I remember not knowing who I was and what I was going to do for the rest of my life. It was a horrible time filled with doubts and fears and hopelessness. I had no belief in God and no trust in my own abilities. I felt worthless and confused, a total reject, a failure in the grandest sense, and I was only 18 years old. Somewhere buried deep within me I knew there was a God and I knew he had called me for a purpose but it wasn't unlocked yet. I was wondering around looking for purpose and I had no idea I was the one who held the key to unlock it.
I am now a man who believes in the concreteness of God. I do not encourage people to tag along on other people's faith nor do I wish to see them following a bunch of theories that they will be unsure of for the rest of their life. God is solid and so must be our faith but in order for that to happen we must be sure of that in which we trust. I believe God makes himself know to each person so that they have a concrete choice to make and I also believe that he meets us at our level of doubt and fear. I believe in a God of miracles, a God of power, a God of love, a God who will reveal himself to us when we ask and sometimes when we don't.
When God gives a promise it applies for that moment and for the ages that follow. He established this promise with his rebellious children:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 29:13-14)
It reveals his heart in that he desires to reveal himself to those who are earnest in their seeking. He doesn't want a cheap relationship where people treat him like a wish granter but instead he desires a rich relationship with those who seek him as their father. Jesus said:
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
It is possible for us to know the Father and the Son. It is possible for us to have an intimate relationship with them so that we actually come to know who we are and the purpose that we have. Nothing in our life makes sense until it is defined by the One who created it. Knowing God is the key to unlocking everything else.
King Solomon wrote this for his sons:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1:7)
That fear speaks of respect and respect speaks of relationship. It is this relationship, this knowing the Father and the Son, that unlocks all other knowledge. The Apostle Paul was a man of great learning but he came to understand the true source of knowledge. He was a man trapped within a religious system until God made himself known to him. He wrote:
We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)
To know God and be known by God speaks of a wonderful relationship that will define the rest of your life and will unlock many mysteries, helping you understand so much that is hidden in the confusion of humanity. Don't think for an instant that God will not make himself known to you in a concrete manner. I know a young man who turned his back on his father's faith and lost himself in the depravity of man. Then one day he told God he would believe if God would make himself known to him. Then he spent a weekend at a youth conference earnestly seek the face of God. By the end of that weekend God had revealed himself to that young man in such a way that he suddenly understood the purpose to the many "why's" in his life. I had a similar experience around the same age. Many have.
Don't short change God. He promised you would find him if you earnestly sought him. Decide in your heart today to seek him. Decide to allow God to prove himself to you. He doesn't have to prove himself to anyone, he has already done that, but he loves you so much he is willing to do it for you. Seek him and you will find him and then all those questions will melt away as he shows his purpose in your life. You are defined by the One who created you so as you know him you will know yourself.
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