Do You Know God, or Do You Know About God?

Knowing God and knowing about God is not the same. Most people believe there is a God and have their own idea of who they think He is or and to some degree, limit Him in so many ways. For example, in passing they have heard other people say this God is powerful rather than He is Omnipotent (ALL Powerful), He only lives in Heaven, when the truth is He is (Omnipresent) everywhere present at the same time, and He is a nice God, just don’t make him angry, when the truth is, He is GOOD all the time, even we may not recognize His hand moving on our behalf. The list goes on. This is only a basic acknowledgement, without any genuine connection or their own personal experience with Him. If I can borrow a modern-day phrase this is what is called a “situation-ship, or circumstance-ship, and not a genuine relationship with God. In other words, people who do not truly have a genuine relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, will find themselves only able to acknowledge Him when they are stuck in a difficult situation, or overcome by circumstances they can not handle. Then, without even realizing it, they call out saying, “Oh my God, how did this happen?” Oh God, what am I going to do?” Although, He heard what you said, unless you have access to Him through His Son Jesus, He is not obligated to respond to your desperate plea for help. You might even compare them to the Pharisees and scribes Jesus spoke about in Matthew 15:8 “This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.” (AMP)

Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 (AMP)

Now, let’s look at what it means to truly “know” God. To know is to be aware of through conversation or observation, inquiry or information. However, it also means to have developed a relationship with someone through meeting and spending time with them. Let’s focus on the later definition.

You see; to truly know God, we must spend time with Him. Somehow in the busyness of our lives, a decision must be made. We must choose to pause long enough and simply be still. Start our day with a simple whisper, “Thank you Lord, for allowing me to see this brand-new day that was not promised, guide me throughout this day to meet someone and tell them about you, and help me to be the best example of you I can be, I love you and honor you, in Jesus name Amen.” Now of course that is sweet and to the point, but there is more to it than that. That is simply a minor suggestion of how to get started in case you don’t know. Finding a friend, loved one, or someone who can help you really established what is called a quiet time with God is so rewarding. What you will soon discover is what started out as only 5 or 10 minutes, has somehow turned into 30 minutes, or even an hour. This time you spend is the beginning of having an intimate relationship with Him in such a way, it becomes more about meeting with Him rather than a time restraint. It is a special time when it is all about you and God. Reading His Word and allowing Him to speak to you through His Word is powerful. You will find yourself wanting to spend more and more time just talking to Him about everything, especially His Word. Keeping in mind, that it is a dialogue, and He does need us to listen more than we talk. But in doing so, when something does come up that is overwhelming or difficult, because you already have a relationship with Him, and have been spending time with Him, you won’t feel guilty or awkward, because you have already been talking with him, and it’s not out of desperation you are coming before Him, now it’s from a place of faith and trust, because you have first hand knowledge that His Word is true and His promises are sure.

Sometimes, God has a way of providing us with an answer to our problem, before a situation comes up. We may come across a passage of scripture that speaks directly to the issue.

The starting point is first believing by faith that Jesus is the Son of God, and the only provision God provides for forgiveness of sin and reconciling us back with the Father to have a true relationship with Him. What does that mean? In Romans 10:9 it says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting in God is developed over time, but it must start somewhere. Knowing without a doubt, that when our time is done here on earth, we will be spending eternity with God is not guaranteed based on someone else’s experience, belief, or faith, but totally your own. You must develop your own personal relationship with Him and get to know Him for yourself.

To learn more about this in greater detail, please feel free to email me your request at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to assist you.

Be Blessed.

© 2024 Building Lives for the Kingdom

D. Gwenette Stokes, DMin