Knowing God: How?

KNOWING GOD: HOW?

The sons of Korah, choir members in Salomon’s Temple, wrote these words, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). These were noisy musicians that learned in order to get to know God one had to become still. King David himself had to learn how to be still before God (Psalm 37:7).

Since I retired I discovered that my busiest time was and still is on Sunday mornings in Church. It is action packed and hurried along. We interact with each other, but are we engaging God in our encounters? Are we still enough and wait long enough for God to let Himself be heard? Just how close are we to God?

What can we learn from the individuals in the Bible with whom God interacted? Let us sample some. Jacob at Bethel and Moses at the burning bush encountered God when they were alone (Genesis 28:10-22; Exodus 3:1-6). It was in a cave where Elijah could hear God (I Kings 17:1-6). Paul the Apostle was alone with the Lord when he received his revelation (Galatians 1:12). The beloved John was on the Island of Patmos where he felt closest to the Lord (Revelation 1:9). Jesus, Himself, withdrew often to a lonely place to communicate with His Father (Mark 1:35; 6:40) and He urged His disciples to seek out a closet where they could be alone with their Heavenly Father (Matthew 6:6).

I too had to be still for 18 months, recuperating from an accident. Nurses turned the pages of the Bible for me so that God could talk to me through His Words. It was not because I was hurting, but because I was coerced to be still so that I could learn about God. There were no teachers to teach me, only the Bible. What would it take for us to be still so God could again speak to us? Perhaps we could use a hint from young Samuel who said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening” (I Samuel 3:10).