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The Turning Point of a Christian Walk

About two years ago, I experienced God in a way that changed the entire trajectory of my Christian Walk. It all began at a Maverick City Concert in which I struggled of whether or not to give to their charity “Food for the Hungry”. I kept asking God if I should or shouldn’t, struggling to hear his voice. It was there that God revealed to me this:

“Do you want to know why you’re not willing to live radically for me? It’s because you don’t know me.”

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23 CSB).

For many of us, this can be shocking or even disheartening, in which we think we know something when in reality, simply know about it. And while this is not meant to cause you to question your faith, it is to get you to speculate and reflect on your own personal relationship with God. One verse that helps bring this into perspective is:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 NIV). With this verse, I might ask:

  • Do I know the voice of God?
  • Can I decipher between the voice of God and the voice of the world? 
  • Do I know God’s commands and why He gives them to me? 

 

If you’re saying “No” or “I’m not sure” on any of these, that’s okay. It’s not wrong to know where you’re at within your relationship. Where the error comes into play is knowing where you’re at and never doing anything to change it. If you feel that you’re far from God, then work towards getting closer. If you feel lukewarm within your relationship with God, then work on getting back into the intimacy of God. And even if you are on fire for Christ, work on finding new ways to experience his presence. You might be wondering; “How do I do that?” Great question, this is the first thing we’ll be looking at.

 

How Do We Get to Know God?

There are multiple ways that we get to learn about God, but also know Him intimately. Just like any relationship, one needs to spend time getting to know the other. While God knows us completely (Jeremiah 1:5), God wants a relationship with us where we get to know Him and be known by Him. We can see this throughout scripture:

  • Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) – “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” 
  • James 4:8 (ESV) – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
  • Acts 17:27 (NIV) – “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” 

 

So, what exactly does this look like? There are three primary ways that we get to learn more about God and who He is. And not only do we get to learn about Him, but we also get to know Him on an intimate level. This being:

  1. Prayer
  2. Reading and Studying the Word of God
  3. Action 

 

Prayer: While some dictionaries define prayer as a petition or request to God, prayer encompasses much more. In simple terms, prayer is a form of communication with God. It’s where we bring our requests, our worries, our anxieties, our joys, our victories, our losses, etc. It’s where we bring our everything to God. We bring our heart to God and surrender our thoughts and emotions and allow Him to speak into our lives. And while prayer does include us relaying our thoughts, attitudes and desires, it also includes us listening to God. This is where we take prayer from being a monologue (where one person speaks) and change it into a dialogue (to two people speaking and listening).

And while prayer can be just between you and God, it can also include others, as we see in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” As we can see, prayer can be done alone with God or with others. But it’s in this process of communicating with God that we get to learn about the heart of God and how He cares for us and desires for us to come to Him, like a child does with their parents depending upon them, God wants us to depend and rely on Him.

 

Reading & Studying the Word of God: The Word of God (the Bible) is God’s love letter to us. In it, it shares the heart of God in how he desires to be in close relationship with us, and how even through the fall of humanity through sin, God seeks to restore his relationship with us. It’s in the Bible that we also get to learn about God’s character and who He is. In scripture, through the countless amounts of stories, parables, poems and commands/laws that are found within the Bible that we see examples of God exhibiting characteristics and attributes that help us to identify who God is. However, we won’t know the type of God that He is if we never stop and get to know Him. It’s in scripture that we see how God has interacted with humanity and exhibited his character time and time again.

But it doesn’t just stop there at reading his Word, but as Joshua 1:8 (NLT) states, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.” We are to study and meditate on the word of God. We are called to study the Word of God, (and in some translations, “now allow the Word to depart from our lips”). Studying the Word of God can include asking questions, making notes, making personal connections and utilizing credible sources to help yourself understand the scriptures. For me personally, this is my favorite way of getting to learn about God and who He is. For myself, I often times start my studies with a topic of interest or a question, and then expand upon it. However you choose to study, it’s in this process of examining and analyzing scripture to understand the concepts and context of that day and then working to apply it to our very own lives. 

