It’s easy to call on God when life falls apart. But do you seek Him when everything is going right?
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There is a difference between knowing about God and truly knowing Him. Many people know His name. Many people can quote scripture. Many people can tell you stories from the Bible and speak about faith with confidence. But the question that has been on my heart lately isn’t whether we know God. The question is, does He know us?
I pick up His Word and read it. I pray to Him. I talk to Him throughout my day. I spend time with Him when life is good and when life is difficult. My relationship with God is not built on religion alone; it is built on relationship. It’s not just about me knowing Him. It’s about walking closely enough with Him that He knows me.
I refuse to believe that God loves me any more than He loves anyone else. He doesn’t. His love is perfect, unconditional, and available to every single person. God does not have favorites when it comes to His love. We are all His children, and He loves each of us completely.
Yet when I look back over my life, I see favor. I see doors opening that should have been closed. I see blessings I didn’t earn. I see grace when I deserved consequences. I see protection in situations where I didn’t even know I needed it. I see God’s fingerprints all over my journey. But that favor is not evidence that He loves me more than someone else. It is evidence that I have learned to stay close to Him.
Because I love God, I seek Him. Because I seek Him, I spend time with Him. Because I spend time with Him, I recognize His voice. And because I recognize His voice, I can follow where He leads. The favor I experience is not rooted in superiority. It is rooted in relationship.
He knows me. Not because I am special. Not because I am better than anyone else. Not because I have done everything right. He knows me because I spend time with Him. The same way a father knows the child who sits beside him. The same way a friend knows the friend who calls regularly. The same way a husband knows a wife who shares life with him. Relationships require time, presence, and consistency.
That reality causes me to ask some important questions. Do you pick up the Bible? Do you talk to Him? Do you pray? Do you spend time with Him when you don’t need anything? Do you sit quietly and listen when He’s speaking? Do you seek His presence more than His provision?
It’s easy to call on God when life falls apart. It’s easy to pray when you’re hurting. It’s easy to seek Him when you need a miracle. But do you seek Him when everything is going right? Do you love Him for who He is, or only for what He can do?
Too often we approach God with a list of requests. We ask what He can do for us, what He can fix, what He can provide, and what He can change. As we reflect on America’s 250th birthday, I think of John F. Kennedy when he famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Much in the same way, perhaps a better question is this, '“What can I do for God? How can I serve Him? How can I honor Him? How can I demonstrate my love for Him?”
Can you spend time with Him? Can you worship Him? Can you thank Him before the blessing arrives? Can you trust Him when the answer is no? Can you remain faithful when the road gets difficult? These are the questions that reveal the depth of a relationship.
At the end of the day, my greatest accomplishment will not be what I built, what I owned, how much money I made, or how many people knew my name. None of those things will matter nearly as much as one simple truth. My greatest accomplishment will be this, He knows me, and I know Him.