Knowing God by Experience

Memory verse: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him (John 14:21)

You will never be satisfied merely to know about God. Knowing God comes only through experience as He reveals Himself to you. When Moses was at the burning bush, he asked God, “suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘the God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘what is his name?’ then what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13).

God responded, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you’ “ (Exodus 3:14). When God said, “I Am who I Am,” He was saying, “I Am the eternal one. I will be what I will be.” He was saying, “I am everything you will need.” Just fill in the blank for your particular situation: “I Am…” During the next 40 years Moses came to know God experientially as Jehovah or Yahweh, the great I AM.

In the Bible, God took the initiative to reveal Himself to people by experience. Frequently, when God revealed Himself to individuals, He disclosed a new name to them or described Himself in a new way. To a Hebrew, a person’s name represented his character and described his nature. This is why in the Bible we frequently see new names or titles for God following an event in which someone experienced God. To know God by name required a personal experience of His presence.

Biblical names, titles, and descriptions of God therefore identify ways Bible characters personally came to know God. The Scriptures are a record of God’s revelation of Himself to people. Each name for God is a part of that revelation.

For example, Joshua and the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites. Moses was overseeing the battle from a nearby mountain. While he held his hands up to God, the Israelites were victorious. When he wearily lowered his hands, they began to lose. God defeated the Amalekites through Israel that day. Moses built an altar and gave it the name, “the Lord is my Banner”. A banner is the standard that goes in front of an army to indicate whom it represents. “The Lord is my Banner” says we are God’s people; He is our God. Moses’ uplifted hands gave constant glory to God, indicating the battle was His and Israel belonged to Him. Israel came to know God in a deeper way as they realized anew, “we are God’s people; the Lord is our Banner”. (see Exodus 17:8-15).

Think of an event through which you know you experienced God at work in your life

  • What name could you use to describe the God you experienced?

Final Thoughts:

  • Knowing God comes only through experience as He reveals Himself to me

  • I know God more intimately as He reveals Himself to me through my experiences with Him