 

Action: There are three scriptures that come to mind when it comes to the importance of action in addition to our faith:

  • James 1:22-25 (CSB) – “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.”
  • James 2:26 (CSB) – “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” 
  • John 13:15 (CSB) – “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.” 

While it is vital that we pray and study God’s Word, we must also apply it to our own lives. It’s through action that we get to live out the commands that God has given us and see their benefit. And when I say benefit, I don’t just mean the temporal praise or adoration, but we get to understand the reason for God’s commands and get to be a part of his purpose and plan for our lives. I love how Christine Caine puts it in her “Equip and Empower Podcast”, that we as Christians are not meant to be spectators within our faith. We are supposed to be in the action. This might look like:

  • Connecting with your local church. We were not meant to live out this Christian Walk by ourselves. Rather, God calls us to live in community and to “love one another” (John 13:34), “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), and “to look out for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). We are meant to live as a body, contributing our gifts and talents that they might edify the body of Christ and bring glory to God. It’s in this, that we also get the opportunity to see God and how He works through others.
  • Serving in your community or around the world. In this experience, we get the opportunity to meet the needs of those who may be less fortunate and the hands and feet of Christ (and of God), as we share the same love that God has for us with others. It’s also within serving that we get to see God work and display himself in supernatural ways that we may not be exposed to by merely keeping to ourselves. 

All in all, action takes our faith a step further. It’s not meant to be just works and it’s not meant to be just faith, rather, both complement each other. It’s in this beautiful combination that we not only get to be the tangible example of God’s love to others, but that we also allow ourselves to see it within others. Because while we may have one perspective of who God is, we can also see who God is through the viewpoint of other people around us when we serve them or serve with them. 

 

What Does the Word Say About God? 

Just like when we serve, scripture also gives us accounts of who people view God to be like. Many people throughout scripture have assigned God different names based on their own personal experience with God and how he has worked in their life. Some examples include:

  • Genesis – God is a creator. He has created all things, and He has created them to be good. 
  • Exodus – God is a rescuer. God rescued his people out of slavery and made a way for them when there seemed to be no way. 
  • Leviticus – God is holy. God creates laws so that his people may be set apart from the surrounding nations and reflect his glory to others. 
  • Numbers – God is faithful. Even when his own people rebel against him, God still blesses his people and guides them to the promised land. 
  • Deuteronomy – God wants us to choose to love him and obey him. God, through Moses, shares how obedience leads to blessing whereas rebellion leads to curse and gives his people the choice. 

And this is just in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). There are names that describe who God is based on the attributes and characteristics of God. Utilizing an additional resource: Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps, and Timelines (Rose Publishing, 2015), we can find these names of God (or names that can be used to refer to God) according to his traits/characteristics such as the ones below (names, meanings and application pulled from Page 36 – “Names of God”):

