Knowing God

"He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then it was well
Is not that what it means to know Me?
Declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 22:16

God used this verse back in April to speak to me about the pig project. I was sitting on the side of a dusty road in the hot sun, filthy, smelling like a pig, and trying to figure out how to get a 280 lb pig back in the pickup. I asked God exactly why I was in Belize chasing pigs in the bush… He gave me this verse. The pig project is here because right now, that is the way that God is asking us to know Him... by caring for the needy here in Toledo in this way.

But knowing God means loving the way He loves.

That means being willing to poor out yourself for others...

regardless of the cost.

and sometimes it is joyous

other times it is deeply painful

but as we learn to know God in those ways, we develop a relationship with Him we never dreamed of.

If we limit our knowing of God to nice little Bible studies and sermons at church, we only know Him in the same way we might our neighbor... kind of superficial. But when we start to know Him by loving the way He does.... crying over the things that hurt Him...

then we know Him in greater ways

and we don't have to go to another country to know Him that way

we can know Him that way by simply reaching out to those around us.

showing love when we don't feel like it

getting dirty

sometimes we know Him by chasing pigs in the jungle

sometimes by rejoicing with baptisms....

sometimes by getting hit on the face by those whom we are pouring our life out for!

other times by being accused of the things we would never imagine doing

and feeling the sting of being branded as a "sinner"

but then we truly begin to understand the fellowship of His sufferings.

Knowing God is far more than listening to sermons, singing songs…

It stretches us…

It causes us to grow…

It changes us…

It is a relationship.

It is beautiful.

How does God want you to grow in your knowledge of Him today?

Lord, help us to never cease to thirst to know You more.