These days many people claim to know about God. Some claim he’s a higher power that cannot be accessed; who rules over us with an iron fist. Others believe he can be reached through many avenues and can be found in many forms and traditions. Religion itself is a construct in which people have tried to make sense of the supernatural. But, as a Bible-believing Christian, I believe there is a very clear way to truly KNOWING God.
You can be in church your whole life and never have an authentic relationship with God yourself. As some of my friends have said – walking into KFC doesn’t make a piece of chicken! The KEY to this life being lived the way God intended is to KNOW the Personhood of God. To have a relationship. You might be thinking about your own life and asking, “How can I be sure that I know God?”
I’m going to do my best to help you figure that out right now. The Bible lays out some very clear steps for us:
1. You have surrendered your life to Jesus.
You might think that is a very strange statement – or one that has lost its meaning in the traditional language of church. But it basically means that you have realised that you cannot live life on your own – that you need help and connection with God himself.
In John 14:6 Jesus says this himself: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is the only way to life. He is the only way to a daily, relevant relationship with God. And when you believe this, your life begins to change.
Romans 10:9 directly confirms that you will be saved from the downward, dangerous life you lived on your own when you acknowledge Jesus both in your heart and in your speech: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
2. Receive the Holy Spirit
As you spend time with God, reading the Bible, you will find yourself wanting to do what pleases Him. And he enables you to do it.
Many people think that Christians are judgemental and hold impossibly high standards when it comes to living. And I agree – we do have a very different lifestyle that is the right way to live. But BY NO MEANS can any of us live to please God without His help!
Later on in John 14, Jesus continues to tell us about this help: “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.”
The Spirit of Truth is God present right now in my life – and I pray He is in yours as well. He is the one that enables us to live differently. He transforms our thinking and our desires. He helps us understand how much God loves us and others. He is the counsellor through hard seasons and the one who makes me laugh when it seems like all hell has broken loose in my life.
Romans 8:16 makes it clear that when we know God, “the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
If you want to know that you are God’s own – that he loves you more than any father could love their child. Then you need to be aware of the presence of God in your life.
As you grow in your relationship with God – you will begin to recognise yourself changing. It may be incremental, but you will begin to recognise it more and more. One of my friends used to have terrible bouts of rage – he really struggled with anger. One night after giving his life to Jesus, he flew into another bout of rage and hit his leg on the coffee table. Instead of continuing to throw things and shout, however, he simply began to laugh. In that moment God showed him how ridiculous he looked while shouting and screaming and he simply could not stop laughing.
I know for myself, I became way more confident through spending time with God daily. As I began to hear God for myself and believe what He said about me, I began to look people in the eye more, I grew in my ability to speak to others and even discovered I have a sense of humour hiding behind the intimidation that had kept me quiet for years.
If you want to truly know God, I would encourage you to reach out to us on the link below. And if you want to have that sense of confirmation – to truly know that you are in a relationship with God, I would encourage you to pray and simply ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you. I believe He will. In my experience, He’s honestly the only way to live this life well.