In a world full of distorted pictures of God, many people are trying to trust Him while carrying a wounded or incomplete view of who He really is. Some imagine God as distant. Others see Him as angry, disappointed, petty, or impossible to please. Pain can paint God incorrectly. Shame can edit the way we see Him. Disappointment can make Him feel unsafe.
But God does not leave us to guess who He is.
In Exodus 34, God speaks for Himself:
“The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth…”
This is not a secondhand sketch. This is not culture’s caricature. This is not fear’s imagination. This is God revealing Himself.
This is our God.
God Is Compassionate
The first word God uses to describe Himself is not powerful, mighty, or holy—though He is all of those things. The first brushstroke God paints is compassion.
That matters.
Israel had known slavery, oppression, exhaustion, and pain. They had cried out from the brick pits of Egypt, and Scripture tells us God saw, God heard, and God knew. He was not indifferent. He was not distant. Their suffering moved Him.
God Sees You
Some people are not doubting whether God exists. They are doubting whether God sees them.
You may believe He is real, but wonder if He is paying attention to your pain, your sickness, your family, your unanswered prayers, or your private battles.
But the God of Exodus has not changed. He still sees. He still hears. He still knows. And He still moves toward His people with compassion.
If you are looking for a church in Garland, TX, or nearby communities like Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, or Wylie, North Cities Church is a place where we believe God still meets people in their pain and reminds them they are not forgotten.
God Is Gracious
God is not only compassionate. He is gracious.
His grace is not based on your performance. It flows from His character. That means God is not gracious because you had a good week. He is gracious because that is who He is.
Some people live as though God’s love rises and falls with their latest victory or failure. When they do well, they feel close to God. When they fail, they hide. But God is not a reluctant Father waiting for you to earn your way back home.
He is gracious.
Grace Runs Toward the Undeserving
Jesus showed us this in the story of the prodigal son. The son wasted everything. He dishonored his father. He came home rehearsing a speech, hoping to become a servant.
But the father ran.
He did not wait for the son to clean himself up. He did not make him beg. He restored him with a robe, a ring, and a celebration.
That is grace.
If you are wrestling with shame, failure, sin, or the feeling that you have gone too far, hear this clearly: God is not stingy with mercy. He is not finished with you. His grace is deeper than your struggle.
This is our God.
God Is Faithful
The final brushstroke Pastor Derrick emphasized is God’s overflowing faithfulness.
God is not merely truthful in the sense that He states facts. He is truth you can lean on. He is trustworthy. Reliable. Steady. Unchanging.
Abraham received a promise from God with no map, no timeline, and no visible guarantee. Yet God kept His word. Isaac came. Jacob came. The twelve tribes came. Generations passed, but God’s promise did not fail.
Israel failed. They doubted. They complained. They even worshiped a golden calf. Yet God remained faithful to His covenant.
Faithfulness Does Not Always Look Fast
Some people are waiting on God and wondering if He has forgotten them. The prayer has not been answered yet. The healing has not come yet. The door has not opened yet. The situation has not changed yet.
But God’s faithfulness is not proven by how fast He moves. It is proven by the fact that He does not change.
When the diagnosis changes, God is faithful.
When the money gets tight, God is faithful.
When the prayer feels unanswered, God is faithful.
When the ground shifts beneath your feet, God is faithful.
You can build your life, your family, and your future on Him.
Look at Jesus
If you have been carrying a distorted picture of God, Scripture tells us where to look.
Look at Jesus.
John 1 says, “The Word became flesh… full of grace and truth.”
Jesus is the glory of God fully revealed. If you want to know what God’s compassion looks like, watch Jesus touch the leper. If you want to know what grace looks like, watch Jesus restore the broken. If you want to know what faithfulness looks like, watch Jesus stretch out His hands at Calvary and rise from the grave.
Jesus is compassion in motion.
Jesus is grace incarnate.
Jesus is faithfulness that cannot be killed, buried, or stopped.
This is our God.
Come to the Real Portrait
The world may draw God as absent. Fear may sketch Him as distant. Shame may portray Him as angry. Pain may paint Him as unsafe.
But Jesus shows us the truth.
God is compassionate.
God is gracious.
God is faithful.
At North Cities Church in Garland, TX, we believe Jesus still reveals the heart of God to people across Dallas County, Collin County, Rockwall County, and surrounding cities like Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, and Wylie.
If you have been standing at a distance, come closer. Bring Him the fear, the shame, the disappointment, the hidden battle, and the distorted picture you have been carrying.
Come to Jesus.
This is our God.
