Knowing God

Recently a lady asked how do we KNOW God? This question stopped me in my tracks. How do I know God? How can I explain God? How can I find God? How can I know His Heart and His Mind? What happens when I really know God?

Immediately I thought about my odyssey through eight decades of life. When did I know God?
Was it when I was 3 years old, standing at the window praying that it would stop raining? And it did. Was it through interminable family prayers on our knees with the Suderman family, listening to the trembling words through tears uttered by my grandparents? Was it through watching my brothers playing prayer through the laundry chute on wash day when one prayed for the toys, one by one, and the other dropped the ‘answer’ down the chute? (Do we yell at God when the ‘toy’ we pray for isn’t the one we wanted, like my brothers?)

Did I know God when my Grandmother died in the next room when I was twelve? Did I recognize God on our honeymoon, as we narrowly missed a coming car on a narrow bridge? Was it the loss of the second twin, Donnie, and knowing that he was with God? Did I feel His presence when my oldest son choked? When one of my four ingested baby aspirin, was He there to comfort me?

When I played the piano or sang a solo or gave a speech, I learned from Mom that I must pray that God shines through me, and fears will go away. For I am focused on Him, not myself and inadequacies. Not as a panacea for fear, but a walk in faith with our Lord God.

Searching Google, I found the steps to knowing God. One, two, three steps – that lead to knowing God. I don’t want steps to check off, I want to live in and with God.

Breathing is a gift for each of us, and that breath-gift is from God, even for little ones whose lives are threatened by cessation of life before they can take a breath. Learning to follow the scripture – ‘pray without ceasing‘ – can be as exhilarating as a breath of fresh air. To me praying is breathing – and spiritually exhilarating. Through the decades of life, this was not always so, but now praying is food for my hungry soul.

One of my favorite scriptures is “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10. We can be surrounded by technology-induced noise and the clamor of angry people, and yet BE STILL and KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. That comes from walking moment by moment with God.

From easing my way into traffic – to the end of life – God is in control. I look around at his creation, at the variety of colors and shapes and I am astonished anew at this Being Who created us. Even the shadows. I will never forget the moment I saw the many Poinsettias on the stage at church, and suddenly my eyes were drawn to the shadows, the delicate dark tracings of each leaf and each petal, intricately echoing God’s creative beauty in a single flower. Even standing in the shadows of life, God’s love envelopes us when our faith and trust in Him is strong.

I often think of the conversation between Job and God in Chapter 38. After all his heartache, his faith in God remained strong. Then God began to ask questions that reveals how mighty God is:

Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise?

And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose, And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’

“And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’ told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’ So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked— they’re caught in the very act! “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things, explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?

Do you know the first thing about death? Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries? And do you have any idea how large this earth is? Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.

“Do you know where Light comes from and where Darkness lives So you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get lost? Why, of course you know that. You’ve known them all your life, grown up in the same neighborhood with them! “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made, seen the vault where hail is stockpiled, The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for times of trouble and battle and war? Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms That bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, Drenching the useless wastelands so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass? And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost? You don’t for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters, or distract Orion from his hunt? Can you get Venus to look your way, or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play? Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations and how they affect things on Earth? “Can you get the attention of the clouds, and commission a shower of rain? Can you take charge of the lightning bolts and have them report to you for orders?

“Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis, and storm-savvy to the rooster? Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds or tip over the rain barrels of heaven When the earth is cracked and dry, the ground baked hard as a brick? “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs As they crouch in their den, waiting hungrily in their cave? And who sets out food for the ravens when their young cry to God, fluttering about because they have no food?”

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. I John 5:20

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