Can we know God?

Can We Truly Know God?

Think about it.

Can we know what we cannot see?

Most often, we consider what we can see to be real and doubt the existence of what is not visible or tangible.

That makes God a difficult concept for many people. Our best attempt at understanding Him often begins with the inference that something must have created this world—and perhaps that Creator is still present.

Yet the Bible says things like this over and over again:

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
—Psalm 34:8

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived… in the things that have been made.”
—Romans 1:20

The Bible argues that we can know God through both visible evidence and spiritual realities.

Yesterday, I asked, “How would your life look different if you regularly dwelt in the presence of God?”

Today, the question takes one step back: What would happen if you truly knew that God is real and reliable?

This question is like asking, “What if you knew the exact day and time of your final breath?” Would it change how you spend today?

I think we would all live with a little more urgency and purpose.

The same applies to God. What if we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real, that He is good, and that He has prepared a place for us that dwarfs any good we experience here?

Would it be easier or harder to pray? Would you want more or less time in worship? Would you be willing to obey, sacrifice, and surrender more as a result?

I believe most of us would agree that our lives would be more Christlike if we knew for certain that God is real.

If that is the case, then what do you believe?

Are you convinced that God is real and reliable?

Are you confident in the hope of forgiveness and eternity?

If so, why do we not live with that same confidence and urgency?

I do not say this to browbeat you, but to exhort both you and me—yes, I am completely in need of this message as well—to live for God each and every day and to prioritize our relationship with Him above everything else.

This is not easy, but I hope it becomes the mission of my life.

What about you?

“O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.”

Never the Same

“The church is famishing for want of His presence.”
—A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 36

Throughout the book quoted above, Tozer argues that the church—Christians at large—does not seem particularly interested in God. We do not care deeply enough about being with Him, knowing Him, or following Him. We are content with salvation while having little desire for a relationship with the One who saves us.

What would our lives look like if we regularly encountered the presence of God?

For Abraham, it meant trusting for twenty-five years in a promise that seemed impossible.

For Moses, it meant that his face shone so brightly it had to be covered because, after being with God, he was changed.

For David, it meant praising God while enemies sought to kill him at every turn.

For Hosea, it meant redeeming his unfaithful wife because he understood something of God’s great love.

For the disciples, it meant leaving everything they had and everyone they knew to follow this new rabbi. Furthermore, following Jesus cost many of them their lives, yet they believed He was worth it.

When we encounter Jesus, we are never the same.

When we come to realize that God is all-knowing, always present, all-powerful, and always loving, it changes us. Furthermore, we have access to this God whenever and wherever we are.

Hebrews 4:16 states:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

At the death of Jesus, the literal curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two. The barrier that symbolized restricted access to the presence of God was torn apart. This was not simply a sewing problem in Jerusalem; it was a declaration that, through Jesus, people can now draw near to God.

We no longer need a human priest to enter God’s presence on our behalf, for Christ Jesus has become our eternal mediator.

Not only did God come to us through Jesus, but God also dwells within believers through the Holy Spirit.

What would your life look like if you regularly lived in the presence of God?

“Lord, how excellent are thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die to our selfish desires, that we may rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as thou didst rend the veil of the temple. We would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with thee in daily experience here on this earth, so that we may be accustomed to the glory when we enter thy heaven to dwell with thee there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Priorities

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

“True brilliance rarely needs to be announced.”

This quote came up in the show Rooster, and the person being consoled by it hated it. His rebuttal reflects our thoughts exactly: “But I want to be told I am brilliant!”

I have spent much of my life trying to be impressive. I have used grades, degrees, clothing, the beauty of my wife, the behavior of my child, and many other things to make myself appear impressive.

We all want to be impressive.

Sadly, in the pursuit of impressing others, we can forget to be impressed by God. What we accomplish on a small scale, God does on an incomprehensibly greater one. Nothing I could ever accomplish could compare with the creation of the world, the placement of the stars, or the ordering of the seasons. I could never split the sea, multiply food, walk on water, or bring the dead to life.

My accomplishments pale in comparison with my Creator!

Rather than clinging to God as the source and giver of all good things (James 1:17), I have bought, hook, line, and sinker, the lie that this world can bring true and lasting happiness, comfort, and peace. I have trusted what rusts and rots to satisfy the place God created only for Himself.

No wonder I am left empty, exhausted, and underwhelmed.

When I come to the end of myself, I realize that I am not all that bright or brilliant—one episode of Jeopardy! reveals that. As I seek to grow in Christlikeness day by day, one of the greatest barriers I face is letting go of my desire to impress.

Daily, I must fight the urge to be arrogant, prideful, or envious. Daily, I must choose to empty myself of my obsession with the things of this world so that I can be filled by the One who created the world.

What are you prioritizing over God?

How are you trying to be impressive at the expense of being impressed by God?

Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys.
I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Hungry for God

Earlier this month, I finished the classic The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, a pastor from the early twentieth century. For the next ten days, I will share a taste of each chapter from Tozer while also ending with a prayer you can pray each day directly from the book.

Question of the Day

If you are saved, are you hungry and thirsty for God?

Psalm 42:1–2

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?

Do I hunger and thirst for God? For most of us, the answer is no. Our minds are swamped with the needs, wants, wishes, and desires of this world. We hunger for happiness, success, comfort, and rest. We thirst for good news, pay raises, and real time off.

Where is God?

Our diet of God is mostly a few bites on Sunday that we hope will keep us full for the week. Maybe we take a sip of His Word or snack on prayer here or there, but for the most part, I bet many of us are malnourished on God while overfed in the world.

Sadly, many of us do not even feel as though we could make a sustaining meal of God on our own. We require someone else to tell us about God rather than learning to know Him on our own.

Enough with the bad news. What is the solution?

Simplify your approach.

Quit trying to impress God.

Come to Him like a child coming to a parent.

Tozer ends with a reminder that it is not:

God and church, God and obedience, or God and happiness. It is simply God whom we seek.

What is one step you can take today to focus simply on God? It does not need to be fancy or elaborate. It does not require special music, clothing, or even a special space.

Simply ask God to fill you up!

Prayer to Pray or Consider

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Leader

On Monday, we started with a story depicting Jesus seeking the lost sheep. Today, we end with Jesus using another metaphor of being a shepherd. In John 10:11, Jesus says:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”

What is the job of the shepherd?

Protect from predators.

Find pastures to eat.

Care for wounds.

Locate water sources.

Create a place of safety each night.

The shepherd’s role is to lead the sheep to what is good for them and to help them when needed.

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

Jesus is telling us that He is our Shepherd. He wants to lead, guide, help, and care for us.

Yet we often act like stubborn and foolish sheep, thinking we know the better way.

We like to do it on our own. But what good is a map, digital or printed, a compass, or a farmer’s almanac for a sheep?

None!

Sheep don’t need or get a map from God. They get a Shepherd — and a good one at that!

We often get frustrated when our best-laid plans do not work out as predicted. Is that because we are trying to chart a course without our Shepherd?

Jesus wants to lead us. Through tools like the Bible, opportunities like worship services, relational connection like prayer, and even deep internal pushes through His Holy Spirit, God is leading us toward green pastures and still waters. The Good Shepherd knows what is best for the sheep.

Will the sheep trust the Shepherd?

What is one area you are trying to control that you need to seek God for help with?

Pray for that one thing right now.