To Know and Be Known By God: How to Grow in Intimacy With God

As I bent down to put my house slippers on, my Golden Retriever, Beau jumped up from his resting place near my feet and walked toward the bedroom doorway, knowing I'd leave the room as soon as I had my shoes on. He was right. When I switched the light switch off, he confidently exited the room, then waited in the hallway, glancing behind as if to hurry me along.

Pets know us well. Their ability to observe and connect our actions with upcoming activities is like that of a stalker watching prey. As I chuckled at Beau's awareness, I admired his skill and loyalty. While he waited in the doorway for me to step right beside him, I reached down to pet his back and beckon him along with me.

Marveling at how well Beau knows me - and my routine - my mind shifted to God. How well my Creator knows me, far better than my dog does, and with an everlasting, sacrificial love. God seeks me out. Whether I return that yearning to be with Him, or not.

Pondering the depth of God's love, I began praying for God to show me where I needed to know Him better. How I needed to love Him more like Christ. Not because I don't know Him, but because I want every thought, word, and deed to behold Him.

Decades of walking with God have taught me His faithfulness in ways I could never have learned from simply reading about Him. Yet I am so far from the example Jesus modeled.

I've experienced God's presence in joy and sorrow, in seasons of abundance and loss, in answered prayers, and even in moments when His answer wasn't the one I wanted. He is my King. My Rock. My joy. The One I want to know and please more.

Known Completely

As I walked down the hallway with Beau, I began thinking about the women I talk to and those I work with. Women who love Jesus, read their Bibles, pray for their families, serve others, and sincerely desire to honor God with their lives.

Yet so many of our conversations eventually return to the same question: How do I grow in intimacy with God? How do I get rid of fear, loneliness, discontent... Where does God fit into my life as the One to nurture, reassure, and care for me when I can't do so myself?

Beyond Knowing About Him

The answer is so simple that most overlook it.

You see, we can spend years in church. We can be familiar with Scripture. We can know the stories, recognize the verses, understand biblical principles, and possess a growing knowledge of theology.

But God invites us beyond information - into relationship. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” John 10:14, ESV

Intimacy abides in His words. "I know my own." God doesn't store facts about us. He knows us completely. Psalm 139 begins: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me!” Psalm 139:1, ESV

God knows our concerns before we speak them. He understands our hurts and holds the healing that will set us free. God knows the prayers we can barely find words to express. He knows where we must be refined and what will bring us to His feet. All along, He invites us to rest and abide in His arms.

And this God who knows us so completely allows Himself to be known. The Creator who wants us to seek Him first - before self.

Closeness Produces Familiarity

My dog, Beau knows my patterns because he watches me. Beau recognizes what my movements mean because he spends time with me. He knows where I'm going because he stays close.

The same is true in our relationship with God, although on a far deeper level. The more time we spend beholding Christ in Scripture, the more clearly we recognize His character. The faster we grow in intimacy with Him.

We notice the way He lived. What matters to Him. The ways Jesus responded to people. How Christ loved. How He forgave. Prayed. Suffered. Served. How He surrendered to the Father.

How He Obeyed. We see the way Jesus never relied on self, but the Father. Likewise, as we see Him clearly, behold Him, and revere Him, we are transformed.

Paul wrote: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8, ESV After everything Paul had experienced with Christ, his desire wasn't simply to accomplish more for Him. He wanted to know Him.

Do you carry that longing?

The longer I walk with Jesus, the less satisfied I am with simply knowing about Him. I want the intimacy that comes from abiding with Him. I want Scripture to continually reveal more of His character. I want to recognize the ways my thoughts, desires, and reactions still need to become more like His.

The Invitation to Grow in Intimacy With God

That is what I desire for you, too. I don't want you to gain another list of things to accomplish or a guilt that you should somehow be farther along than you are. My prayer is that you accept the invitation to come closer.

To behold Jesus. To know His heart and to remain in His Word consistently so that His truth changes the way you think and live. My prayer is that you love Him not simply for what He gives, but increasingly for who He is.

Spiritual maturity isn't reaching a place where we finally know enough about God. A maturing relationship with Christ makes us increasingly aware of how worthy He is of being known. Of being revered.

That morning, Beau waited in the doorway because he knew me well enough to know I was coming. He had watched me. Spent years remaining near me. Beau knew my habits.

As I followed him down the hallway, I was reminded of a desire that has grown stronger, not weaker, through my years with Christ. I want to stay close enough to keep knowing Him more.

I want that for you, too.

Whether you have walked with Jesus for months or decades, there is more of Him to behold.

More of His character to discover, His holiness to revere. More of His love to receive and His ways to understand. More of your life to surrender.

There's room in His arms to carry you, not walk beside you.

The God who created you with purpose already knows you completely. He invites you to spend a lifetime knowing Him more. What a privilege to have a personal relationship with The Great I Am. As we behold and revere Him moment by moment, He will continue the work of making us more Christlike moment by moment until we meet Him face-to-face.