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Many would say they love the thought of God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit being with them all the time. But is that true? Do we really want to be in a very intimate, every second of the day, relationship with Them?
Do we really want Jesus seeing everything we see and hearing everything we hear? Do we want Him knowing our every thought? Would we like Him to exit, or at least look the other way, while we smack someone who really needs it?
Knowing and being known has a great deal to do with Presence. The more we are with someone, through all the highs and lows of Life, the better we know them. In fact, being known, in Biblical terms, really refers to a very intimate relationship.
So Just How Close Do You Want To Be?
David the Psalmist seemed to be awed by God’s Ever Present Presence. But at the same time, it seems there are times he might have wanted to “flee” God’s Presence too. It is recorded in Psalm 139:1-10 that David said,
You have searched me, Lord,
and You know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar;
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
You, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and You lay Your Hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your Presence?
If I go up to the heavens, You are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your Hand will guide me,
Your Right Hand will hold me fast.
Paul observed in Hebrews 4:13,
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s Sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the Eyes of Him
to Whom we must give account.
Created To Be Close to God!
He Knows Our Name!
Do not fear!
For I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name;
you are Mine!
Isaiah 43:1
He Promises To Be With Us Always!
Isaiah 43:2 records what it means to be His. He does not promise a smooth road with no bumps. But He assures us He will be with us, guarding, guiding and protecting us.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze!
He Promises to Love Us Always!
I have loved you with an Everlasting Love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
He Promises Never to Leave Us!
Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5
He Promises He Has Great Plans For Us!
“For I know the Plans I have for you,”
declares The Lord,
“Plans to prosper you
and not to harm you,
Plans to give you Hope
and a Future!”
Jeremiah 29:11
He Promises He Will Guide Us!
Whether you turn to the right
or to the left,
your ears will hear a Voice behind you,
saying,
“This is The Way!
Walk in it!”
Isaiah 30:21
Jesus Wanted Us To Be With Him!
[Jesus speaking to The Father]
Father, I desire that they also,
whom You have given me,
may be with Me where I AM,
to see My Glory
that You have given Me because
You loved Me before
The Foundation of The World.
John 17:24
Jesus Promised He Would Be With Us!
And be sure of this —
I AM with you always!
Matthew 28:20
Jesus Promised The Holy Spirit Would Be With Us!
I will ask The Father,
and He will give you another Helper,
that He may be with you forever!
John 14:16
Known by Jesus
Let’s look at a few examples of people who were surprised to see just how well Jesus knew them.
Where Are You?
Adam and Eve loved being in The Presence of God in The Garden of Eden. However, they made a choice that put distance between them and God, Who they loved. Satan always tempts, rejoices in our fall, and then tells us we have fallen so far God will never be near us again. Or if He is ever near us again, it will be to tell us how bad we are.
Adam and Eve knew they had messed up. They tried to hide their wrongdoing and they tried to hide themselves from an Ever Present God. They were surprised to discover the same thing David wrote about in Psalm 139. There was nowhere they could go to get away from God. He loved them too much to just let them go. He called to them.
But The Lord God called to the man,
“Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9
Did God really not know where they were? Of course He knew! And just as He knew where Adam and Eve were, He knows where we are at every moment. He calls to us and waits for our answer, wanting us to fellowship with Him. He wants to talk things out.
“Come now, and
let us reason together,” says The Lord.
“Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18
I Saw You Before You Saw Me!
John 1:43-50 tells the story of one of Philip’s friends, named Nathanael. After Jesus called Philip, Philip found Nathanael and told him they had found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the One about Whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Philip invited Nathanael to come and see. Verses 47-50 records,
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,
“Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree
before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, You are The Son of God;
You are the King of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you
I saw you under the fig tree.
You will see greater things than these!”
I Know How To Put On A Good Front!
Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well. He asked her to give Him a drink. She was surprised that He was even talking to her. She was a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that. As recorded in John 4:9-15, she observed,
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.
How can You ask me for a drink?”
(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew The Gift of God
and Who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked Him
and He would have given you Living Water.”
She inquired about where He would get this Living Water.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water
will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the Water I give them
will never thirst.
Indeed, the Water I give them
will become in them a Spring of Water
welling up to Eternal Life!”
She was interested! The woman said to Him,
“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty
and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Get ready! Here comes the Big Reveal! Jesus was beginning to reveal Himself! And as He did, His Light began to shine into the darkest corners of her life. It was not just a question of Who He was, but it was also a Question of who she really was.
As recorded in verse 16,
Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
The woman now stood in the Presence of Truth itself. And she told the truth.
“I have no husband.”
Jesus never uses just a tiny Light. He turned on the Full Power of The Light of The World!
Jesus said to her, “You are right
when you say you have no husband.
The fact is, you have had five husbands,
and the man you now have is not your husband.
What you have just said is quite true!”
Notice how Jesus affirmed what Truth she told and how He did not condemn her. Jesus’ Approach was always to draw people to Him and simply be The Truth.
The woman then continued in conversation with Jesus about other things, including her questions about The Messiah to come. Jesus then shared with her a Truth that He had not shared with many. He told her The Whole Truth. As recorded in verse 26, Jesus responded to her statement that The Messiah would come one day.
“Then Jesus declared, “I, The One speaking to you — I AM He!”
In verse 28, it is recorded,
The woman left her water jars and went back to town, exclaiming,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be The Messiah?”
The woman found the Joy of being known in the Truest, Purest sense of The Word. She had just had a drink of Living Water!
Surely Not Me!
As uplifting as is the story of the Samaritan Woman, there is another example of Jesus’ Knowing that is not as pleasant. Jesus loved Judas, but He also knew Judas. No matter what Judas said or did, Jesus knew the Thoughts and Intentions of his heart.
Matthew 26:23-25 records what happened after Jesus announced that one of His Group would betray Him. As everyone was wondering who it could possibly be, Jesus replied,
“The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me
will betray Me.
The son of Man will go just as it is written about Him.
But woe to that man who betrays The Son of Man!
It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray Him, said,
“Surely you don’t mean Me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
Sometimes The Truth is painful. Judas realized at that moment how much Jesus truly knew him. And later, he would long for Jesus’ Presence with him. But Judas could not make things right. He tried giving back the money he had accepted for his betrayal. He agonized over his actions. But there is no evidence that Judas ever acknowledged Jesus as Lord or was truly repentant. He took his own life, searching for a Truth that had been as close as his heartbeat … and yet he had rejected it.
Being Known by The One
Knowing that The One knows you and still loves you is one of the Greatest Revelations of all times. It was for this reason that God came as you, a human. It was for this reason that He was willing to do all of the human experience and let you see how He did it.
Quite simply, He knew you even before you were born. He has a Plan for you and He is willing to go to spectacular lengths to let you know He knows you, inside and out. The beginning of feeling the Joy of being known by Him is to let Him introduce Himself to you and just chat. He has the Living Water of Truth to share with you!
Points to Ponder
When you think of being known by The One, how do you feel? Joyful? Fearful? Something else?
How do you feel about being together at every moment with The One?
Think for a moment of being “born again.” If you returned to the Womb of God where you are being created spiritually, would you be together every moment?
What do you do when The Truth hurts?
Is God revealing something to you right now that is a Truth about you? Wait and let Him speak to your heart!
