Which One Are You

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches, 

but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)

If you lined up every person you know and sorted them by their relationship with God, you would find four groups. And you are almost certainly standing in one of them right now.

The first group doesn't know God and knows they don't. They aren't pretending. They just don't believe there's anyone there to know. 

That second group is people who have real religious activity in their life, going to church, praying, believing in God's existence, maybe even feeling sincere about it. But they've mistaken knowing facts about God for actually knowing Him personally.

The third group actually does know God, but they aren't sure of it. They have a real relationship, yet they doubt it on the hard days. 

The fourth group knows God and knows that they know Him. No guessing or performing. Just certainty.

That fourth group is what God wants for every person who has ever lived, and it's exactly why John writes what he writes in 1 John 2:3, "And by this we know that we have come to know him." He doesn't just say you can know God. He says you can know that you know Him. The uncertainty you’ve felt doesn't have to be permanent, no matter how long you've lived inside it.

Stop assuming you already know which group you're in and ask God the question directly. Pray something like this, "God, I want to know You, not just know about You, and I want to know that I know You." Then watch for what He does with that honesty, because He has never once turned away the one who genuinely asks.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Word, that is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I don't want to guess at knowing You anymore. I want to know You, the way Your Word describes, not just know facts about You. Meet me in this place right now. In Jesus' name, amen.