From Knowledge to Intimacy: What It Means to Truly Know God

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

What does it mean to know God? Being still before God.

There are different types of knowing another from a philosophical perspective. I can learn about a person's characteristics, including their likes and dislikes. I can see that a person has brown hair or blue eyes. I can tell they like music or dress in a trendy way, but that doesn't mean I know that person.

The Bible can teach us a great deal about God’s characteristics. He is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent. He is love and gives grace. But even the demons know these things.

Some might say that knowing another comes from being in their presence, becoming aware of their life story and how they interpret their past, present, and future. We can learn their intentions and motives. However, this knowledge is limited because people are not naturally inclined to be vulnerable to one another. We hide our motives and intentions. We do not fully disclose every chapter of our story.

God does not withhold His story from us, but it is too high for our minds to comprehend. Indeed, being in His presence is a good thing, but it is still not sufficient to know Him intimately.

To know the depth of God, we must move beyond observation to interaction. Jesus called out to his soon-to-be disciples, saying, “Come and follow me.” Following Christ reveals His priorities as He leads the way. We see Him going to the Father in prayer, showing His oneness and submission to the Father. We see Him going to the lost, the brokenhearted, the confused, and forgotten, revealing a heart of compassion. We see Him going to the cross, showing the depth of His love. To honestly know Him, we must go with Him and do what He does.

Going where Christ goes is a metaphysical endeavor. He is not here physically. We go where He goes by going as He has taught us to go. In this, we also do what He did. Serving Him by serving others opens a deeper understanding of Him. There is no better way to grasp who He is than to put ourselves in His place as much as we are able. Going where He went and doing what He did gives birth to a new intimacy with His love, compassion, mission, goals, and ways.

But in the end, we could do these things and still miss God. After we have gone where He goes and done what He does, we must still our mind and spirit and contemplate what our service to God means about Him, about us, and the world around us. As we consider the emotions and convictions we experienced as we did these things and seek to know Him out of the framework of our own heart, we will get greater glimpses of His glory. We will know Him more. But we must take the time and effort to be still and contemplate these things, or our experience will never reach the communion He desires with us.

Questions for Meditation:

• In what ways am I following Christ to the places He went—spiritually, emotionally, or in service to others—and what has that revealed to me about God?

• Have I mistaken learning about God for truly knowing Him? How might I move from observation to intimate interaction with Him?

• When was the last time I intentionally stilled my heart before God to reflect on what my service or obedience reveals about His nature?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to move beyond simply knowing facts about You. Teach me how to follow You with my whole heart, to go where You go, to love as You love, and to pause in stillness before You so I may truly know who You are. Draw me into deeper relationship, not just by doing for You, but by being with You. Amen.

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