God Invites You to Know Him Intimately

As I study the Scriptures, the more I realize that God’s desire is for us to know Him intimately. All throughout the Bible God invites us to know Him personally. Salvation is not just about accepting Jesus into your heart, but rather, living for Him every day. He doesn’t just want you to say the ‘sinner’s prayer’, He wants you to enjoy a personal intimate relationship with Him.

Too many people, including Christians, see God differently than what the Bible teaches. Many people are afraid of God yet not in a healthy fear of the Lord. Often, people see God as someone who’s waiting to punish you the minute you do something wrong. As if He’s standing over you just waiting for you to mess up. However, God already knows that you’re going to mess up and He’s not waiting to punish you since Jesus was punished in your place!

One day I was reading my Bible in the English Standard Version (ESV) and a verse really jumped out at me and brought me to other verses on how God is inviting us to know Him. God wants you to know that He is always good (as I wrote about in my last blog). God has given you the privilege of getting to know Him. He knows everything about you, now you can get to know Him.

Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

We are to “press on to know the Lord”. This sounds like something we must be diligent to do. It’s not to be taken for granted. We press on by seeking Him, getting to know Him better. God’s desire is that we would know Him. Therefore, it needs to be something that we take the time to do. You don’t just receive this; you need to seek for it. There is a joy in getting to know the Lord.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8

            As you begin to know God, you will see that He is good. Realizing what God does around us is seeing that God is good. When you see someone get healed or blessed and you recognize God was in it and so you’re seeing that He is good. When you receive these things in your personal life you taste that He is good. Look around you and recognize God’s goodness in your life and the lives of others.

In the New Testament Jesus gives another invitation. Therefore, this means that the invitation is still for us today. When we see something in the Old Testament we must look for it in the New. We must see that it’s still for us today.

The Invitation is for All

Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus invites all to come to Him. You and I fall into that category. We are all invited. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, Jesus is calling you. He wants you to rest in Him. You can give your burdens to Him and He promises that ‘you will find rest for your souls’. Jesus wants us to know and as a result, trust Him. As we see Him we see the Father.

To me, this is an amazing thought, that God Almighty would invite us to know Him. God wants us to have such a close relationship with him and as a result we will know Him better all the time. We can grow in our knowledge of God.

Know God

God doesn’t want us to only know about Him. He doesn’t want us to think of Him as a cruel Ruler that we can only come to Him if we have been really, really good. Rather, the privilege of getting to know Him is ours. Consequently, as we get to know Him, the more we will understand His goodness. Therefore, as we understand His goodness the more we will fall in love with Him.

My desire is always to walk close with God. He has provided the way. The veil was torn in two and as a result we can walk close to Him. We get to know God by talking with Him through prayer and reading His Word. He’s always willing to reveal Himself to us. Most importantly, He wants us to want to be with Him as much as He wants to be with us.

Today, however, people don’t want to be told the need to read the Word or pray but this is elementary in the Christian life. So it’s not something we can avoid. Sure, God will still love you the same if you don’t pray. He won’t punish you for not praying but He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Do you want the rewards? I do!

Therefore, let’s be diligent to seek after God’s heart. Fall in love with Him today. Tell Him your desire to know Him more intimately.