Experiencing God's Presence #20

None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

Hebrews 8:11, NKJV

Experiencing God’s Presence, hearing His voice, and sensing His touch are often criticized for being too subjective. Many prefer to keep their relationship with God in the realm of the purely objective, where no misunderstandings can occur and no cults can be spawned. But while an insistence on objectivity is certainly helpful in defining the tenets of one’s faith, it’s also a very effective way to quench a relationship. Warmth and intimacy are never the product of definitions.

Think about it. What meaningful human relationship isn’t subjective? A marriage may be established objectively, but its depth certainly isn’t. A marriage without feelings, intuition, instincts, and a history of subjective interpretation isn’t much of a relationship. Neither does a friendship have any quality without its intangibles and abstract aspects. Any relationship that is more than a formality is by nature a subjective experience. And the last thing we want with God is a formality.

Don’t define your doctrine subjectively, but don’t be afraid to relate to God that way. The Bible is full of subjective experiences with Him. A religion can be taught, but a relationship has to be developed—moment by moment, person to person. The writer of Hebrews, quoting Jeremiah, assures us that everyone can know the Lord personally—not just know about Him, but know Him relationally. That involves a wide range of spiritual seeing, hearing, and sensing. God means to be experienced. He rewards those who know that and who diligently seek Him.

Lord, You promise that I can know You—not just theoretically, but through the experience of a genuine relationship. I want that. My prayer is that You would become more and more real to me as I turn my thoughts toward You.

From the book