This is an attribute of God that really came alive to me in 2015. For a time, it was something I really wrestled with and fought through, but in the end…well, you are going to have to keep reading to find out “the end.”
How is He personal: God engages me in a way that influences me.[1] How? God chooses to not be disinterested in His creation. He is aware of and concerned with the details of my life. Why? He sympathizes with my struggles. This is not just what He does, but who He is (Mt. 10:28-31, Ps. 56:8-11, Rom. 8:26-27, Heb. 4:14-16).
The question to ask is, “Do you believe God deals with you generically (because He loves everyone)? Perhaps like, God’s got the big stuff, but the day-to-day is totally up to me.
Another question to ask is, “What would life be like if God were not personal?” If God is not personal, then it is normal/natural for me to avoid being vulnerable with God and others (Prov. 28:13, Ps. 32:3-5, Gal. 6:2). When do I resist making myself known? What does this reveal? (Wait! Don’t move on too fast…think about the ramifications.) But the truth of the matter is that being a “personal” God comes natural to God because it is His nature (see references in the second paragraph).
Of course, a “personal” God could be viewed as a nosey God looking to “bust” you or control you if you did not also believe He is good (“God’s mercy is his goodness toward those in distress, his grace is his goodness toward those who deserve only punishment, and his patience is his goodness toward those who continue to sin over a period of time”).[2]
In the end, I am assured that, yes, God is personal, even when He interrupts my selfish desires or is strangely silent. Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace and good will toward men.
[1] Brad Hambrick, God’s Attributes, Rest for Life’s Stuggles (Phillipsburg, N.J., P&R Publishing) 15
[2] Ibid., 198.