Have you ever taken a moment to think about who God is and what He thinks about you?
A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” (The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer, 1961)
Genesis to Revelation contains the story of God’s heart for you! It’s a story of blessing. [1]
The Old Testament
The Law
In Genesis, God is forming you from dust, breathing into you the breath of life, and creating you in His image (1:26-28)!
In Exodus, God is rescuing you from slavery through the blood of an innocent Lamb (12).
In Leviticus, God is making you holy as He is holy (19:1-2)!
In Numbers, God is leading you into your promised land with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud of glory by day (9:15-23)!
In Deuteronomy, God is…
…blessing you in the city and the field (28:3).
…blessing your marriage and family(28:4, 11).
…blessing your vocation and career (28:4-5).
…blessing the work of your hands(28:8).
…making you the head, not the tail.
…keeping you on top and never on bottom (28:13).
Books of History
In Joshua, God is the Captain of Heaven’s Army, bringing you into your Promised Land (5:13)!
In Judges, God is hearing your cry, responding to your repentance, and rescuing you from your own sin, selfishness, and stupid, self-defeating habits.
In Ruth, God is leading your steps, bringing you back home, redeeming your past, and making you a part of His redemptive story.
In 1 Samuel, God is calling you out of obscurity, anointing you with oil, giving you a purpose, and overcoming the giants that stand between you and your future.
In 2 Samuel, God is defeating your enemies, establishing your leadership, and bringing you into your destiny.
In 1 Kings, God is supernaturally providing for you during a prolonged drought (17:1-15). And when you’re tired, weary, worn out, and ready to resign, He’s recommissioning you by speaking to you in a “still small voice” (19:12).
In 2 Kings, God is irresistibly calling, equipping, and commissioning you, even in childhood, so that in a world that is bent on doing wrong, you can “do what is right in the eyes of the Lord” (22:2).
In 1 Chronicles, God is calling your name and remembering your history (1-9).
In 2 Chronicles, God is reminding you that despite your bent towards sin and rebellion, His heart is still for you. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land” (7:14).
In Ezra, God is restoring the temple and, along with it, your identity.
In Nehemiah, God is rebuilding the broken-down walls of your life.
In Esther, God is placing you in position and bringing you into the kingdom for such a time as this (4:14).
Books of Poetry and Wisdom
In Job, God is bragging about you behind your back. He is your redeemer who replaces everything the evil one took from you.
In Psalms, God is your shepherd who corrects you with His staff, protects you with His rod, and whose goodness and mercy are chasing you every day of your life.
In Proverbs, God is giving you wisdom to navigate this life.
In Ecclesiastes, God is restoring meaning and hope in a world that seems hopeless.
In the Song of Solomon, God is bringing you to the love of your life, celebrating your marriage, and cheering on your joy! He is loving you with relentless love.
The Major Prophets
In Isaiah, God is renewing your strength and lifting you up on eagle’s wings to get you to your purpose and place (40:31).
In Jeremiah, God is loving you with an everlasting love. He’s making plans to prosper you and not harm you and give you a hope and a future (31:3; 29:11).
In Lamentations, God is covering you with mercies that are new every morning and giving you a reason to say and sing, “Great is your faithfulness” (3:22-23).
In Ezekiel, God is giving you a new heart and a new spirit (36:26-27). He is resurrecting your dead dreams and giving new life to your dry bones (37:1-14).
In Daniel, God is walking with you into the furnace (3), closing the mouths of lions (6), and giving you favor in your workplace.
The Minor Prophets
In Hosea, God is loving you with a love that refuses to let go, despite your unfaithfulness.
In Joel, God is redeeming, restoring, and replacing what the locusts of this world have taken from you (2:25-27).
In Amos, God is bearing your burdens (7:14-15) (Note: The name Amos means “burden bearer).
In Obadiah, God is saving you from your self-imposed sin, idiosyncrasies, and mistakes (1:17).
In Jonah, God is rescuing you from your own disobedience and giving you a second chance (3:1).
In Micah, God is putting tread marks on your sin and hurling your iniquities in the depths of the sea (7:19).
In Nahum, God is giving payback to the enemy who tried to take you down and out. He’s stashing you in His safe house and always close to those who trust Him (1:7).
In Habakkuk, God is your strength who makes you as surefooted as a deer that treads and walks on mountain heights (3:19).
In Zephaniah, God is singing and laughing over you with joy (3:17).
In Haggai, God is restoring everything you lost and making your finish more glorious than your beginning (2:9).
In Zechariah, God is squaring off against your accuser, looking Satan in the eye and saying, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations! Everything may be going up in flames, but this one is like a stick that has been snatched from the fire” (3:1-2).
In Malachi, God is rising with healing in His wings and repairing your relationships with your family (4:2- 6).
That’s just the Old Testament!
The New Testament reveals His heart in 8K resolution.
The New Testament
The Gospels
In Matthew, God is sending you a Savior.
