I’m sitting here having a conversation with my 7-year-old today (who happens to be home for the day after vomiting on the school bus. Ugh.). To be honest with you, talking to him comes very naturally. We chit chat back and forth with natural ease.
Laughing.
Listening.
Talking.
Teasing.
Talking to people is a normal part of everyday life. However, I find when I ask others, “What Has God Been Telling You Lately?” that I get the “deer-in-the-headlights” kind of stare. Even amongst my friends who attend bible study and church regularly, the idea of hearing from God can seem a bit weird.
I️ think one of our greatest challenges is that we cannot physically see God and no one wants to appear to be talking to themselves. So to sort of ease the tension, let’s address the elephant that is in the room.
God Already Knows You
As an introvert, I️ always find it a bit uneasy to talk to someone that I️ don’t know. Even worse, walking into a room of strangers. The dread of awkward silence can make me have sweaty palms, a fast heart-rate, and a myriad of thoughts racing through my head. However, talking to God should be much easier because He already knows everything there is to know about me. The truth is, He already knows me intimately and fully and even despite all my failures and flaws, He loves me beyond measure.
Realizing you are fully KNOWN and fully LOVED by God should help us realize that He is approachable.
One of my all-time favorite passages is in Genesis 3:8-9. It occurs after the notorious fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. It had to be a record low in their life. They screwed things up. Disobeyed God. Cast blame. They fell for a lie. And to top things off, they ran and tried to hide.
God Pursues You
But despite their sin and shame, God came towards them. We see a picture of God pursuing them despite what they had done. We hear God call out to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” And throughout the Bible, we see this consistent theme of God making Himself known to us.
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you…2 Chronicles 15:2
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. Jeremiah 24:7
Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8
God Reveals Himself in His Word
Maybe this is where you are today. God seems a bit distant. Far away. Removed. You’ve done a pretty good job keeping Him at an arm’s length distance up to now. But God’s Word makes it clear…we are supposed to be in a relationship with Him. As believers, we are called to KNOW Him. You should get to know God because He already knows you.
John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”.
The word “know” here is Ginosko in Greek and it means “To know intimately, experientially.” It is the same word that would be used to describe sexual intimacy between a husband and wife. When God opened Himself up and revealed Himself to us, He invited us to intimacy. He disrobed Himself in front of us, laying Himself bare. He is making a personal invitation for you to know Him…like really know Him. Not simply to know interesting facts about Him.
A Personal Response
To grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ, to have intimacy with Him…we must get to know Him. We must begin by learning about who He is. And we do so by acquiring knowledge. By reading about what He likes and dislikes, who He says He is…His character qualities and attributes. We read about what it is He says He can do and how He goes about accomplishing it. How He wants us to respond to Him, and how we find meaning and purpose in life. There is Power in the Word. It is alive and active, and will not return void.
Our intimacy with Him begins right here…in His Word. It begins by spending time with Him. It begins with a knowledge of Scripture. And from that knowledge, we experience Him individually and personally. We learn to delight in His Word. We begin to trust and believe what His Word says. And we begin to see fruitful living…a progression of growth in our spiritual walk.
The Bible is chock-full of examples of people who heard from God, and I️ want you to know that you can too! There are hundreds of stories in the Bible of God speaking to His people…look for some today. Abraham, Moses, Aaron, David, Daniel, Hagar, Ananias, Paul…just to name a few. Don’t fool yourself, these are not special exceptions or super-stars because their names are recorded in Scripture. Instead, they are examples to us that God pursues intimacy with His children.
Dear friends, Start today by asking God to speak to you. Pray for your ears to hear and your eyes to see. Wouldn’t it be cool if He did? Start believing that He can!