God is so magnificent, awesome, and indescribable that we could spend an entire lifetime, including all of eternity and never exhaust the depths of knowing Him. If our goal is to fully understand the subject of God, we will come up short every time. Our human experience limits our ability to grasp and understand the enormity of God. That shouldn’t discourage us. If anything it should excite us, drawing us into an adventurous and wonderful pursuit of Him.
The Bible is filled with characters who were given invitations to experience God more deeply. What if knowing God is less about knowledge and more about relationship. I liken it to reading all about someone famous. After getting your fill on biographies, news articles, television shows, blogs, social media, and casual speculation, you soon begin to feel as though you have a good grasp of who this person is. What they like, where they eat, how they dress, and so on.
Would God Even Recognize You?
But do you really know the person? Have you spent time with them? More importantly, if you met them on the street would they even recognize you? How would they unless you hung out together?
I’ll admit, it’s a rather absurd thought. How could the God who knows everything not know you? There’s the often quoted verse about Him knowing us before He formed us in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5) and while that verse is speaking directly about the prophet Jeremiah, He is the same God today as He was then; the God who knows all. So how are we supposed to read Matthew 7:23 as Jesus says He does not know certain people?
Should any of this even make a difference? Whichever side of that train of thought you lean towards, does it ultimately get you off the hook from wanting, or needing to pursue Him? If He knows every hair on your head, does that mean you’re free to go about your business of just reading about God instead of cultivating a relationship with Him?
Just a Topic to Study
What if we treated God less like a topic to study and more like a person to get to know. How would that change the way you approach God?
Take a moment and think about your current relationship with God. Imagine that relationship was with someone on Earth. How would you describe that relationship? Would it be considered healthy? One sided? Who does most of the talking? What are things you value in the healthy relationships you’ve had on earth? Do you pursue your relationship with God in the same way?
Most of us know about God, but that is quite different from knowing God .
– Billy Graham
There are so many facets of God, so many ways He desires to reveal Himself to us. Just to name a few:
He is Creator
He is Worthy
He is Father
He is Provider
He is Love
He is the God of miracles
He is Healer
These are a small handful of who God is and are a good place to start in getting to know Him better. Cultivate Connection exists to help others connect with God. That’s why we’re going to dive into each of these facets of God one at a time in our podcast over the next seven weeks.
I love how David Pawson describes God’s name in Hebrew, YAHWEH:
When they spoke of God they used God’s name YAHWEH, a name which functions as “always’ in english – God is “always’ my provider, “always’ at my side, “always my healer.’
– David Pawson
God is who he says he is, and he calls himself ‘Always.’ Are you hungry to move into a deeper relationship with Him? Is there something stirring in you to come to know Him more? God has placed that very hunger, that stirring, in you. He is wooing you into relationship with Him. He wants to connect with you, to get to know you more. Not simply the knowing about you, but the knowing that comes from an intimate relationship. If your heart is saying yes to all of this, begin praying this prayer:
Your Invitation Awaits
God, I thank-you for making a way for me to enter into relationship with You through your son Jesus. Thank-you for softening my heart to receive the truth of who you are. My mind is being renewed as to what an intimate relationship with you looks like, and I choose to embrace this. Thank-you for the grace to step into knowing You more. Open my eyes to see you as creator. To see your unlimited worth. To know you as Father and Provider. To know your love. To see your miracles and know You as Healer. I choose to draw closer to You today.