Knowing God

I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself (Jer. 31:3, NLT)

Some time ago I took part in a study called Experiencing Spiritual Intimacy, and the realization that God wants us to know Him really struck home. Sometimes we get stuck in the pattern of thinking of God as mysterious, unknowable, unfathomable—that all we can do is serve Him and hope we’ll find favor with Him in the end. This mindset will surely affect our ability to draw close to Him. How can you have a personal, intimate relationship with someone who’s so mystifying? So distant? But the Lord says, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God. . . .” (Jer. 24:7, NASB).

Why would God want us to know Him, to understand Him better? When I pondered this question, I thought of my own need for intimacy—don’t we all long to be known? And in whose image are we created? Do you suppose our innate need for intimacy is a reflection of our Father’s character? Of course it is.

Just as we long for someone who will know us, understand us, and love us; because of His great love, God also wants that kind of relationship. In 1 Corinthians 2:11–12, Paul explains how it’s possible to know Him: “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit. . . .”

If you’ve accepted Jesus as your savior, His Spirit lives in you and will reveal more and more of God’s nature as you seek intimacy with Him.