We come to know God

How do we come to know God? We come to know God by the questions we ask and the answers we come up with. But just as every student needs a teacher, we meditate on His Word—called Scripture—and seek to find answers to things we don’t understand. There are those that might be content with answers that are incomplete or answers that simply don’t make sense. For me, I have a strong desire to be able to make sense of the fundamentals of Salvation and discipleship—key tenets of the mandate to multiply disciples—while remaining unconcerned about what size sandal Jesus wore or if there really are pearls on the gates in the Kingdom of God.

“Every student needs a teacher“

Knowing God starts with service—enlisted service!

I am blessed. Everything that I have gone through—experiences of both hardships and successes—came together to make me who I am today. Who am I? I am a soldier in God’s army—training to be a warrior that God can use. Where is this battle being waged? The battlefield is every single heart of all men—and the enemy employs guerrilla tactics to become the darkness that hides within each of us. This is spiritual warfare. I am not fighting alone. If evil does not fear me, it will fear the army I stand next to—we are much more powerful as a battalion. Anyways, I would prefer to be one helmet in a sea of helmets and trust my Commander to lead the way.

“If evil does not fear me, it will fear the army I stand next to.”

Desiring God redirects worldly cravings

Walking with God daily has filled my life with everything I need, and I find myself content. My desires have changed from wanting the things of this world to wanting the things that God desires for me. That word desire is tricky. It’s like love. I can desire a good meal and I can love a good meal—yet those words seem inappropriate when I also say I desire and love God. How about another word called crave? Ask any drug addict or smoker or drinker—they’re intimately familiar with the word crave. It lurks in the darkest corners of their soul as an uninvited urge, waiting to push them deeper into an unsuspecting hole. Ask any mature Christian about desire, and they will describe a feeling that wells up within them and overflows as a powerful willingness to obey and do God’s will. While many people are victims of cravings for worldly things, Christians are blessed to feel a desire to please God. These words carve deep ravines into our lives, shaping us into who we are and who we would become. No matter what you call it, it’s the same river with different names. It cannot be dammed—only redirected. It’s not a matter of whether the river will flow, it’s a matter of where it’s going to go. Point your desires to God, and you will amass more riches in heaven than you can measure. Point your cravings to earthly things and your river will become a torrent-bed, which is a deep pocketed dry riverbed most of the year that turns into a dangerous raging flash flood rapid once in a while.

“While many people are victims of cravings for worldly things, Christians are blessed to feel a desire to please God.“

Trust the Planner, and let the plan surprise you

I am a man who has a great love for God and an unbreakable loyalty to his son Jesus. He literally saved my life, so he’s a hero in my book. He’s got my back, so I got his back. Simple as that. Whatever he wants me to do, whatever price I need to pay, is nothing compared to what he’s done for me and the price that he’s already paid for me. I will be loyal to my commander and Savior. And as a good soldier, I have a great appreciation for a plan that I do not understand—and through my respect and love for Him, I will respect His plan for me with excitement, not grumbling. We already have victory. Jesus is just using me to clean up the battlefield and separate the friendlies from the enemies. I am in awe of how his plan seems to come together in the most unexpected ways.

When we are willing to learn, God reveals himself

Part of my training is realizing what I do not know and seeking to correct that. There is a war going on and it’s not just good versus evil. The stakes are everlasting damnation versus eternal life for those not yet saved—and those who are saved are working their best to make sure no one is left behind. I start my day by asking God, “What will you teach me today?” My follow-up question is, “Will I learn?” Even the best teacher needs a willing student. The hardest person to teach is a person who thinks they do not need to learn anything. God is our Father and he is there at our side instructing us in how to succeed and trying to steer us away from failure. It still takes participation and acceptance for us—as God’s adopted children—to gain anything from God’s instruction.

“The hardest person to teach is a person who thinks they do not need to learn anything.“

Children whose parents show up in their lives tend to fair better in life compared to children whose parents are absent. But not every time, because that’s not all that’s required. There are kids who turn out to be delinquents that come from families where both parents showed up and made their presence known in their child’s life. Also, there are kids who had neither parent while still managing to achieve abundant success in life. Why are some children blessed and others are not? I think it’s a willingness to learn that comes from accepting that they do not know everything they thought they did. A good student comes with a humble nature because they have already experienced humility trying it their own way. They know that their way did not work. God is a Father that always shows up for every practice in the field and every test in the classroom. Now, armed with nothing more than a willingness to let God make a presence in our life, we become children who are ready to be taught and ready to gain the wisdom God freely gives to each of us—we simply need to accept our Father’s gifts. There’s no room for shame to overshadow what God wants us to learn. Leave it at the door and come into his presence ready to learn and ready to serve—since sometimes the only way to learn is by serving.

This is how we come to know God.