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How well do you know God? Knowing God doesn’t just happen. You don’t automatically inhale that knowledge because you were born in a Christian home or go to church regularly. Knowing God is a result of seeking him and devoting yourself to knowing him more and more all the time. Many Christians never get over their fear of trusting God. They go through life unwilling to yield to him the control of their lives, because they’re not quite certain he is trustworthy.
We only overcome that fear by getting to know God because you trust who you know. And you don’t get to know God by accident. It happens on purpose. You must purpose to get to know him.
We’ve seen reports of tests given to high school seniors that show their knowledge of basic facts to be extremely poor. I wonder what kind of scores Christians would have if they were tested on their knowledge of God. Do you spend more time getting to know television programs or personalities than you do getting to know God? Could you tell me more about your local sports teams than you can tell you about God?
Getting to know God takes time and it takes a plan. Are you really eager to know him? Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that you may know God” (John 17:3). Everything hinges on your knowledge of God.
If you really want to know him, I urge you to make a structured plan that gets you into his Word on a daily basis, and that leads you into a prayer life of praise and intercession. You get to know someone by spending time with that person and it will require a commitment on your part. If you feel you don’t know how to begin, I have written a Bible study entitled “A Guide on Getting to Know God.” It gives you some practical suggestions on how to do that.
But the important thing is that you pursue God. You go after him. Just going to church on Sundays is not enough, no matter how good your church is. You must personally hunger to know him and pursue him, as a deer pants after water.
When you do, I promise you this: You’ll start to trust him, and you’ll trust him more and more all the time. Because to truly know God is to trust him. And once you start to give him the controls of your life, everything will fall into its rightful place. You’ll find the answers you’ve been looking for. The fear of trusting God will vanish.
