Do you ever wonder, who is God? Do you know of God, but don’t know Him personally? Did you know He wants to know you, and He wants to have a personal relationship with you no matter what you have done in the past? This blog will guide you with simple and practical steps on how to get to know God so you can have a close, personal relationship with Him.
Start Here
I want to start with an apology. If you’ve been hurt by the Church, I am so sorry. If you feel that you have been hurt by God, I am so sorry. Our world can be a hard place, a place with a lot of hurt and suffering. When difficult things happen it can definitely be challenging and you may feel let down and all alone. Let’s be honest, you may blame God. God doesn’t promise us that there won’t be pain and suffering in our lifetime. In fact, the Bible tells us that there will be, check out this verse and note where it says you WILL have trouble.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Today I want to encourage you that you are not alone. I encourage you to set those past hurts aside and clear your mind. Open your heart to all that God wants for you. He doesn’t want you to have chaos in your life and He wants to be there for you when you are hurting. Take the step to start fresh and take a step to start a personal relationship with Him.
God created everything from nothing. It’s hard to wrap your mind around that, right?!? Take a minute and really think about that, God created EVERYTHING from NOTHING. He has the power to do anything so are you willing to give Him a chance? Are you ready to get to know Him?
Take The First Step To Know God – Prayer
If you’re ready to take that first step, I want you to take a minute to pray. Don’t be intimidated, don’t be scared. Think of prayer as if you were talking to your best friend and just talk. Prayer isn’t a magical conversation. You don’t have to use certain words, or get on your knees, or have superpowers. You don’t have to go on and on with a long dissertation. Just talk.
Here’s one example of a prayer to get you started:
Dear God, I’m really struggling right now and I need you. Help me open my mind and my heart to you. Guide me for your will to be done, not my own. I want to get to know you, really get to know you. Lord, provide the opportunity, the time, and space for me to get to know you personally. Thank you, amen.
Take The Next Step To Know God – Set Aside Time
Now that you have opened up your mind and heart to God, the next step is to set aside time for Him. Life is busy – you may be running kids from activity to activity, or maybe you’re buried at work or school. The list of distractions is endless and I get it.
Did you know that being busy is one way that Satan uses to distract us? If you don’t take the time to make time with God a priority, then it will be impossible to get to know Him and build that personal relationship.
So take a look at your calendar. Do it right now and find a time to schedule with God. Make it a daily appointment at whatever time works for you. I prefer first thing in the morning, but the time doesn’t matter as long as you commit to making the appointment and sticking with it. Set an alarm, set two alarms or whatever it takes to remember and hold that appointment.
Now What – Get Into God’s Word, The Bible
So now you’ve prayed and set your time with God, now what? The next step is to turn to the Bible. If you prefer to work online, the YouVersion Bible App is a great resource. If you prefer a hard copy, I suggest a life application study Bible or a journal Bible. The life application study Bible includes clarifications that help you understand the language, advice on how to apply the Bible’s teaching to everyday life, descriptions of the context and setting, profiles of key Bible people, guides for finding what you’re looking for and more. The journal Bible provides space on each page for you to add notes, questions, resources and more.
Culture likes to throw a lot of lies at us, but the Bible is truth, 100% of the time. It can be difficult to understand at times, but if you try that life application study Bible or the Youversion Bible app it can easier. The app has reading plans that you can search by topic for whatever life is throwing at you. The reading plans include various Bible verses.
You have to make time in God’s Word a priority to stay focused on the goal, which is getting to know your creator. Feel free to contact me if you need help finding a YouVersion reading plan or need some help getting started or working through your Bible.
Take the step to start fresh and take a step to start a personal relationship with God so you can get to know Him.
Check out this message from one of our Pastors, Nick Sandeno, about Who Is God…
