The Lord isn’t satisfied with knowing about us. He wants to really know us. The following verses have captured my attention in a new way:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
The Lord makes a distinction between those who know Him and move in His power and those He knows personally. We need to be in both categories. It is important that we move in the power of the Holy Spirit so people can be set free and know the Lord. But, we can’t let that expression of knowing Him substitute for Him knowing us.
There is a difference in God knowing everything about us and God knowing us personally. Hebrews 4:13 says that “…there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God knows everything about us, but does He experientially know us?. He obviously distinguishes between knowing facts about us, even the secrets we have, from actually knowing us in an intimate way. The word intimacy has been loosely translated ‘into me see’. He wants to have personal experiences and communications with us. We need to let Him see into us in that we communicate to Him who we are on ever increasing levels.
Consider the account of the Lord visiting Abraham and His concern about Sodom and Gomorrah.
“And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
“I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)
Even though the Lord knew the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah He wanted to know in a more personal way, so He went to experience it Himself. It is not enough for our God to know about things. He wants to have relationships with people in every area of life so that He can know them personally.
Jesus is our access point into the Kingdom of God. Could it be that we are the personal access points, the doors if you will, of God’s access points into the world. He is our door up and we are His door down into the very affairs of life! A property owner may rent a house to someone. By so doing he limits his access to the property by virtue of the terms of the lease. Though he owns the property He can’t barge in at will. I know that God owns everything by virtue of creation, but He has chosen to limit His access to all things human by the authority He gave humans.
Verses in Song of Solomon 2:14 reveal the Lord’s profound desire to know His people intimately:
“… Let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”
We are most clearly identified by our voice and our face. Your face speaks of letting the Lord really ‘see’ who you are. Your voice has the ability to tell the Lord who you are. He says that your face is lovely. Let Him see it. He says your voice is sweet. Let Him hear it. Tell Him who you are.
Have You Told Him
What if the Lord only knew you to the degree you intentionally and audibly told him about yourself. How well would He know you? Have you ever intentionally told Him who you are? One reason we don’t is that we allow the truth that ‘He knows everything’ keep us from letting Him know us in a deep way.
I have known the Lord over 45 years. Recently my personal relationship has blossomed in a way I have always wanted. It is happening as I have chosen to tell Him who I am as though He knows nothing about me. The remarkable result is that He has begun to speak into my life in ways I didn’t expect. I realize that as I open up to Him in that way I am giving Him a more specific context to communicate with me.
I have said things like, “I was born on January 10th, 1951 in Anderson, SC. while my dad was the football coach at Erskine College…”. At one point in this new relational process I began to tell the Lord about parts of my past that I had been ashamed of. Then I said, “But then you’ve never felt ashamed because you’ve never done anything to be ashamed of!” He responded to me, “That’s not true Robin. I felt ashamed on the cross!” His response startled me but then I remembered the verse in Hebrews Heb 12:2:
“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I understood the concept from my years of reading these verses and could quote it verbatim but it never really struck me that Jesus truly felt ashamed. Then the Lord told me that He needed to feel ashamed so that He could profoundly sympathize with those who felt ashamed. Who could not love this Jesus! Then He told me that in the cross He did something so wonderful that if a person fully understood what He had done for them they would never need to feel ashamed again. He put everyone’s shame to death in Himself as He died on the cross. He paid that price too.
Now It’s Your Turn
I know so many people who have suffered terribly destructive things in this life. Perhaps you are one of them. Many have asked Him for help and deliverance, but how many have actually toldHim what happened? Tell Him your story. Open up your heart and your mouth and tell Him who you are. If you do He may very well comfort you in ways you never expected. Let Him see your face. Let Him hear your voice. For He says, “Your face is lovely and your voice is sweet.”