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May you hear the voice of God speak into your life, a very specific word, as we continue to meditate upon His everlasting word of blessed promise – May the Lord bless you out of Zion; And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. [Psalm 128:5,6] The world may associate being blessed with material possessions; but God’s picture of it goes further, to encompass a godly growth that comes with the word of God, and prayer, to lead you to being more and more conformed to the image of the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ. And it is progress, a godly growth that is also visibly seen. It is why Paul encourages the Thessalonians thus –
We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us, how you ought to live and please God [as in fact, you are doing] you should do so more and more. [1 Thessalonians 4:1] Towards excellence, when your progress is evident, is the way of the Lord, and He also gives you clarity concerning how it can happen in you taking pains, be fully absorbed in them, that your progress may be evident to all. [1 Timothy 4:15]
And it is to this end, that Paul urges Timothy not to neglect his spiritual gifting. In fact, neglecting what needs to be treasured and valued will ultimately make it nothing. And neglecting God spells your doom! God, family, and your work needs to be the order of things in prioritizing how you live, and how you spend yourself, for it to be fruitful and pleasing in the sight of God. Therefore, trust in the good God, and do good, and your progress will in time be visibly seen, and become clearly evident.
And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with single heart, and willing mind, for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will abandon you forever. [1 Chronicles 28:9] It has been wisely said that the greatest responsibility that comes to us as parents, is to raise up the next generation of parents, who are one day going to have a family of their own. The words of King David to his son show where your focus needs to be as a parent when you bring up your child. A godly, Christ-centered, spiritual legacy is the greatest inheritance that you can bequeath to your children, one that will never fade away.
David had a very personal relationship with God. It is the foundation upon which he bids his son to serve Him. Knowing God determines how you serve Him, is the truth that comes shining through David’s words of wisdom to his son, Solomon. And today, as you live in a Google world, you need to know the big difference between information and revelation.
What counts is not mere reams of information through a search engine, but a knowledge of God that comes to you as a revelation in you through the Spirit of God, as Lord Jesus commended Simon Peter’s recognition of His identity, that was veiled to His other disciples at that time and Jesus answered him,” Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven”. [Matthew 16:17] Even today, the greatest blessing and privilege that you enjoy is your relationship with Him as your Heavenly Father. And knowing Him is eternal life. Yet, it is He who has to reveal Himself to you, simply because, He is the God who dwells in unapproachable light. No one is worthy in himself to draw near to Him, to know Him. It is all because of His amazing grace that He chooses to bless you, revealing Himself to you. The apostle Paul knew exactly how undeserving of it all, he was, and that it was all about God’s unfathomable grace, as he declares, ‘ But when God who had set me apart from birth, was through His grace, pleased to reveal His Son to me..’. [Galatians 1:15]
Knowing God does not end with revelation knowledge; for it then needs to progress to a relational experience of the truth of the knowledge of God. For, the revelation knowledge that God is good, and His mercy endures forever, needs to become your life’s experience. You need to taste and see that the Lord is good, as the scripture invites you to, for His goodness to become a part of your life, your practical experience. And it is possible, for as Paul writes to the Romans, you and I have a God who causes all things to work together for good in the lives of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose. [Romans 8:28] It is also why, you can pray that you may come to know Him more, even when you are in the midst of a challenge, when seemingly bad things are happening in your life. For God does not do anything accidentally in the life of a Christian. Rather, He is constantly trying to instruct you and lead you so that your progress may be evident, and visibly seen.
It takes place in you by,
It was the one thing that the psalmist sought after. [Psalms 27:4] And his prayer was therefore – Come, my heart says, ‘seek His face’, Your face Lord, do I seek. [Verse 8] It is in seeking to know that He is your God, and by His grace know Him more and more, that you may enjoy and glorify Him, for it is the chief end of man. His ways and thoughts are higher. But He always does what is best for you.
Knowing Him more and more comes with hearing what He is speaking to you continually, according to your changing circumstances, and listening with understanding and concentration so that you may not miss out on the blessings of God. And not listening to what God has spoken to you, can find you ending up listening to the voice of the devil, who is a liar and a thief, and the father of all lies. Therefore, when His promise comes in your situation, you need to receive it with understanding, to walk in it, even as the Lord commanded Joshua, as he stood petrified at the entrance of the promised land, as the new leader, wondering how he was going to fill Moses’ shoes. The Lord understood. Be quick to listen, therefore, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. [James 1:18,19] And knowing Him more and more come by –
‘I love you, O Lord, my strength; The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold’. [Psalms 18:1,2] And as you appreciate God by worshiping and glorifying Him, as David does in the Psalm above, thanking God will become automatic, for, as you count your blessings, it will indeed surprise you! You will recollect so very clearly, how many times your foot had almost slipped, and you would have fallen, if He had not caught you. It is by His grace that you and I stand in His presence this day, to love Him, and know Him even more.
Obedience is the key to it. Now by this, we may be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments. [1 John 2:2] And the one who denies it is a liar. [Verse 4] But whoever obeys His word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this, we may be sure that we are in Him. [Verse 5] Maturity that comes with obedience is described above, and in the process, it shows whether you know Him. And it is by valuing His word. Therefore may your prayer this day be – Lord, we want to know You more and more; to listen to Your voice with understanding, so that when there is lack, and anxious thoughts multiply, knowing You, may cause Your consolation to flood our soul, for on the Cross every lack has been taken away by You. May we depend on You, derive our strength from You, knowing that what has been accomplished on our behalf, becomes a part of our lives, when with thankful, grateful hearts we partake of Your Table, that we may receive healing and remission of sins, that You may be glorified. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
