Afraid to Know God - Part 4

In recent posts I have looked at various reasons for fear or reluctance a Christian might have concerning getting to know God. Those posts addressed the following questions. What if I seek to know God and He ends up being a disappointment like everyone else? What if getting to know God requires so much time that I have to give up other pursuits? What if I get to know God and discover that He wants to make all kinds of changes in my life that I don't want to make?

In this final post about being afraid to know God, I want to look at the fear that such a pursuit will inevitably end in failure. I see three aspects to this fear, and I also see that God's Word gives us hope in each scenario.

First, what if God doesn't even want to have a relationship with me?

God tells us to seek Him. "When You said, 'Seek my face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, O LORD, I shall seek'" (Psalm 27:8).

God invites us to come to Him and learn of Him. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me" (Matthew 11:28-29a).

God is actually looking for people who will seek to know Him. "The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God" (Psalm 14:2).

God waits with open arms to share the closeness of a father/child relationship with those who seek Him. "'Therefore come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord Almighty" (II Corinthians 6:17-18).

Second, what if I try to get to know God better and He rejects me because I'm not good enough for Him?

Even though God is so much higher than we are, He stoops to care for and interact with us. "Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap" (Psalm 113:5-7).

When we seek God, He will not turn away from us or neglect us. "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You" (Psalm 9:10).

Regardless of who we are or what we have been, God will still receive us. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37).

In fact, God promises that when we seek to come near to Him, He will reciprocate by moving actively toward us as well. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8a).

David was just one of many throughout history who could testify to having found favor with God when he sought Him. "I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4).

Third, what if it isn't even possible to draw close to God?

God has revealed that such a thing is indeed possible. Moses spoke of it to the children of Israel. "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29).

David shared the same truth with Solomon. "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever" (I Chronicles 28:9).

The prophet Azariah reassured King Asa of the same reality. "And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, 'Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you'" (II Chronicles 15:2).

God is not as hard to find as we think. Stephen preached that God made "every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth . . . that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27).

The reality is that God wants us to know Him and to know Him well. This desire of God is evident in the fact that He tells us so much about Himself. He does not try to hide Himself, because He welcomes a relationship with us. Furthermore, God instructs us to know Him. He reveals His desire that we do so, and He holds before us the value of doing so. "Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me" (Jeremiah 9:24a). This relationship is such a strong desire of God that He will gladly honor our desire for the same.

"So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth." Hosea 6:3 (NASB)