BY She Reads Truth

God is a triune personal being who enters into a covenant relationship with His people, both individually and corporately.

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 grand, He is also personal and relational. He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

We see this in Exodus 34, when God met with Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses came down from the mountain and found he had to conceal his face with a veil in order to speak with the Israelites. He “did not realize that the skin of his face shone” (v.29) after talking with God—that it was reflecting the radiance of God’s glory and frightening his fellow Israelites. And so, whenever Moses met with God, he would remove the veil, but then put it back on when speaking with God’s people.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul writes that the sacrifice of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit have changed the nature of our relationship with God. We can now gaze upon the glory of God with unveiled faces, just as if we were staring into a mirror (v.18). While Moses was the mediator between God and His people, we now have Christ, the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3) as our Mediator. Because of Christ, we can enter into relationship with God both corporately as His Church and as individuals. Even more, we have received a Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to remain with us at all times.

Our relationship with God is rooted in His glory and expressed in His immanence. God is present with us, deeply invested and active in each of our lives. He is a personal God. He relates to us, loves us, and cherishes us. Rather than being distant, inaccessible and detached, He has drawn near to us so that we might draw near to Him. By grace, He dwells among us, and by that same grace, He invites us into His presence.

Post Comments (40)

40 thoughts on "God Is Personal"

  1. Marsha says:

    Valerie, your comment post could have easily been written by me! My S/O was my husband for over 30 years. We are still very close even after amiably divorcing 6 years ago. I will pray for your S/O and wisdom for you in approaching those hard conversations. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will put even just a TINY thought into their lives. A foot in the door to their hearts so to speak. In the meantime, you and I can let the light of Christ in us shine through. May the coming week hold blessings for you ❤️.

  2. Meagan Reynolds says:

    God wanted me to be close to him and have a relationship with him so much that he sent is own son to die in my place. Christ became the mediator between me and God and because He lives, I can too…and God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us always. Wow.

  3. Emily G says:

    i recently had a small group discussion on the same passage of hebrews 1. “he is the RADIANCE of the glory of God and the EXACT imprint of his nature”

    just as a ray of sunlight connects the sun to the earth, Jesus connects us to the Father. i am so thankful to serve a God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, who shines so brightly, and yet still desires a deeply personal relationship with us.

  4. Valerie says:

    this is a really comforting devotional for me today as i have had some anxiety again the past few days about my S/O who is agnostic. i pray fervently that he will come to faith and i trust that god is working through him in his perfect timing, but when i see, from my outsider’s perspective, no changes being made it’s easy to lose hope. i know i need to stop avoiding talking with him about anything spiritual because of the fear i have that those will be difficult conversations. he has faced so many hardships in life and i think it’s hard for him to trust in a god who let these things happen to him. but i think, deep deep down, he may just believe, and i pray he sees that god was with him through all the suffering he’s faced. and this reminded me that god is working on him and drawing close to him – “He has drawn near to us so that we might draw near to Him.”

    please pray that my S/O will open his heart and come to faith. please pray that i will not be afraid to have these conversations with him and that they will be productive, that i will only help on his journey and not become a hindrance to him forming a relationship with god. that perhaps god will put someone in my S/O’s path who will teach him about god, who he will listen to and learn from. that i will love him the way god wants me to and surrender these things to god, as it’s something only he can do. and that i will trust in his perfect timing and know that there is “behind-the-scenes” work going on that i can’t see. please pray that god will move mountains in his heart and reveal himself to my S/O. thank you all <3

  5. NanaK says:

    Loved this devotional. I delight in the knowledge that I have been given the opportunity to have a personal relationship and agree with you all in the importance of us, as Christians, shining with God’s to the world around us.
    Stephanie, thank you for your prayer. I am absolutely agreeing with you in prayer this morning.
    Happy Monday Sisters—Have a blessed week KNOWING our “God is a personal God.”

  6. Maura says:

    Our God is mighty! Praying healing for you Nada. It is so evident in Moses’ face that he has encountered God. We cannot spend time with Jesus and not be changed save that we do not have ears to hear or eyes to see. Yet He opens our eyes heals our blindness that we may understand and by grace be saved. I love that time with our Lord makes me more like Him and pray that it will be evident to those who cross my path. Praise God for His goodness, grace and love.

  7. Missy says:

    Amen to Stephanie’s prayer! Prayed it too!

  8. Kristin L says:

    Amen, Stephanie. Praying that pray with you.

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