Knowing God better

Well, how are you? Don’t be so quick to say fine. Think about it, now, what’s your answer? You didn’t ask me, but I’m amazing. I came across a post on Instagram where the lady expressed how she came to know God better. Today, I’ll be sharing my own story of knowing God better.

How did I come to know God better? Let me start by showing you Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV –
[3] ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Have you noticed that I keep writing “know God better”? This article is about knowing God better. If you don’t know God through Jesus Christ, then you should read this first: Jesus the express image of God.

When I was in university, I had a small group of friends (I still have them 🙂 ). Since I was in a foreign country, they were the family I chose and had.

Fast forward to a situation one of my friends faced, I knew that it would only change once committed to God. And so, I chose a time frame wherein I won’t be in a hurry, shutting off every distraction by putting my phone on “do not disturb.”

Although the memory isn’t perfect, I recall praying for over an hour. For someone who couldn’t pray for an hour previously without being cajoled, that was significant progress. Even though I went into prayer interceding for my friend, I learnt how to discern God’s voice and know what He was doing.

Gradually, my walk with God evolved based on that experience and other intentional efforts put in.

Consequently, I’ve come to realize that was God’s way of pulling me in to know him better.

Peter and Cornelius

In Acts 10, you’ll find the story of Cornelius, a Gentile who God wants to be saved. Now, he can only be saved if someone preaches the Gospel to him. Enter in Peter.

Peter is coming from a Jewish background of clean and unclean foods. In a trance while praying, he’s told to rise and eat “unclean food.” Obviously, he hesitates, and finally, he’s instructed not to call common what God has cleansed. Acts 10:9-15

Jump to vs. 28, Peter has arrived at the interpretation of the trance:

‭Acts 10:28 NKJV‬
[28] Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

If you read Acts 10:1-15 (which you should), you’ll see that Cornelius and Peter both had trances whilst praying. God was trying to get one man saved through another man who thought of Gentiles as “unclean”. The best way He could reach them was in prayer through what they knew.

Ultimately, God wanted the Apostles and brethren to understand this:

‭Acts 11:18 NKJV‬
[18] When they heard these things, they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Even though we read this in 2 chapters, I’m sure it took longer than the time we read it in.

All of these I’ve written to arrive here: God will pursue you through as many hoops, turns, and even situations for you to know Him better. Look beyond the answer you seek for that situation, to a God that wants you to know Him better.

Imagine if Peter’s conclusion on the trance he had was, “I can now eat unclean foods”. Cornelius would probably not have heard the Gospel. In turn, it would have taken longer for the Apostles to arrive at the eligibility of the Gentiles for salvation.