Advice For Anyone Struggling With Defining God
Dear Gail,
Thank you for sharing so honestly about your struggle with “defining God.”
Many people across history have felt exactly what you’re feeling — that if only we could pin down who God is, we might finally understand Him, relate to Him, and feel secure. There’s nothing wrong with wanting clarity. But sometimes the search for a definition becomes a way of trying to make God fit into a shape we can manage or control.
What Scripture Says About Defining God
Scripture gently turns the question around.
When Moses asked God for His name — a definition, a description, something he could hold onto — God replied:
“I AM who I AM… tell them ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13–14
It’s a breathtaking moment. God does not give Moses a label. He gives him presence. Not a box, but a relationship.
And here’s the part that matters for you, Gail: We don’t define God. God defines us.
You are made in His image — not the other way around. Your identity flows from Him, not from your ability to understand Him perfectly. As Paul says, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Everything about who you are finds its meaning in who He is.
When we get this the right way up, something extraordinary happens. The pressure lifts. The confusion settles. The heart rests.
You don’t need to prove who you are. You don’t need God to prove Himself to you. You simply receive Him — as He already receives you.
God’s plan was always that you would know Him not as a distant unknown all-powerful entity but that you would know Him as your Father. Jesus spells this out in His final prayer before being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them”’ (John 17:24-26)
By definition, Gail, you are who you are: a beloved child of God accepted in Christ Jesus. And God is “I AM who I AM.” Letting those truths stand as they are brings the peace you’ve been longing for — the peace of being known, accepted, and held.
May you sense His steady presence today, not because you have defined Him, but because He has already claimed you as His own. Let His presence and this truth give you fresh confidence in trusting Father God, sharing your whole life with Him, knowing that He is always for you and close by (Romans 8:15-16, 31).
With care and blessing,
Oggy
Worship to sit with: ‘Be Still for the Presence of the Lord’ — a gentle reminder that God’s presence is not earned or explained, only welcomed:
Further reading (C4L Booster): “Casting Your Cares” — exploring how God meets us when we stop striving and start resting: Casting Your Cares Upon The Lord | C4L
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