G.O.D².
Sep 6 2024 - Eric Buresh
When I was going through a time of personal spiritual reformation as an adult, the Holy Spirit was intensely teaching me out of the Word and through the sermons and writings of many spiritual ancestors. My eyes were opening more and more with each turn of the page. It was coming so fast, at times, I was scared I was losing track of His teaching.
As I was journaling thoughts and versus, I began to categorize them into groups so I could keep my mind organized. A pattern emerged from those categories that really helped me crystalize some of the keys of the Christian life. I then turned those categories into a mnemonic that would help me remember: G.O.D 2.
It has evolved a little in presentation over time. For instance, when I share the mnemonic now, I often use a question-and-answer format:
“Why do I exist?” “I exist to:”
G. Glorify God. “How do I glorify God?” “By:”
O. Obeying God. “How do I obey God?” “By:”
D2. Depending on God AND Delighting in God.
My heart is so prone to wander from God, to lie to itself, to elevate itself, and to worship itself. As I resist the lies and the shadows of pride from which they emerge, this little mnemonic has helped me refocus my spiritual eyes literally thousands of times. Years later, I have many branches off each of these core elements that provide more details and depth to things I’ve learned, but all the branches still go back to these simple ideas. It has stood the test of time at least for me, and I commend it to you.
Even years after the Spirit broke through my spiritual deadness, the element I still battle the most in my remaining flesh is “Depending on God.” In my original state, I didn’t want to depend on God for my salvation or forgiveness. I didn’t want to depend on God for my sanctification or obedience. I didn’t want to depend on God for my daily bread or provision. My heart hated the idea of depending on, trusting, or placing my faith in someone else – even if it was God. Because to do so would definitively require me to accept and admit that I was not sufficient in any area of my life or my eternity, and my heart truly hated that fact.
As I know this to be a key danger area for me, each summer, I devote a few weeks to reviewing all the Bible verses that I have categorized under Depending on God, and there are a lot. To say dependence (and humility that accompanies it) is a major theme would be an understatement. I’ll leave you with just a few versus that I’m looking at today:
Proverbs 29:23: “A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”
Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.”
Matthew 23:12: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
James 4:6: “But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
James 4:10: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”