Knowing God

Churchism has deceived us in understanding the character and attributes of God. God is love, but God also hates. God is just and God also judges. God is giving and God withholds. God is forgiving and God also chastises and disciplines. God oversees life and death. There are over 60,000 promises in scripture and each comes with a condition of our obedience. "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.  All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:" - Deuteronomy 28: 1,2

Growing up means we understand God is no respecter of persons and rewards the good and evil of this world. The Lord God is sovereign, meaning His will is perfect and everything He does is right. Everything He allows is perfect. He never makes a mistake. He blesses and rewards those who live by faith - the only thing that pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6). If faith is the only thing that pleases the Lord, what does that mean for His children?

According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is our hope and substance, even though we don't see the manifestations of our prayers. I am waiting on many prayers and prophecies to be answered in my life, many from my years as a youth. Perhaps God has answered and I missed it. Perhaps I need more patience. Perhaps it is not His will for me. No matter what His reasons, I still trust His Word. I still hope in Him. I will believe what He says until the end of my life on earth. In fact, Hebrews 11 reminds us that we may die and never see certain prayers answered. (Hebrews 11:32-40) However, faith is that constant to let us know God is in control of His universe.

God's purpose in our faith walk is not to make life easy for us. Faith teaches us to trust Him and believe what He says even when life's outcomes are not what we expect. Knowing God means we accept His authority in our lives as final. We may question His ways, but understanding His ways is more fruitful to our peace. (Psalm 103:7). God wants our faith to be mature. He wants to see His reflection when He looks at us. Faith must be purified and this only occurs through tests, trials, and tribulations. (I Peter 1:7)

God wants us to be so mature in our faith that no matter what we encounter in this world, we give all the glory, honor, and praise to Jesus Christ. Satan has his purpose and if we acknowledge him more than we thank the Lord, we have more growing to do. According to "Knowing God" by J.L. Packer, knowing God produces great energy for God, great thoughts of God, great boldness for God, and great contentment in God. In order to really know God, He has to speak to us and teach us about Himself.