Not Knowing How To Know God Hinders Our Purpose Now

Man, in his intellectual arrogance, loves to make complex what God has made simple. And knowing God is simple; it isn’t easy, but it’s simple. Knowing God is what we are made for; or more accurately, what we are re-made for. It is only when we continue to try to know Him on our terms, continue to do things our way, that we come to the conclusion that the “heavens are as brass,” that God isn’t there or isn’t listening to me, that I’m not hearing from Him, or that I’m kept from hearing from Him, cuz’ I really don’t want to hear what He has to say to me… after all, He’s a Holy God, and I’m just a sinner saved by grace.

But God’s purpose for us now is to be in a knowing, experiential relationship with Him, and He will not let anything stand in His way. Yet if we don’t know how to know Him, we are easily distracted and deceived into settling for less than His best. First, settle it that, Yes, you do want to know Him . . . but we need our senses tuned to recognize Him, and the flesh or self doesn’t want to die! So there will be some changes that we will be actively involved in — initiated, worked into and completed by God — in order for us to truly know Him the way He wants to be known.

Intimacy with God is a pure gift — it cannot be earned or maintained by obedience or anything else, for that matter. It was given to us at the Resurrection 2000 years ago. Now we know Him from two perspectives; 1) we take the initiative in knowing God by waiting for Him; and 2) we become increasingly aware and responsive toward God as He approaches us. He is always talking to us, revealing Himself to us. We just need to have our senses tuned to Him and then not settle for what others have experienced or say is “knowing” Him.