In Mark, God is…
…calming your storms (4:35-41),
…walking on the waters that are threatening to take you down (6:47-56),
…performing miracles in your life (4:35-41; 6:30-44; 8:1-10; 11:12-21),
…delivering you from the power of the evil one (1:23-28; 9:14-29),
…healing your body (1:30-31, 40-42; 2:1-12; 5:25-34),
…and even raising you from the dead (5:21-24, 35-43).
In Luke, God is restoring our lost song with the coming of Messiah. (Mary sings (1:46). Zechariah sings (1:67). The angels sing (2:14). And two senior citizens named Simeon and Anna sing and worship at the arrival of Jesus (2:25-40).)
In John, God is the Word made flesh, moving into your neighborhood.
—He is bread that nourishes your life (6:35, 41, 48, 51).
—He is the light of your world (8:12; 9:5).
—He is the door into the kingdom (10:7, 9).
—He is the good shepherd who leads, feeds, and protects His sheep (10:11, 14).
—He is your resurrection and life (11:25).
—He is the way, the truth, and the life (14:6).
-He is the true vine and has made you one of the branches (15:1, 5).
He is even the God who cooks breakfast for a broken leader and reinstates him in leadership and ministry (21).
History of the Church
In Acts, God is filling you with the Holy Spirit and sending you on mission (1:8; 2:4).
Letters or Epistles
In Romans, God is justifying you. His Spirit is interceding for you. And He is making certain that nothing ever separates you from His extravagant love (5:1; 8:26; 8:31-38).
In 1 Corinthians, God is “swallowing up death in victory” so that you can say, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (15:55).
In 2 Corinthians, God is making you into a new creation—the old is gone, and the new is here (5:17). He’s giving you a mission and an assignment as His ambassador and representative (5:20).
In Galatians, God is redeeming you from the curse of the law (3:13). He is adopting you into His family and sending the Spirit of His Son into your heart so that you can call out, “Abba, Father,” knowing that you are no longer a slave, but a redeemed child and heir of God Himself (4:4-7).
In Ephesians, God is adopting you into His forever family and raising you up to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus (1:5; 2:6).
In Philippians, God is giving you joy in the middle of circumstances that are overwhelming, and promising to carry to the finish every good work He started in you (1:6).
In Colossians, God is nailing your sin to the cross and disarming every principality and power that wants to take you down and out (2:13-15).
In 1 Thessalonians, God is coming down from heaven with a shout and raising every believer in Jesus back to life so that we can live forever with the Lord (4:13-18).
In 2 Thessalonians, God is overthrowing and “blowing away” the evil one and his henchmen with just the breath of his mouth and the power of His presence (2:8).
In 1 Timothy, God is giving you the power to “fight the good fight, take hold of eternal life,” and “guard everything that has been entrusted to you” (6:12, 20).
In 2 Timothy, God is overcoming your tendency for fear and timidity by giving you power, love, and a sound mind (1:7). He is also making sure you get to the finish line so you can say with Paul, “I fought a good fight, I finished the race, and I kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
In Titus, God is stepping in to save you, not because of the righteous things you’ve done, but because of His extraordinary mercy (3:4-7).
In Philemon, God is making your former enemies, close friends and family (1:16).
In Hebrews, God is inviting you to His throne of grace, where you will receive mercy and grace to help in your time of need (4:16).
In James, God is healing you of your sickness and giving you the power to resist the devil so that he tucks tail and flees (5:14-15; 4:7)!
In 1 Peter, God is reminding you that you are a “chosen treasure, priests who are kings, called out of darkness into His marvelous light” and a person with a new identity (2:9-10).
In 2 Peter, God is giving you His divine power and “everything you need for living a godly life” (1:3).
In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, God is calling you His beloved.
In Jude, He is coming back for you with 10,000 of His saints (1:14).
Prophecy
And in Revelation, God is loving you and freeing you from your sin with His own blood (1:5).
—He is rewriting your history and changing your destiny by “holding the keys of death and the grave” (1:18).
—He is giving you security and stability because He is on the throne — sovereign and strong (4-5).
—He is defeating your accuser through the “blood of the Lamb” and by “the word of your testimony” (12:10-11).
—He is putting an end to the tyranny of the evil one by arresting Satan, binding him in chains (20:1-3), and hurling him into the lake of fire (20:15).
—He is making His home with His people (21:3).
And, in Revelation, God is “wiping every tear from your eyes” (21:4) and making all things entirely and completely new (21:5)!
The entire Bible — Genesis to Revelation — contains the story of God’s heart for you!
Read it regularly.
Worship God passionately.
Rest in what He has done purposefully.
Recognize and claim these promises daily.
If this brief recap of God’s heart for you revealed in the Old and New Testaments interests you, you may enjoy ISOW’s Old Testament Survey and New Testament Survey, which will give you a complete overview of the Bible. Taught by Dr. Bryan Cutshall and Instructor Matthew Foley, these excellent courses are required for any Biblical Studies certificate at ISOW. Click on the links to learn more.
To view courses in Spanish, click here.
[1] I was inspired to adapt and add to a list Mark Batterson created. Batterson, Mark. Double Blessing: Don't Settle for Less Than You're Called to Bless (p. 55). (Function). Kindle Edition.