I developed the God Image Questionnaire (GIQ) based on my Ph.D. dissertation in 1989. Since then I have revised some of the wording based on my clinical observations of helping many people in therapy and spiritual direction.
The GIQ is meant to help you better understand your personal knowledge or experience of God. In other words, we’re trying to get underneath your concept of God to understand your heartfelt image of God. We’re not assessing your theology, but your “knee-ology” — how you experience God in prayer and how much you trust him in daily life.
To help you go beyond giving “the right answers” about God the GIQ asks about how you are experiencing God in your day-to-day life. Your experience of God is your attitudes, emotions, and interaction with God in response to your observations of what God seems to be doing or not doing in your life.
Take the God Image Questionnaire
Please answer each question below according to your personal knowledge or experience of God and not your opinions or what you think you should believe about God. Read each question and then circle “T” for mostly true and “F” for mostly false.
1. At times I don’t trust that God is giving His full attention to the details of my life. T F
2. When I need God sometimes I observe that He does not help me very much. T F
3. In my experience God may withhold good things from me. T F
4. Sometimes I experience being disregarded by God. T F
5. If I feel that God is distant from me I tend to act on my own. T F
6. At times I give into pressure from God to do something that I don’t want to do. T F
7. Sometimes I do something good to get God’s favor. T F
8. Sometimes I try to measure up God’s expectations so he won’t be displeased with me. T F
9. Even after I confess my sin to God I don’t trust that I’m forgiven. T F
10. At times I’m not confident that God is treating me fairly. T F
11. If I’m in a threatening situation I don’t trust that God will protect me. T F
12. At times I’m not sure that what I can do for God is important to Him. T F
13. Sometimes I am unsure about whether or not God has a good purpose for my future. T F
14. In my experience when I feel I really need God I might be left on my own to handle the situation. T F
15. When I talk to God about a decision I make sometimes my experience is that he’s not very interested. T F
16. Sometimes I don’t trust that God is really helping me with my problems. T F
17. At times I don’t trust that God wants to give me good things. T F
18. At times it’s hard for me truly to believe that I am esteemed highly by God. T F
19. Sometimes I don’t trust that God is really with me to care for me. T F
20. In my experience sometimes God doesn’t give me freedom to do what I want. T F
21. When I want God to do something for me I may do something for Him to help my cause. T F
22. At times I don’t trust that God really approves of me. T F
23. In my experience even after I tell God I am sorry for my wrongdoing He may still be upset with me. T F
24. Sometimes I avoid being honest with God because I don’t want to be under judgment. T F
25. If someone takes advantage of me then I tend to get upset that God didn’t protect me. T F
26. Sometimes I’m unsure if God believes in my abilities. T F
27. At times I am not confident that God has special plans for me. T F
28. In difficult situations I may not trust God to be at my side. T F
Scoring your God Image Questionnaire
To score and understand your God Image Questionnaire use the table below. It has 14 rows, one for each of the 14 aspects of God’s perfect love from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. (The first word or term for each aspect of love is from the NIV84 translation of the Bible and the other words are my descriptions of that trait.) There are two questions (“Quest”) for each aspect of perfect love.
“False” answers to any question on the GIQ indicate a generally and usually positive experience of God’s love (or image of God) in that particular aspect.
Follow these four steps:
1. Circle each of the 28 questions that you answered with “false.”
2. Count one point for each “false” answer.
3. Add up the total for each row (aspect of God’s love). Scores should range from 0 to 2. Scores of 2 indicate your God Image strengths, areas where you have a positive experience of that aspect of God’s love. Scores of 0 indicate your God Image weaknesses, areas where you’re struggling to trust God’s love and need help.
4. Add up your total GIQ score for all 14 rows combined. Scores should range from 0 to 28. Higher scores indicate greater trust in God and his love for you (an image of God that is more positive and true to the God of the Bible.)
| Quest ——— Aspect of God’s Love ————————————— Score |
| 1, 15 Patient: attentive, interested |
| 2, 16 Kind: helpful |
| 3, 17 Not envious: generous, gives good gifts |
| 4, 18 Not boastful: esteems and shows regard |
| 5, 19 Not proud: close, available |
| 6, 20 Not rude: gives freedom, gentle |
| 7, 21 Not self-seeking: unconditional favor and care |
| 8, 22 Not easily angered: considerate of weaknesses |
| 9, 23 No record of wrongs: forgiving, merciful |
| 10, 24 Rejoices in truth, not evil: fair, does what’s right |
| 11, 25 Protects: keeps safe, defends |
| 12, 26 Trusts: respects, believes in abilities |
| 13, 27 Hopeful: has good plan and purpose |
| 14, 28 Perseveres: reliable, faithful |
| GIQ TOTAL: |
More Soul Shepherding
For help growing in your personal knowledge of God’s love you can read “God’s Love Letter to You“.