Getting to Know God Personally

I had a realization the other day. It was something that I knew in my head but didn't really understand in my heart. And it reached it's destination while listening to a sermon on a long drive the other day. It might come as a bit of a shocker, but I realized last week that I know God. 

I gave my life to the Lord my freshman year of college and fully accepted Jesus as my Savior and the only way to salvation. My relationship with God began that year and I started growing in my relationship with God. I learned things about Him from the Bible and it grew into a relationship in which He spoke to me through His written Word, and I communicated with Him through prayer. 

However, it took listening to a sermon this past week to realize that I KNOW GOD. I know Him personally.

I know His character.
I know what He takes delight in and what He hates.
I know what makes Him angry and mournful and sad.
I know what brings Him joy and delight and glory. 

I KNOW GOD. 

And growing to know Him isn't any different from how I've gotten to know my friends over the years or even how I've gotten to know my fiancé. 

Knowing someone takes time, effort, and communication. 

I know my fiancé Brandon because I've taken time to get to know him. We've made the effort to know each other, and we've communicated with each other in order to know the other more. 

Knowing God and having a relationship with Him isn't any different. 

I know God today because of taking the time to know Him through His written Word, the Bible, but there's always so much more to learn about Him. Do you want to know Him more too?  I'm realizing that there's three habits that help in coming to know God more, and maybe these habits will help you too:
 
1. Take the Time //
Set aside time in your day to read God's Word, the Bible and ask yourself, "What do I learn about God from what I'm reading?"

2. Make the Effort //
Sometimes the hardest thing in relationships and knowing people is just making the effort. Knowing people is hard work and it takes effort, but it's worth it! If you want to know a friend or a significant other more, you make time to be with them. Make the effort to be with God and know Him. It is worth it. 

3. Communicate with Him //
God communicates to us through His Word, but we can communicate to God through prayer, so take time to just talk to God or write to Him. Communicate with Him the same way you would communicate with a friend. 

These are just three habits that have helped me to grow in knowing God more over the years, and they led to my "aha" moment this past week in understanding that I know God. 

I hope these are helpful as you grow in knowing God too. 

P.S. There's also a difference between knowing God and loving Him, and I'm learning more and more about that. I'll be touching upon loving God in a future post.