My dad is one of the most predictable people I know. When I need to tell him something, I almost always know what he is going to say or do. He’s also an infamous story-repeater.

If you were to give me a line, I could tell you if my dad said it or not. If he did, I could tell you exactly what tone of voice he used, and which facial expressions he made while saying it. This comes with 21 years of knowing him.

So when I decided that I wanted to do more than hang the hat of my soul on the coat rack of Christianity, I knew I was going to need to know who this “Heavenly Father” truly was.

I grew up in church. I attended Sunday school my whole life and I loved it. I really did love Jesus. I heard the whole “Father, Son, Holy Spirit” thing more times than I could count. And maybe it’s because I barely graduated because of my grade in Algebra II, but the idea of “our God is 3-in-1” sounded a little too much like a TV infomercial.

One day I heard a message where the speaker asked us to close our eyes, and based on our previous knowledge, name what first came to our minds when she said the following words: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.

God

Father.

When I think of God, I see a father. I see a father who runs the fence with you when you hit a home run. I see the one who holds the movie camera and wants to catch every moment so he can watch it again and again through the years. I see the dad who wants to give me the very best. I see a father who wants to sit with me in the car and listen to my favorite music and stop for Coke Slushies while talking about the innermost parts of my heart. He sees my heart. He honors my heart. And He gently molds me into who He created me to be.

Jesus

Friend.

You know those friends who you can always count on to be free for a two hour long coffee date? That’s who I see Jesus as. I see a friend who sits next to you when your heart is broken. He lets me cry. He lets me vent. He lets me be angry. But He never leaves me like that. He uses metaphors bound together with threads of grace and kindness. He absorbs my anger and releases understanding. He laughs with me. He cries with me. He simply sits with me, and there is no place He would rather be. When I’m kicked in the gut, He helps me catch my breath. (Ps. 34:18, MSG)

Holy Spirit

Water.

I hiked Hatcher Pass in Alaska without my water bottle one time. It was awful. The hike itself was excruciating, but add no water with that, horrible. We reached a point where we were high enough that there were still snow patches, even in July. I cupped my hands together and felt the snow hit my tongue like a monsoon in a desert. It was, to this day, still one of the most refreshing things I’ve experienced.

This is how I see the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is my water bottle. When you’re backpacking or hiking, water is your lifeline. You don’t leave without it. My journey in life needs the Holy Spirit. It is the thing I never leave without. But, in my case, when I do leave without it, I feel the harshness of life take my breath away. It leaves me in auto-pilot, desperately searching for the closest snow patch.

When I am out of touch with the Holy Spirit, I can feel it. But once I tune into the spirit that Jesus left the world with, (John 14), a refreshing peace comes over my drought-stricken heart.

I practiced this exercise during my season of severe depression two years ago, thankful that the exercise helped me encounter God’s nature before the pain came. During this difficult season, I have found myself refusing to put The Lord in a box whose foundation was built with my own pain-tainted perspective.

In March of 2014, I came across an author named Christa Black Gifford. It was two weeks after she lost her daughter, Luca Gold, 45 minutes after she was born. Christa’s mission is to help others heal from their pain, and recognize that God is not a killer, but the Creator. Her quote from a sermon that she preached a few months after Luca left this side of Heaven, left me on my knees, and two years later, I am still chewing on it.

If you are not anchored in the goodness of God, you will lower your theology to match your pain. The goodness of God will NEVER be subjected to my pain. In fact, the only way to HEAL from my pain is to subject my PAIN to the GOODNESS of God.

This quote served as a game-changer in my life. Healing has come because I chose to encounter the raw heart of God before my heart was broken. By knowing God as Three, it has helped me view Him through a lens of clarity.

Today, I challenge you to name the first things that come to your mind when you say God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Your first thoughts will help you recognize what your view of God really is. Ask yourself why you view Him as you do. Take time to dance with Him, and ask Him to reveal His true nature to you.

He is kind. He is beautiful. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Hallelujah what a Savior, Hallelujah what a friend

For the Cross // Bethel Music