The Pursuit of Knowing God

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Our Bible study is a never-ending adventure with God. We need His Word in our souls more than our bodies need food.

Yet we do sometimes stray away from feeding on His abundant harvest. This can bring us into soulish malnutrition.

We may wonder why anger flames up so quickly.

Where did the fear come from that gnaws at our minds?

When we physically fast from food we get hungry.  The same thing happens in the soul when we mentally fast from the Word. How we satisfy that hunger determines our result.

At the wilderness temptation, Jesus told satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV) Jesus didn’t satisfy His hunger by feeding His flesh. He depended upon the strength of Spirit.

This shows us God’s Word is the food we need the most for spiritual survival.

Jesus never stopped his pursuit of knowing God. 

We build upon our relationship with God. Jesus started out His life as a baby who grew into a boy then a Man. He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52).

As a Man, He spent time alone in prayer, sometimes all night. He withdrew from the distractions of the day and went upon the mountainside. He was God in His Spirit, but in His physical limitations, He had to grow in wisdom about His Father.

The knowledge of God is infinite. We will never get to the end of who our Lord is.

This is a different kind of learning than we received in school and college. Illumination of God means we draw deeper into His character. We live through our spirits instead of our mental capacity.

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1:3)

When we accept Christ into our lives, everything Jesus has is given to us in the spirit. We are infused with His divine power and everything we need for life and godliness is deposited into our hearts. But we draw out of our spirits and live the benefits of these gifts through knowing the God who called us and saved us.

If we don’t pursue knowing Him, all these wonderful aspects of Christ lie dormant in our hearts.

The knowledge of God changes us. As we absorb His Word our minds are renewed, and we are transformed into the image of the Son.

We are all in different maturity levels in our pursuit of the knowledge of God, but no matter how far we have gone, we will never arrive at the place where we stop needing the Bread of Life. We all begin as babies desiring the milk of the Word, we graduate to meat, but we should never stop chewing.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little. (Isaiah 28:10)

Knowing God can change our perception of Him. We find out He is loving, merciful, gracious, and not willing that anyone should perish. He does not condemn, He provides a way to save.

He knew us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Now He wants us to know Him.

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The knowledge of God changes us. As we absorb His Word our minds are renewed and we are transformed into the image of the Son. (click to share on X)

Image by Rebekka D from Pixabay