kNOw Benefit ?

 

Taking God for Granted

to KNOW  Benefit

 

Recently, I found myself thinking about how easy it is for people to know something good yet never benefit from that knowledge—like knowing vitamins and exercise are good, yet never swallowing a single one.

When it comes to God, I often speak this same concern to myself. If I know God, why do I still find myself anxious, discouraged, or unsettled? David felt this too:

Psalm 42:11 (ESV)

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

Like David, I sometimes scratch my head and think, How can I feel like this when I actually know God? Does it mean I don’t believe? Am I simply disrespectful—or a spiritual buffoon?

No. I do know Him. And by His reminders and kindness, I recover quickly. Yet I still feel sad—not guilty—as if I’ve grieved the God I love by forgetting who He is.

Maybe you’ve felt that too. But my observation is that many who profess to know God experience something very different. For them, it is not a momentary lapse—it’s a way of life. The knowledge they claim does not impact the life they live. Their actions reveal ignorance, disrespect, disobedience, foolishness, or even hypocrisy.

Knowing About God Is Not Enough   

James 2:19 (NIV)

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Titus 1:15–16 (NIV)

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.

 

Romans 1:20–22 (NIV)

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him…

 

Sadly, many  know about God, but they do not know Him as God.

Eternal Life — or kNOw Benefit

John 17:3 (NIV)

Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

 

This is not academic knowledge—this is relational, obedient, dependent, lived-out knowledge.

 

Matthew 7 (NIV + TG paraphrase)

Many will say, “Lord, Lord—I went to church, I gave, I tried, I stayed away from the really bad stuff…”

And He will say, “I never knew you. Depart from Me.”

 The Litmus Test

Luke 6:46 (NIV)

Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

1 John 4:16 (NIV)

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

It’s that little word “and” that matters. A true self-evaluation reveals whether we truly know God and treat Him as God. He is not a celebrity. He is not a motivational figure. He is the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth who invites us to know Him, trust Him, and reveal Him.

That’s quite an offer.

Who Is He?

I love good worship music—especially when it exalts God for who He is. But some songs unintentionally create the idea that God must earn our worship through His kindness to us:

– You’ve never let me down, therefore…

– You answered when I called, therefore… 

– You healed me, therefore…

As if His goodness must qualify Him for honor. As if His being God is not enough.

But He Is—and that is enough.

If God were not kind, loving, faithful, merciful—would that give me the right not to honor Him as God? Certainly not. Yet thankfully, He is perfectly holy, generous, faithful, powerful, eternal, and deeply personal—fatherly, motherly, brotherly, and friendly.

We can know this God and base our entire lives on His Is-ness.

A Thanksgiving Pause

Let’s pause and consider whether we truly know God—and treat Him as God.

Let’s tell Him we’d like to know Him better.

Let’s move from knowing His name to knowing His heart. 

Let’s know Him as He actually Is—and show Him as He actually Is.

The great news is that God is not mad at us when we neglect Him, He is sad as He so desires for us to enjoy the abundant life He invites is to.

Right now is the right time to seek,  know, love and honor Him rightly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

TG