Mental Health and Wellness
VickieHodgesSharingLIFE@gmail.com
How Do We ‘KNOW’ God?
There are two ways we can ‘know’ God. We can know of God through head
knowledge and we can know God through experience/relationship. To know of God,
is to know Him through intellectual information and to know God is to actually experience a relationship with Him. Our knowledge we have of God can be the possession of information or the actualization or experience of knowing God.
We can choose to know God in an abstract and impersonal manner or we can enter into an intimate experience with God through His salvation plan.
Josiah is said to have known God in the doing of justice and righteousness
(Jer. 22:15-16). True knowledge of God involves the actions, expressions in living conformity to His will. The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance, but rebellion (Jer.
22:11-14).
In Psalm 139:6 the psalmist is amazed at God’s intimate knowledge of his personal life, of his daily activities (139:1-2), and even his unspoken and unformed thoughts (139:4).
The New Testament emphasizes that knowing God is not merely an intellectual understanding, but is a response of faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ. It is not through this worlds wisdom that we know God, but rather through divine experience of the infilling of God’s Spirit dwelling inside of us.
It is a wonderful thought to know God loves us. But a thought by itself is limited unless we put actions behind the thought. When we choose to experience God’s love for us, then we agree and begin to know Him through a covenant, or relationship knowledge.
How do we transfer limited head knowledge of God to an experiential heart knowledge of God? When we choose to want more of God in our life, when we want
to live God’s way and no longer live our own limited self-absorbed ways.
How do you ‘know’ God? Do you know Him through intellectual information (head knowledge) or through an intimate experience (heart knowledge)?
Vickie Hodges is a licensed minister with UPCI and is the author/founder of LIFE
(Living In Freedom EVERYDAY) Recovery for Damaged Emotions and Unhealed Memories Recovery Series. She is also a conference and seminar speaker.
Ministry leadership covering is: Mark Hughes and Dr. James Hughes of Greater Life Church in Webster, Texas. VickieHodgesSharingLife@gmail.com. 218/433-4976.