Knowing God
So hubby and I fell out two nights ago.
I basically accused him of a character flaw indirectly when I misinterpreted a situation. Funnily enough, I knew he did not have this flaw….quite the opposite, in fact. To be honest, I often made boast of this particular wonderful character trait of his.
So why did the falling out take place?
I took a conversation of his out of the context of the person I was dealing with. I didn’t ask myself, “Is this who he is? Is this how he thinks?” Had I asked myself these questions, I would have been able to tell myself the truth – that the conversation did not mean what I suggested it did – and I would not have hurt the man I love.
Going beyond my marriage
I realized that this is something we do to God.
Sometimes, it is a simple case of ignorance – we don’t know God. We hear of Him from the pulpit, from others, and even when we read our bibles religiously, but we don’t really know Him. It’s not as farfetched as one might think to go for years thinking we know Him but not really doing so. When we read our bibles, our motives for doing so determine what we get out of it. If we do so with a sincere desire to get to know God and deepen our relationship with Him, that will be the outcome as the Holy Spirit would reveal Christ more and more (remember that if we know Christ, we know the Father). If, however, we read our bibles to find promises with which to assail God and demand He do so and so for us, promises are all we’ll find. If we don’t know the character of God, we are likely to interpret life situations wrongly and accuse Him falsely.
Other times, like what happened to me, the problem is that we don’t consider Who we are dealing with when we look at situations around us. Considering in our hearts and minds the Person we are dealing with helps us put things into proper context and helps us respond to the situations appropriately.
How well do you know God?
How you see God is crucial and determines the depth of your relationship with Him. I highly recommend a series taught by Chip Ingram of Living On The Edge titled ‘The Real God’. It brings to light key attributes of God – His goodness, sovereignty, holiness, wisdom, justice, love and faithfulness.
This is God’s own recommendation:
“But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:24, AMPC)
This is Paul’s goal in life:
“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]” (Philippians 3:10, AMPC)
Just like we grow in knowledge of our spouses day by day and find our relationship deepening as a result of this knowledge, so also we grow in knowledge of our Lord as we spend time with Him in conversation (prayer) and reading His written word that reveals His Person.
I guess the question is – do you want to really know Him for yourself or you’re satisfied with second-hand gist about Who He is?
For those who are already seeking to know Him more and more, I hope this just serves as a reminder to put everything that happens to you or around you into context by considering the One to Whom you have surrendered your life before you react.