Knowing God In 2013, I applied to attend a school of worship. As part of the application, I had to write an essay on what it means to know God. That assignment turned out to be one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for my faith journey!
Throughout my Christian life to that point, satan constantly whispered doubts into my ear, saying things like, “You’re not chosen, you’re not saved, and you won’t make it to Heaven. You don’t really know God, and His love isn’t real.” But that assignment became a turning point for me. It strengthened my faith and solidified my unwavering belief that I am forever loved by God. It’s truly an incredible blessing!
Here’s the essay:
For most of my Christian walk, I had an encyclopedia-knowledge of God consisting of a few key scriptures and facts. I knew that He had asked and enabled many ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I knew He was omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. I knew that He sent His son to die for the sins of the world. These are all facts I could learn in a relatively short amount of time and without sacrificing anything.
I knew about God. But He was really just the God on a page, the God in the stories, the God in some distant place looking down on His creation. The amazing feats He orchestrated were for all people collectively, not individual people. He was real, but He was not personal.
Now, I know that knowing Him is altogether different, and better, and more real than I could ever have dreamed possible.
Knowing Him means knowing that His Word is not a book that I read and memorize so I can check it off some “good Christian” list. The words in the Bible are not just words and facts. His Word, revealed by Holy Spirit is my life. It lives and breathes with Father’s heartbeat for me, for all His people individually and collectively (Hebrews 4:12). Knowing Him means knowing that the stories in the Bible are more than fantastical tales of triumph; they are His promises to me- promises to love me, protect me, never forsake me, and to enable me to do His will. Now I read His Word so that I can learn how to show Him my love and how to please Him. It is how He introduces Himself to me so that I can recognize Him when He meets with me in other places and other ways.
Knowing Him means that the fact that He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present is peace and comfort to my soul. I can rest in the knowledge that He sees me, He knows my heart and my thoughts, He is taking care of me and He is everywhere with me. I am never alone, and I am not on my own to figure out how to be a “good Christian” (Psalms 139:7-10).
Knowing Him means knowing that He created my heart in the image of His heart, so I know that giving up His only Son to die for ME, had to be the hardest thing He ever did. But He did it, and He would do it again…just for me (Genesis 1:27).
Knowing Him means knowing that He is not the God on a page or the God in the sky. It means knowing that He is, was, and will always be in me, around me, and for me. He is personal to me and interested in every part of my life. In fact, He’s not just interested in it; He is directing it and ordering all things to work out for my good. (Psalm 55:22)
Knowing Him means knowing that He IS. He is I AM (Exodus 3:14). He is King, Judge, and Ruler, but He is so much more (Psalm 82:8). He is Father, Papa, Abba Daddy (Isaiah 63:16). He is Friend, Comfort, Peace (Psalm 32:7). He is Author, Creator, and Restorer of my life (Genesis). He is Teacher, Counselor, and Discipliner (Psalm 94:12). He IS. He is so much more than I’ll ever comprehend, all I’ll ever need, and the one thing I’ll never stop chasing after.
Knowing Him means knowing Jesus. Jesus is the son of God, yet equal with God. He is the only way for me to be in the presence of Father, He is the truth that tramples on the lies of the enemy, and He is the example of a life lived to honor Father (John 14:6). He is my brother and best friend that will never leave me (Matthew 12:50 & Proverbs 18:24). He is my coming King and Bride Groom (Revelation 22:7). He is the fulfillment of the law and my redemption from it (Matthew 5:17-20).
Knowing Him means knowing Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the breath of God. Holy Spirit is a divine person who makes His home in my body (1 Corinthians 2:10). He is the Comforter and Counselor that Jesus promised to leave with me (John 14:16). He reveals God’s Word and will to me and enables me to live my life in accordance with them (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). He works in me, enabling me to will and to act in order to fulfill Papa’s good purpose (Philippians 2:13).
Knowing Him means knowing His voice (John 10:27-30). One of the reasons satan was able to make me question my salvation is because it took me a long time to learn to recognize His voice. And it is not at all what I expected. His voice is so much more than a physically audible expression or words written on a page. Papa communicates with us in many of the same ways we communicate with those we love. He leaves little tokens…a beautiful sunset, the nuzzle of a horse’s nose, a phone call from a friend I’ve lost touch with (Matthew 7:11). He does things for me that only He could do…gives me favor in my ministry, makes all the cars in front of me the same color to say “Hello”, opens doors that no one else could. So knowing Him, means being able to recognize Him in everything around me. It’s recognizing that the cat He placed in my lap was to teach me about rest, that the son He gave me was to teach me about total dependence, and that the trials in my life were to build my faith and character. And the more I pay attention to and honor His voice, the more He says to me.
Knowing Him also means sacrifice.
- As I choose to spend time reading His Word instead of watching tv, I get to learn more of His heart for me.
- As I set aside my desire for stuff and remove the clutter in my life, He frees the time I would normally spend on cleaning and maintaining the stuff to soak in His presence.
- As I forgive others and myself, He fills my heart with destiny and purpose.
- As I seek the things above, I become more the person He created me to be. I develop peace, joy, kindness, a gentle spirit, a love for others, the ability control my flesh (Colossians 3:1-4:6).
Knowing Him means loving Him and removing everything that sets itself as an obstacle to my relationship with Him, seeking and preferring Him above all else. It’s being able to accept His love and knowing that He delights in me and that when I wake up with a song in my heart, it is because Abba was singing over me while I slept (Zephaniah 3:17).
Knowing Him means knowing that it’s not about me…what I want, what I need. It’s not about having people see me, adore me, recognize and acknowledge me and my position. And there is peace in knowing that. I do not have to strive for position, status, or recognition. My position is already secured and it’s in Him. It’s all about Him…what He loves, what and who He is. It’s about letting Him shine through me and living a life that points always and only to Him (Matthew 5:15). It’s decreasing so that He can increase (John 3:30).
Knowing Him is not including Him in my life. It’s knowing that He is my life, that He is right here-where ever I am. I just have to purposely be aware of Him and honor His presence in my life (Psalm 139:7-12). I have to acknowledge that He is in all that I am and do when I walk according to His plan.
Knowing Him means knowing that He desires a relationship with me more than I desire a relationship with Him. It’s talking to Him all the time; admiring His creativity, seeking His guidance, and sharing my heart and my dreams with Him. It’s giving Him all of me and taking in all of Him, and knowing that He is giving me the desires of my heart. Not that He gives me what I want, but He literally puts His desires in me, so that the desires of my heart are the desires of His heart (Psalm 37:4).
Knowing Him means knowing that the Bible is God’s “breathed word” to me (2 Timothy 3:16). It’s reading His Word and letting Holy Spirit use it to cut right to my core and show me the sin in my life. It’s using scripture as my plumb-line and letting Him mold me with His love and discipline (Proverbs 3:11-12). It is the food I need to grow (1 Peter 2:2). It is the lamp that guides me as to where I should go and the light that illuminates my way (Psalm 119:105).
Knowing Him is not a cognitive act. It isn’t something I do with my head. It is a relationship with Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit that I do with my heart. It’s living in a manner that encourages, solidifies and cherishes the relationship above all others. It expresses faithfulness, love, confidence and deep adoration.
Knowing Him means knowing that through obedience, I get to know Him more. As Holy Spirit reveals more of Papa’s heart and more of His plans to me, I know that He is encountering me, and that He is inviting me to know more about Him and join Him in what He is doing. It’s knowing that every time Holy Spirit brings new revelation to my mind, God is actually encountering me. He is speaking into my spirit, into my heart and telling me great and hidden things that I would never be able to understand on my own (Jeremiah 33:3).
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