An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped

A.W.Pink

Dear Believer,

To begin, I must reiterate the words of Paul in Romans 11:33-34, “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’”

So, then, how can we know him? Although we cannot fully know him now, he does invite us to know what is revealed to us through His Spirit and His Word. In order to be able to put our trust in our God, we must know all we can about who He is, and what He has done. 

In my last article, I gave some insight into our shared enemy with the premise that, if we know our enemy, we will be more prepared during spiritual warfare.  In this part, I’d like to share why knowing our God is essential to being victorious in times of spiritual warfare and practical ways to do so. 

The WHY

As an early childhood educator and parent, it is easy to see and understand children’s initial reluctance to jump into a classroom with strangers. The classrooms are whirling with activity, noise, and newness. It can be an overwhelming and even scary experience. Add to that, the separation of their trusted parents, (who have been their whole world up to that point), and left with strangers they don’t know.  I have seen this scenario numerous times. The children have no reason to trust us as teachers. It is our responsibility to prove we are trustworthy. And little by little, we build that trust by keeping them safe, loving, nurturing,  and guiding them. As parents, we have had the opportunity to show them these things since the day they were born.  This is how they know we love them and they, in their childlike manner, give us their complete trust and come to expect us to take care of their every need. This includes protecting them from seen and unseen dangers. Similarly, our why for knowing and trusting God as believers comes down to these truths:

• God is our Heavenly Father and we are His beloved children. Isaiah 64:7 says, Yet, Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you our potter: we are all the work of your hand.” As our Father, He takes on the responsibility to love us, take care of us, correct us, and have a personal relationship with us. As his children, we are to depend on him for all things, as human children depend on their trusted adults. We have security in his provision and protection. “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”(Matt.6:26). Of course, the answer to this rhetorical question is a resounding “YES!”. We are His, He loves us and wants the best for us. Remember He has given us the best gift already: salvation through Jesus! He has adopted us and made us co-heirs with Christ! With this comes every spiritual blessing, as well as good and perfect gifts. Therefore, our knowledge of our good Father prompts us to respond with trust and rest that he will help us in every situation. He will protect us and fight for us.

• It is HIS Battle. Joshua’s charge to the leaders of Israel in his old age was to remind them of all they had seen the LORD do “since it is the LORD your God who fights for you”(23:10). The answer to King Jehoshaphat’s prayer regarding the upcoming attack on Judah was this: “Thus says the LORD to you, “Do not be afraid of this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s”(2 Chron.20:15) and again from King Hezekiah, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chron. 32:7-8). Knowing we have the power of the Almighty before, behind, and over us, gives us the confidence and trust to go into battle, daily. How can we lose when God has already given us the victory in Christ Jesus? We can’t. We must stand firm, hold our position, and see the salvation of the Lord on our behalf. We must be strong in the Lord and the strength of HIS might. We are to take up the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Notice in all these instances, we are not fighting. We are standing firm, not on our strength, might, or power, but in His. In the knowledge that HE is the Mighty Warrior. HE is the Divine Deliverer. HE is the All-Powerful King. HE is the Wise Commander. 

1 Thessalonians 3:3 tells us, “But the Lord  is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”

The HOW

How then, shall we know him? 

• Reading His Word. God’s Word testifies to His character. Everything we read reveals to us what He is sharing about himself. From the beginning (“In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”) to the end (“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”) As we read about his works, his relationships, and his redemptive plan, we get to know him. Scripture itself testifies to this as being our greatest need. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things, I delight, declares the LORD” (Jer. 9:23-29).

• Studying His attributes. An attribute of God is what is Scripturally true about Him. What He is like? What kind of God is He? When we read His Word and focus on what character attributes they reveal,  we learn to depend on these unchangeable qualities instead of our ever-changing feelings, opinions, and circumstances. We learn he is good, faithful, righteous, and just. He is wise, all-powerful and all-knowing. Studying and meditating on his attributes, gives our knowledge focus, our desires direction, and our prayers power. A.W Tozer stated, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” What we know is true about God changes everything. It changes our perspective, our purpose, and our understanding of spiritual warfare. It emboldens us and gives us confidence to endure to the end. 

• Depending on His Spirit. This may seem obvious, but knowing God is not merely an intellectual pursuit, it must be a spiritual, supernatural reality. God is a Spirit, and we must worship him in spirit AND in truth. “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (1 Cor. 2:14).  

Dear Believer, knowing the Godhead focuses our mind on Him and away from ourselves and our circumstances that tend to discourage us, bring worry, and shake our faith. We receive understanding through His Holy Spirit which enlightens us to accept and depend on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection as the power of God for salvation and life. This is essential as we go through our daily struggles as well as intense spiritual battles. The more we know him, the more we will love him and trust him.

The Lord be with you,

Bianca❤

*For more information on the attributes of God, I recommend A.W Pink’s, The Attributes of God, and the Ligonier Video Series on this topic.