Know Him

" ' For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,

and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.' "

Jeremiah 29:11-13

I accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 12.  For the next 15 years, not much changed in my life.  Don't get me wrong, I went to church every Sunday where I learned what it meant to follow Jesus.  I read the Bible on a regular basis.  I prayed.  But these were all rituals. . . duties I could check off my list once finished.  These were things that were expected for a good Christian to do. Right?

It depends.  The thing about my life is that God was not a part of all these rituals.  Sure, I knew He was there and that He was the main character in this story I was learning as I read the Bible, but I didn't know Him personally, like I knew my sister, or my parents, or my friends.  He was this benevolent Being that was there, but separate from me in some way.

As I grew up, got married and began the job of raising a family of my own, my sister sent me a book called, "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby and Claude King.  God used that Bible study to transform my mind and teach me about walking with Him on a personal level.  I learned that God is at work all around me and it is up to me whether I'll be a part of what He's doing, or just watch as a spectator on the sidelines.  I began to choose to participate, and my life has never been the same!

Hope for the Future

The first thing I noticed was that I sensed this excitement within me as I looked for evidence of God working around me.  I was getting to know the One with the plan for my life!  His plan was to give me hope and a future.  As I went through my day, raising my four daughters who were all in diapers at the time, I sensed a meaning in the drudgery.  Being there for my triplet daughters and their older sister was a part of a plan that God had for my life! 

Knowing there is a purpose gives me hope.  It means there is a blueprint that will give rise to a magnificent structure that no man can destroy.  It means every diaper I change, every runny nose I wipe, every shoe that I tie (and retie) is a part of that plan and serves a purpose in the scheme of God's blueprint!  It is not mindless drudgery as I so easily can think.  It is vital, necessary and crucial to the plan God has for me.  As David said in Psalm 39:7, "But now Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in you." 

Getting to know the God who has the plan for my life gives me a sense of hope for a meaningful future.

Prayers are Heard

After I committed my life to getting to know God in a more intimate way, I noticed my prayers were different.  Instead of an empty habit or practice, it became a two-way conversation.  I knew my prayers were being heard by the Almighty God, and I was sensing His presence in a whole new way.  I had always known He was there, but now it was as if He was sitting beside me and we were talking.  

Jesus described this personal way of talking to God as a relationship between a Father and son.  He said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)  He then goes to explain that as much as an earthly father gives good things to his son, our heavenly Father will give so much more to those who ask.

This is not to say that God is a vending machine, but that He is a loving Father who listens to our prayers and responds in a very real way.  David enjoyed a close relationship with God, and he put it this way.  "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)  As I grow closer to God and take pleasure in getting to know Him, He will transform my heart to be more in tune with His.  

Getting to know God opens up a whole new way to pray as I become more in sync with Him.

Seek His Will

Growing up, I could never understand my parents and why they did the things they did.  When I became a parent, I could appreciate the decisions they made as they did what was best for their children.  It never seemed quite fair as a child, but when I became familiar with the role of parenting, my perspective changed.

This transformation process takes place as I grow closer to God.  I read in Romans 12 that I can either conform to the pattern of this world, or I can choose to "be transformed by the renewing of (my) mind. Then (I) will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (v2)

As I learn more about God and His ways, I can put those words into action, or I can let them sit on the page.  If I trust God at His Word and allow Him to change me, I will begin to recognize what He is doing all around me.  I will begin to see things with new eyes as I identify His work in the everyday things of life, and my life will take on new meaning.

Getting to know God gives me an opportunity to learn how to recognize His will for my life.  

As a Christian, I can either go through the motions, or I can go deeper.  If I choose the latter, I will discover a sense of hope for a meaningful future, a rich and fruitful prayer life, and a greater awareness of God's will for my life.  Walking with Christ is as significant as I make it.  I want to know Him today even more than I did yesterday!

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will seek God with all of my heart.  Then I know that I will find Him.

How do I go through the motions of what I think I should do without ever going deeper?

Am I in a relationship with a living God or a part of a religion filled with rituals and routines?