Experiencing GodSample

God Wants to be Known

The single greatest privilege in life is to know God. The God who formed you, provides for you, and sent his Son to die for you, longs to have a real relationship with you. He longs to be known by you. And through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, we truly can know him like any other person. Respectively, he is infinitely more recognizable than any other person. Jeremiah 31:33-34 says,

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

"From the least of them to the greatest," says the living God. You can know the God of love no matter who you are or what you've done. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those individuals appointed as his leaders. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those like David, Isaiah, Peter, or the clergy. All of us have equal access to the living God.

From the place of knowing God, we are granted the ability to experience his incredible attributes and be blessed by a greater awareness of our union with him. When seeking God, the Bible makes it clear that we begin to experience his love (Romans 5:5), hear his voice (John 10:27), and feel his peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16). We can partner in his purposes (1 Peter 2:9), experience his freedom (Romans 6:4), and rest in his presence (Psalms 16:11).

When we center our lives around knowing God, we gain experience with him like any other person. I don't seek to hear my wife's voice; I seek to know her and have conversations with her as a byproduct of that. I don't desire just the emotion of love from my wife; instead, in getting to know her and walking into relationship with her, I experience her affection for me. So it is with God. When we simply seek to know him, we gain experience in return.

As we look at the individual aspects of experiencing God this week, I pray that your heart is stirred to seek a deeper relationship with your heavenly Father, whatever may come as a result. Your Father loves you enough to pay the ultimate price to have a relationship with you. Seek him and discover the wealth of his affection for you.

Prayer

1. Meditate on the availability of knowing the living God. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to seek him with all your heart.

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

"You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek." Psalm 27:8

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:33-34

2. Is your life centered around the pursuit of knowing God? Check the posture of your heart today. Look at the way you spend your time, your emotions, your thoughts, and your actions. What seems to be your greatest pursuit?

3. Spend some time centering your heart around the true relationship with a knowable God. Ask him to help guide your heart through your day toward this pursuit. Ask him to give you a check in your heart when something takes his place as the greatest desire in your life. Live today with him as your highest priority.

“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10