God’s Communication Goals: Goal One, God Wants You To Know Who He Is
Understanding God’s motives is integral to understanding His voice. We may occasionally hear Him speaking to us. Maybe even understand some of His words. But often we lack the ability to correctly interpret and apply what we hear, simply because we don’t understand why God is communicating with us in the first place.
So, what is it that God wants you to know? What are His communication goals?
“And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.” John 17:3 AmplifiedMore than just knowing Him as your Savior, God wants you to understand the many, many facets of His character. He longs to reveal Himself to you.This is the great story of Scripture: God creates man and then reveals Himself to his creation. Every time God speaks in scripture, He reveals something about His character to the hearer. And so it is when He speaks to you today.
Look at some of the names He uses for Himself…
The Lord will provide (Gen 22:14),
The Lord is my Banner (Ex 17:15),
The Lord is Peace (Jud 6:24),
The Lord of Hosts (I Sam 1:3),
The Lord your Sanctifier (Ex 31:13),
The Lord my Shepherd (Ps 23:1),
The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6),
The Lord is there (Ezek 48:35)
Why didn’t He just call Himself “God”? I mean, doesn’t that say it all? God means God, pretty much, right?
Apparently not.
Because look at some of the ways Jesus described Himself:
I am…
The Bread of life (John 6:35)
The Light of the world (John 8:12)
The Door of the sheep and the Good Shepherd (John 10:10-14)
The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:11-27)
The Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:1-7)
The True Vine (John 15:1)
I know many people who struggle to hear God’s voice, yet rarely make an attempt to get to know the One they are supposedly straining to hear. Maybe this sounds harsh, but I don’t get that. I don’t. My heart aches when I consider how God desires to reveal Himself to us, yet we don’t make it a priority enough to spend even a few moments in His word, learning about Him.
And then we accuse Him of not speaking?
Here is my plea to you today—my sincerely desperate plea:
Seek to know as much as you can about who God is, and inevitably you will begin hearing Him in ways you never knew possible.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer 29:13
He is the..
Creator: John 1:3 (Jesus); Isa 40:28 (YHWH)
Savior: John 4:42 (Jesus); Isa 45:22; 43:11 (YHWH)
Judge: John 5:27; Matt 25:31-46 (Jesus); Joel 3:12 (YHWH)
Glory of God: John 17:1,5 (Jesus); Isa 42:8; 48:11 (YHWH)
First and last: Rev 1:17; 2:8 (Jesus); Isa 41:4; 44:6 (YHWH)
Redeemer: Rev 5:9 (Jesus); Hosea 13:14 (YHWH)
Bridegroom: Rev 21:2; Matt 25:1ff (Jesus); Isa 62:5; Hosea 2:16 (YHWH)
Rock: I Cor 10:4 (Jesus); Ps 18:2 (YHWH)
Forgiver of sins: Mark 2:7,10; Jer 31:34 (YHWH)
Lord: Phil 2:11 (Jesus); Isa 45:23 (YHWH)
As you invite God to join you in your day–in your thoughts and your words, in your decisions and your plans, in your responses and reactions, in your goals and your dreams, in your family and friendships, in your fears, your fun and your failures—you’ll begin to discover a deeply personal God. A God who is gentle and loving, yet infinitely complex and mind-blowing.
Like a brilliant gem, whose slightest turn captures the light in a unique way, so it is with God. And just when you think you’ve got Him all figured out, He’ll show you something new that will send you straight to your knees.
He is…
All Powerful (Romans 1:20)
Compassionate (Psalm 145:9)
Faithful (Psalm 100:5)
Holy (Isaiah 6:3)
Eternal (Revelation 1:8)
“For God is indeed a God who speaks, who opens wide the door of His inner life to those He loves. Who, like the great Romancer that He is, longs to recapture the imaginations of His beloved.” Michael Card
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For additional study into the names and attributes of God:
http://www.characterbuildingforfamilies.com/names.html
http://www.anchoryourlife.com/prayer/chara_0.htm
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Click Here To Read God’s Communication Goals Part Two, God Wants You to Know You
I needed this today. You have a surprise on my blog. 🙂
Thanks, Sandy, for another edifying post. It’s so true that we do not find Him until we seek Him. He is the perfect gentleman who waits to be invited in.
You blessed me again!
Sandy,
I loved this post. Your writing is embracing and easy to sink into. I also loved reading about baby Isaiah. My daughter was born at 22 weeks gestation. She is a sophomore in college today, making the honor roll. God is able!!
Blessings to you and your family,
pat
Sandy, this is a great post and the links at the end are awesome. Thanks for sharing.
You might want to read my blog today, just for fun.
Paula G
Congratulations on winning the flight to GNO! So very excited for you! Can’t wait to hear about it once it happens. Loving all the little connections God has already prepared between the two of you!
Check out my friends blog, who had adopted several cherubs from Guatemala.
http://www.forevernevernalways1.blogspot.com — you’ll love it!
I love that quote by Michael Card! The great Romancer. So cool to think of God in so many different ways – so many different titles.
Good words, my friend! Very encouraging for me today 🙂
Seeking Him,
Kate 🙂
As usual, I love your posts. And I wholeheartedly agree that we will not hear God in the way we are meant to hear Him until we seek Him sincerely and with dedication. Believe me, I KNOW!
Thanks for the sweet words of encouragement on my post– I told my husband that I love your blog and your writing and am inspired by what you write all the time…yet I am so uncertain about my own.
I would do well to remember that Satan is always going to find ways to make me feel unworthy or inadequate or not impactful, and just keep doing what I am doing for God’s glory, even though it is way outside my comfort zone. You encourage me there too!
Have a beautiful week-
P.S. This post also reminded me of all the “names” of God and what they all mean…that was so amazing and really tugged at my heart when I was learning about that a few months ago.
Hmmm…that gives me an idea for a post 🙂
See…I told you that you are inspiring!