Knowing GodSample

Day 4: Spending time with God 

Yesterday, we established Jesus as the one true way to know God. Today, we will discover what we can do to grow our understanding of Jesus and reinforce our belief in him.

Imagine you are a famous musician. You’re at a concert, and one of your fans comes up to you, very excited to meet you. They know all of your biggest songs, they’ve seen you perform many times, and they’ve even watched all of your interviews. Would you say this person knows you? Or, would you say they know about you? Chances are you’d agree their knowing things about you doesn’t equate to their knowing you. While that shift in wording might sound small, it has very important consequences for ‘knowing' God. First we must understand that there is a difference between knowing a lot of information about God, and actually knowing him.

The life of David can offer us very important insights into what it means to know God. After all, God did call him a man “after his own heart” (Acts 13:22). 

One way David earned this distinction was through his dedication to spending time with God by meditating on his word. Psalm 119:97 records him saying, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all day!”  Could you imagine having your thoughts so consumed by the ways of God that at the end of each day, you could say you’d thought of him all day? Think back to the example of you as a musician. It’d be different if that fan said they were with you from concert to concert or from interview to interview. You’d certainly say they know you because, through presence and proximity, they’d catch intimate details about you that’d translate into knowledge of you. To know God in Christ, to truly know him, is to spend time with him, and we have his word as the means of doing so. 

By meditating on God’s word day and night, we have it handy and can apply it in our day-to-day situations. We can see the word become active, and Jesus become more and more personal to us, as the Holy Spirit brings his word to our remembrance and shows us how to apply it. In this way, we will see God more intimately, and understand his heart to do well by us, and share himself with us. We'll move from knowing facts about God to knowing Jesus in our day-to-day living, and the path to everlasting life will unfold before us as we grow in the knowledge of God! 

Meditate on the following scripture: Psalm 1:1-2 (5 minutes)

Reflect on the following questions (10 minutes):

1. Does your daily calendar reflect a desire to know God through quality time in his word? If not, what adjustments can you make to prioritize time with God’s word? 

2. As you read God’s word, consider keeping a journal for the things you learn or for recording prayers as God speaks to you though his word. 

Pray: God, please give me a greater desire to know you through your word. Help me to see time in your word as a gift and not a chore. As I fellowship with you in your word, please make your ways known to me, so I may experience eternal life through the daily application of your word to all areas of my life.