Knowing God, Not Just Knowing About God
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Ezekiel 27, 28 and Psalm 4 (NIV)
(Frances Lim, SGM Core Team Member)
READ:
In Ezekiel 27 The Word of the Lord came to Prophet Ezekiel telling him to prophesy against Tyre. In Ezekiel 28 Ezekiel pronounced a prophecy against the King of Tyre because of his pride, and then a prophecy against Sidon. In Ezekiel 28: 20-25, God said three times that “then they will know that He is the Lord” and twice that He would show Himself to be Holy.
The verses that caught my attention in Psalm 4 were:
“You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone make me dwell in safety” (v7-8).
OBSERVE:
God makes it clear that he is awesome and mighty and no man or nation can set themselves up over Him. He is sovereign and absolutely powerful. Both in the punishment and the suffering, as meted out to Tyre, and in mercy as extended to Israel, people will see him as Holy and know that He is the Sovereign Lord. He is a God who wants mankind to know Him.
In Psalm 4, David told God that He was the source of greater joy than any material things like grain and new wine. It was not success that made David happy but the joy that came from God. It was not wealth that helped him sleep well at night but his confidence in the Lord. He was a man who knew God.
APPLY:
As I read these scriptures I contemplated my own relationship with God. I am very thankful that I have known about God since childhood but I have been a slow learner. My lifelong journey is to know God better and make space in my life for Him so that He can communicate with me and I can love and serve Him. I want to know Him and not just know about Him. God is clear in Isaiah 55:8 that no one can know God entirely.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord.”
But God does communicate with me if I make time for Him and pay attention.
Recently, through a chain of events, God caused me to notice a mole on my husband’s sole which proved to be a malignant melanoma. This has been successfully removed and it seems that the cancer has not spread. My Father God has been very merciful to me and my family and I am deeply grateful.
God also communicates with me in times of hardship and adversity. In some of my hardest times, God was my anchor in the storm and I was able to get through it knowing that He was with me and the suffering was not wasted. I pray that as I get older I will be diligent to know Him even better as I encounter the problems of aging.
DO:
1. I will intentionally set aside time to know God. Recently I went for my first Silent Retreat. I was not sure what to expect but I wanted to give God the opportunity to speak with me and have time to pay full attention to Him. It was a peaceful time of slowing down and being aware of His still small voice.
2. I am trying to make my prayer times more intentional in hearing from God instead of complaining or giving Him my list of “to do’s”.
3. I want to be more creative in my personal Bible study. Recently I started reading the Gospel of Luke slowly with a new believer. We read a few verses a day and then share our thoughts and observations over text messaging. Sharing God with others helps me know Him better.
PRAY:
Dear Father,
Thank You for this passage of scripture which reveals You as the mighty awesome God ruling over all nations. I pray that even today Your kingdom will come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray You restore peace to the nations that are in turmoil.
Jesus told us that we should ask and it will be given, to seek and we will find, to knock and it will be opened to us (Matthew 7:7-8). I pray for help to diligently seek You. I thank You in advance that I will find You according to the promise given in Matthew 7.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
