One of the greatest gifts of God is that He allows us to know Him. God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing invites us into His presence in order that we may know him intimately and personally. Yet, as humans, we tend to limit ourselves and as a result, we limit our relationship to know Him deeper.
We see this through the experience of Moses coming down from the mountain. When Moses returned from having just experienced a personal encounter with the Almighty, the people chose to turn away. They did not want to “know” God in the same way; thus, they limited their relationship with Him. Maybe it was fear, or shame, or a million other reasons why they did not enter a personal relationship with Him, the invitation was there, but it was their choice to not accept. We see this is our own lives today.
God wants us to know Him as He wants to know us. He will meet us exactly where we are. To commune with Him may take vulnerability on our part or simply slowing down, but it allows us to see Him in a fresh way.
In my own life, I know God today in a totally different way than I knew Him as a child, or in my twenties. The seasons of life are ever changing. Over the years, not only have my needs shifted but ultimately, my capacity to commune with Him has as well. My relationship with Him continues to be vibrant.
Recently, my 90-year-old mother commented on her relationship with God and how she has such pleasure in communing with Him. We both realized that she too is experiencing a part of God that she had not had the pleasure of, nor the need of before. She is allowing God to meet her in new ways now due to this season of life versus where she was perhaps 20 years ago. Through it all, He continues to meet her exactly where she is and her relationship with God continues to be dynamic.
I am a mother, a friend, a daughter, a wife, a daughter-in-law, etc. Get the picture? I am the same person, yet I am known in different capacities. And so it is with God – on a grander scale. Knowing Him is endless. The more we get to know Him, the more we realize there is always so much more to know. The following names represent only a few of His many characteristics that He invites us to know Him as:
Abba (Father), El Olam (The Everlasting God), El Roi (The God Who Sees), El Shaddai (God Almighty), Elohim (The Creator), Immanuel (God With Us), Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord our provider), Jehovah- Rapha (The Lord our healer), ), Johovah-Shalom (The Lord is Peace), Jesus (The Lord Saves), Logos (The Word/The Bible), Messiah (the anointed one).
Because there are so many different aspects and dimensions of God, we will never fully exhaust who He is, yet the invitation is there to know Him intimately. It would be a shame to settle for a one dimension relationship with an amazing multi dimension God.
Rhonda L Smart ([email protected])