  • Adonai which translates to “The Lord, My Great Lord”. This acknowledges that God is the Master and majestic Lord. God is our total authority.
  • El which translates to “The Strong One”. This conveys that God will overcome obstacles. We can depend on God.
  • El Elohe Yisrael which translates to “God, The God of Israel”. This distinguishes that the God of Israel is distinct and separate from all false gods of the world. 
  • El Elyon which translates to “The God Most High” which points to the fact that He is the Sovereign God in whom we can put our trust.
  • Elohim which translates to “The All Powerful One, Creator”. This recognizes that God is the all-powerful creator of the universe. God knows all, creates all, and is everywhere at all times.
  • El Olam which translates to “The Eternal God, The Everlasting God”. This makes note of God being the Beginning and the End, the One who works his purposes throughout the ages.
  • El Roi which translates to “The God Who Sees Me”. This reveals that there are no circumstances in our lives that escape his fatherly awareness and care. God knows us and our troubles. 
  • El Shaddai which translates to “The All Sufficient One, The God of the Mountains, God Almighty”. This notes that God is the all sufficient source of all of our blessings, God is all powerful. Our problems are not too big for God to handle. 
  • Immanuel which translates to “God With Us, ‘I AM'”. This affirms that Jesus is God in our midst. Deity in bodily form.
  • Jehovah which translates to “‘I AM’, The One Who is the Self-Existent One”. This displays that God never changes. His promises never fail. Where we are faithless, He is faithful.
  • Jehovah-Jireh which translates to “The Lord will Provide”. This informs us that God provided his son Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. God will meet all our needs. 
  • Jehovah-Mekaddishkem which translates to “The Lord Who Sanctifies”. This indicates that God sets us apart as a chosen people. He cleanses our sin and helps us mature. 
  • Jehovah-Nissi which translates to “The Lord is My Banner”. This declares that God gives us victory against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Our battles are his. 
  • Jehovah-Rapha which translates to “The Lord Who Heals”. This illustrates that God has provided the final cure for spiritual, physical and emotional sickness in Jesus Christ.
  • Jehovah-Rohi which translates to “The Lord is my Shepherd”. This presents to us that the Lord protects, provides, directs, leads and cares for his people.
  • Jehovah-Sabaoth which translates to “The Lord of Hosts, The Lord of Armies”. This imparts upon us that the Lord of the hosts of heaven will always fulfill his purposes even when earthly people fail.
  • Jehovah-Shalom which translates to “The Lord is Peace”. This unveils to us that God defeats our enemies to bring us peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. God brings inner peace. 
  • Jehovah-Shammah which translates to “The Lord is There, The Lord is My Companion”. This discloses to us that God’s presence is not limited or contained in the tabernacle, but accessible to all who love Him.
  • Jehovah-Tsidkenu which translates to “The Lord is Our Righteousness”. This signifies that Jesus is the King from David’s line, and the one who imparts his righteousness to us.
  • Yah, or Jah which also translates to “‘I AM’, The One Who is the Self-Existent One”. This also directs us to the point that God never changes. His promises never fail. God promises his continuing presence. 
  • Yhwh which also translates to “‘I AM’, The One Who is the Self-Existent One”. This also shares with us that God never changes. His promises never fail. When we are faithless, He is faithful.

 

From these names, we get a picture of who God is and what we He is like. God can be viewed as a protector, and a provider, one who supplies peace, but also one who supplies peace. God is omniscient and yet intimate. He knows our needs and He seeks to provide and lead us. However, don’t just stop here with what I say, but go and discover for yourself who God is. 

 

Final Reflection: Why is It Important That We Know Who God Is?

If we do not know who God is, then we will most likely not follow after Him or make Him the Ruler of lives. It is doubtful that we’ll surrender our desires, thoughts and emotions over to Him if we can’t trust Him. In addition, if we are not aware of who God is and what his character is, we will be less likely to rely on him in our instances of trials, troubles, and tribulations.

As I have personally learned, I cannot merely have an inherited faith which has been handed down to me, but I must develop my own faith. This involves praying, studying the Word of God and putting my faith into action. In order to get to know who God is on an intimate level, not just a name-to-name basis, I must seek God daily. For how can we know about who God is if we don’t spend time getting to know Him and his voice. 

If we do not, not only will we miss out on the blessings and purpose that God has for our life, but we also give a greater foothold for the enemy comes to come in and destroy our lives by distracting and derailing us from where God has called us to go and who He has called us to be. Because of this, we must get to know God intimately, walking with Him and getting to know Him by his Word and prayer, where we communicate and talk with him daily.

I pray that this study has inspired you to go out and do more research of your own. For study questions regarding these notes, please check out the following link. Also, check out the Podcast channel to hear the commentary regarding this episode’s notes. 

 

Additional Links and Resources

 

Stay Inspired!

– Hunter Land

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