Knowing About vs Truly Knowing God
Metaphors are so helpful to understand spiritual truths. I love when God gives me metaphors. One day, I asked Jesus to show me the difference between someone who thinks they know Him and someone who really knows Him. The Lord led me to Titus 1:16a, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.” Below is my conversation I had with God on this subject. Jesus’ words are in italics.
The difference is one knows about Me, and the other knows Me intimately. Let Me show you what I mean.
Mirages are not real
Jesus showed me a man in the desert. He had chapped lips and a distressed look on his face. He was looking frantically for water and thought he saw some. The more he walked, the farther away the water seemed until he realized that it was only a mirage. The above image is of real mirage in the Etosha Pan, Namibi. It really looks like a seashore, doesn’t it!
There was no real water, only something that looked like water. It’s good to know what water looks like. It’s better to be able to drink some when you are thirsty!
To learn about Me is like showing a hungry and thirsty man a picture of a magnificent banquet, but there is actually nothing to eat or drink. Seeing the picture may bring some benefits, but he is left ultimately unsatisfied. The actual need is unfulfilled. This is what it is like to only learn about Me. The spiritual need to know Me is even stronger than that man’s physical need for water. A mirage is an illusion; a trick of the eye caused by light refraction and heat waves. Knowing only about Me is a trick too. But, it doesn’t fool the soul. The soul knows its need for the True God.
What really satisfies
To truly satisfy the hunger and thirst in your soul, you must drink deeply of the Living Water. Water is refreshing, rejuvenating and restores more than you can see and feel. Come and drink deeply the Living Water. You must eat the food of My Presence. You must enter the Holy of Holies where you can encounter My Presence. I have gained you direct access to the Father by way of the indwelling Holy Spirit by My work on the cross. Do not neglect this privilege.
I can do this by dialogue journaling. I quiet myself down, tune to the flow of the Holy Spirit and allow You to speak through the eyes of my heart and the ears of my heart so You can show me or tell me what You most want me to understand about You.
Spend Time with God
Yes. This is accomplished by you spending time with Me. Consider John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” To know someone is an intimate thing. To know about something or someone implies knowledge from a distance. It is not My desire for you to know Me distantly or haphazardly in a third party sort of way as in only through the work of a pastor or a preacher. You cannot know Me without personally drawing close to Me. It is through steady communion with Me; Father, Son and Holy Spirit that you will truly Know Me. And knowing leads to trusting, believing and obeying which are fruits of the eternal life you now have.
It’s just like knowing anyone personally. In order to trust someone, I need to spend time with them to learn who they are and if I can rely on them. After some time, if I feel safe, I tend to want to spend more time and then come to trust them. I spend the most time with people that I like to be around; people who build me up, encourage me and show me love. No one does that better than You, LORD!
Know Him in your Heart and not your Head
Yes. The difference between knowing in your head, and knowing and surrendering in your heart is clarified in James 2:19 ‘You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.’ The demons know who I AM, of course. But, they do not accept and surrender to Me and have no intimate relationship with Me. This is an important distinction. Remember, I live in your heart, not in your head.
Yes. LORD. I can see the difference.
Drink of the Living Water
Every time you take a drink today, spend time reflecting on the Living Water and come and fellowship with Me. Tune to Me in the quiet and listen for My voice. Seek Me and you will find Me. Spend time getting to know Me. Ask Me to show you things. I certainly have a lot to show you! It’s My heart’s desire to spend time with you too! Communing with Me is the only way for your spiritual hunger and thirst to be satisfied. This is how you truly know Me!
You can have conversations like this with Jesus too
Find out how you can easily hear and see God personally by checking out any of Dr. Patty Sadallah’s books on Amazon or on her webpage. Look for her upcoming Experience Jesus 4 Book Series.
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Thank you for your post. I like the analogy of the mirage. It is hard to go from knowing about God to knowing Him.
In your heading: Know Him in your Heart and not your Head
Yes. The difference between knowing in your head, and knowing and surrendering in your heart is clarified in James 2:19 ‘You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.’ The demons know who I AM, of course. But, they do not accept and surrender to Me and have no intimate relationship with Me. This is an important distinction. Remember, I live in your heart, not in your head.
Jude 1:6 says, ” And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.”
2 Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment.”
Demons, however, do not have a savior. In fact, in Matthew 8, two demons say, “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
Thanks for your comment, Michael. You are right, demons have not submitted to the Lord as a savior. It makes the point that knowing about God does not equate to salvation. Salvation is a decision of the heart to surrender to God as your Lord.
Yes there’s a vast difference between head knowledge and heart relationship. I love the way Jesus simplified it.
Jesus is amazing that way! Thanks for your comment, Roma!