You Can Know GodShembull

Day 5 - God’s Not Hiding from You

Sometimes we can feel like God is far away from us, not answering us when we call. But we can’t go by feelings. He is very close to us! The Bible even calls Him Immanuel—which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He’s not God far away from us or hiding from us—He’s God with us!

Our heavenly Father is an open book, if we choose to read Him. After Paul stated in the first part of Philippians 3:10 that his determined purpose was to know God, he continued the thought: “[that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly]” (AMPC).

We can do that too. God wants us to.

There’s a difference between knowing about someone and knowing them. You and I know about our favorite movie star or political figure—we know who they’re married to, where they live, maybe what they like to eat or what their favorite color is. But we don’t have their personal cell number or know their true motivations and desires. We’ve probably never even met them in person. We don’t really know them like we do someone who is close to us.

Lots of people are like that with God. They know some things about Him, but they don’t really know Him. They don’t know what to expect from Him in a given situation because they’re not intimately acquainted with Him.

It takes time to truly know someone. And it takes proximity—you have to be in the same place at the same time, sharing things, going through some things together so that you know what to expect from each other when real-life pressures come along. Paul had that with God. And that’s the kind of deeper relationship God wants with you, too. He wants to be closer than you ever imagined.

Are you ready to get closer to God? To have His power and glory and love flowing freely through your life? You can. Begin today by spending more time with Him in His Word and prayer, and He’ll be right there to meet you. 

Was this plan helpful to you? It was adapted from my book “Closer Than You Ever Imagined: Experiencing the Deep Relationship With God You Always Wanted.” You can read the first part here.