Let's Get to Know God, Not Just Know About Him
Whenever we open our Bible, it is an invitation to get to know God, not just to learn about Him by remembering verses and historical facts, but to cultivate an intimate relationship with our Savior. I always tell my youth group students that I'd much rather you leave today knowing Jesus more than you know facts about Him. A relationship with Jesus is where you find your identity and purpose. He is what sustains you in hard times, brings peace, and fills you with joy. As Tara-Leigh Cobble says in The Bible Recap, "He's where the joy is!"
I also tell my students the truth. Even though I can recall talking and praying to God since I was a little girl, I didn't study my Bible until I was in my thirties, when I was shrouded in such darkness that I was desperate. I needed Jesus more than any other time, and He sent me a Bible verse that piqued my interest to dive into the Word and learn everything I could about the character of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 showed up everywhere I went. God couldn't have spoken the beautiful words of this passage any louder than on the giant-sized poster hanging behind my back at a kid's birthday party. I had seen the passage online repeatedly, read it in books, heard it from acquaintances, and stared at the words on bumper stickers.
This divine wisdom, written by King Solomon, is essentially the crux of the Christian life. These words say, "Hey, there's a bigger plan in the works, created before we took our first breath, and our all-knowing, sovereign God has got this! But for this to work, He needs us to quit trying to solve the life puzzle without all the pieces first. He needs our complete trust and for us to take up our cross and surrender to His will (Matthew 16:24).
But there is more to this passage than just trusting and letting go of the reins. When God says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him," it is an invitation to a deep relationship with Christ. The word acknowledge comes from the Hebrew word yāda, which means getting to know God experientially.
Isn't that amazing? We serve a God who loves us so much that He wants to do life with us. Friend, don't just acknowledge that He is God; get to know Him. Now is the time to invest in your relationship with God. Lean in more, invite Him into your day, and devote your life to Him.
Questions for Reflection:
- How can you carve out time this week to get to know God better?
- What characteristic of God gives you the most comfort in your current season?