Knowing and Experiencing God

There are three levels of knowing/experiencing God.  We choose not only on which level we will know God, but how well we will know him at each level.  The level we choose depends on our faith; how deeply we experience Him depends on our focus and determination.

 

  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  Jer. 29:12 NASB

 

1. Know about God: The more you read the Bible, the more you will know about God, your Creator. You will also find evidence of Him in the world you live in--made by Him--from the smallest molecule to the largest supernova. And, perhaps most relevant to humanity, you will sense God in those that follow Him.  There is a light, a joy, a sense of presence within those that have invited him into their lives and follow Him.

 

2. Know God personally: Once you invite Him into your life, you will begin to hear his still small voice in your spirit, and sense He speaks to you personally through His word.  He gives you gentle prompts, and sometimes loud reminders of who you are and what is the right path to follow.  His presence is always with you.

 

3. Know and Follow God’s direction:  Choosing to let go of your own agenda, your ideas of what will bring joy and happiness and fulfillment in life, and trust His guidance in this regard will bring you a deep understanding and intimacy with God.  Nothing will help you grasp his great love and care more than taking the daily steps of trusting and following Him.   You will find your “cup overflowing” with the joy he so readily offers, and know the truth that David understood so well:

In your presence is fullness of joy.  (Psalm 16:11)

 

 

 

God's Attributes

Below are some of God’s attributes, as described in just one chapter of one book of the Bible--Isaiah 40 (see below for complete text of this passage).

 

“Here is your God” (Isaiah 40):  He is

Victorious

Forgiving

Light

Strong

Truth, and he speaks only truth

Eternal truth, solid truth

Is coming, and He will take charge and rule

Rewarding

Caring

Loving

Tender

Thoughtful

Gentle

Leading

Brilliant

Understanding

Just

Well-informed (knows everything)

Self-restrained

Unique  (one of a kind)

Indescribable

True

Huge

In control

Timeless

Unequaled

Confident

Patient

Miraculous

Knows all creation, including us, by name

Mindful  (He remembers)

Tireless

Directing

Guiding

Comprehending (has superior grasp of things/situations)

Empowering

Timely

Unhurried

Enough

Everything.

 

He is the wind beneath our wings.

 

Look through the following passages and list different attributes of God you see described.  Add to that list as you read different verses, and see Him at work in and around you.

 

Psalm 23

Psalm 139

Book of John

1 Cor 13

1 John 4

Romans 8

Isaiah 40:

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem;

And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,

That her iniquity has been removed,

That she has received of the Lord’s hand

Double for all her sins.”

3 A voice is calling,

“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

4 “Let every valley be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill be made low;

And let the rough ground become a plain,

And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

And all flesh will see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 A voice says, “Call out.”

Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”

All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades,

When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

9 Get yourself up on a high mountain,

O Zion, bearer of good news,

Lift up your voice mightily,

O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;

Lift it up, do not fear.

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with might,

With His arm ruling for Him.

Behold, His reward is with Him

And His recompense before Him.

11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,

In His arm He will gather the lambs

And carry them in His bosom;

He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,

And marked off the heavens by the span,

And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,

And weighed the mountains in a balance

And the hills in a pair of scales?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has informed Him?

14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?

And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge

And informed Him of the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;

Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,

Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before Him,

They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

18 To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

19 As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,

A goldsmith plates it with gold,

And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering

Selects a tree that does not rot;

He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman

To prepare an idol that will not totter.

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,

Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

24 Scarcely have they been planted,

Scarcely have they been sown,

Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,

But He merely blows on them, and they wither,

And the storm carries them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me

That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high

And see who has created these stars,

The One who leads forth their host by number,

He calls them all by name;

Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,

Not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is inscrutable.

29 He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who lacks might He increases power.

30 Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

31 Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.