Enforcing You: Standing on the Promises of GodSample

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32

In our culture, we often use the word “know” when referring to just having knowledge of something or when we are acquainted with something. This is true even in our relationships. We might say we know someone when the truth is we know who they are, or maybe we have met them a time or two, but do we KNOW them? In our world of social media, we become “friends” with people that we have never even met. Often, we look at their wall or even follow their posts, and we gain knowledge about them, but again, do we KNOW them?

The word know in the verse means “to learn to know, come to know.”However, the word implies the idea of being resolved, or to be sure because of experience. This changes how I read this verse. The reality is that there are many things I know about God, yet I have not experienced Him in those ways. For example, I know God is a Comforter in a time of grief, but I personally have not lost any close to me to death; therefore, I have not experienced Him in that manner.

This verse tells us that the key to freedom is knowing the truth. This implies that we must have more than just knowledge of it, but that it must become our reality through experience. Isn’t it true that often you THINK you know something, but it is only until you go through it that you become resolved in what you thought you knew?

There is a difference between knowing God and experiencing God. There is a difference between knowing the truth and WALKING in that truth. I believe we hear an invitation to pull kingdom principles into our reality in this verse. Start by recognizing that perhaps there is more to Him than what you currently “know.” Have the courage to ask God to bring opportunities for you to experience Him and His truths.

Let’s start with this declaration together. “God, I want to know You. I don’t want to just know about You, but instead, I declare that today I will experience You for myself as you! In Jesus’ name.”