The Christmas story reveals something profound about God’s desire for relationship with us. When the shepherds heard the angel’s announcement about Jesus’ birth, they didn’t just want to hear about this Messiah—they wanted to see Him and know Him personally. This same invitation extends to us today.
What Does It Really Mean to Know God?
Most of what we know about God comes from what others have taught us—sermons, Bible studies, testimonies from friends. While these sources are valuable, God wants something deeper. He wants us to know Him through personal experience, not just secondhand information.
In Jeremiah 31, God promised a new covenant where people wouldn’t need to learn about Him from their neighbors because He would write His law on their hearts. They would know Him directly. This is the heart of Emmanuel—God with us—God coming to be in relationship with His people.
The Difference Between Knowing About God and Knowing God
Jesus made this distinction clear when He told the Pharisees that they searched the Scriptures believing they would find God there, but they missed Him standing right in front of them. The Scriptures are powerful and help us understand God, but they point us to relationship, not replace it.
As Jesus said in John 17:3, “This is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” Eternal life isn’t just about duration; it’s about the depth of knowing God and being known by Him.
Four Ways We Come to Know God
1. Through Experience, Not Expertise
We don’t know God because we become experts about Him. We know God through experiencing Him in our lives. Job expressed this beautifully: “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”
When God says “Be still and know that I am God” in Psalm 46, He’s literally saying “relax, let me be me.” In Hebrew, this means to cease striving, to take your hands off the situation, and let God be God. It’s in these moments of surrender that we experience who He really is.
2. Through Intimacy, Not Intelligence
Knowing God is about intimacy—”into me see”—not intellectual understanding. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and they know me.” This is relational knowledge, the kind that comes from spending time together and recognizing His voice.
Intimacy with God happens in stillness, not in noise. It’s in those quiet moments before the day’s demands begin that we find access to deeper relationship with Him. We’re not on a quest to be scholars; we’re on a quest to be sons and daughters.
3. Through Transformation, Not Information
The goal of knowing God isn’t to accumulate more facts about Him—it’s to be changed by Him. As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, we “are changed into his glorious image” as we see and reflect His glory.
Following Jesus is about changed lives, not smarter Christians. When the blind man was questioned about his healing, he didn’t offer theological explanations. He simply said, “All I know is I was blind and now I see.” His transformed life was the evidence of his encounter with God.
4. Through Relationship, Not Religion
Religion is when our outer showing doesn’t match our inner knowing. But God wants authentic relationship. The angel didn’t tell the shepherds that a Savior was born “for” them, but “to” them—making it personal and relational.
Jesus warned that some will say, “Lord, didn’t we do this in your name?” only to hear Him respond, “Depart from me, for I never knew you.” It’s not about religious activity; it’s about genuine relationship.
Seven Pathways to Knowing God
Scripture reveals several ways we typically encounter and know God more deeply:
- Silence – Not telling God what to do or how to do it
- Stillness – Letting go of control and relaxing in His presence
- Suffering – Often our deepest experiences of God come through pain
- Serving – We know God by serving others (Matthew 25)
- Situations – Circumstances that require us to trust beyond our understanding
- Surrender – Getting out of God’s way and letting Him be Himself
- Scripture – Encountering God through His living Word
What Knowing God Looks Like
When we truly know God, it shows in our changed lives. As 1 John 4 tells us, “Everyone who knows God loves,” because knowing God transforms us. We become living letters, “known and read by all men,” not because we can explain everything about God, but because His life flows through ours.
The shepherds’ response shows us the pattern: they heard, they sought, they found, they knew, they worshiped, and they witnessed. Their encounter with Jesus changed everything about how they lived and what they shared with others.
Life Application
This week, commit to moving from knowing about God to actually knowing God. Choose one of the seven pathways—perhaps starting with silence and stillness—and create space for genuine encounter with Him. Instead of filling your prayer time with requests and explanations, try simply being quiet and letting God be God in your circumstances.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I seeking to know more about God, or to know God more?
- What would change in my life if I truly believed God wants intimate relationship with me?
- How can I create more space for silence and stillness in my daily routine?
- What evidence of transformation is visible in my life as a result of knowing God?
Remember, eternal life isn’t just about length of time—it’s about depth of relationship. God doesn’t want you to be a spectator or even a scholar. He wants you to be His child, known by Him and knowing Him in return. Your silent nights can become holy nights when you encounter the God who is always saying, “Be still and know that I am God.”
