Verse
of the day: Exodus 6:2-3 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My
name LORD I was not known to them.
How
well do we know God? Do we know Him only based on what we have read about Him,
or do we know Him because we are walking with Him and experiencing His power in
our lives? The reality of having a relationship with the LORD is that we will either
repeat what we have read or heard about God when we tell others about Him, or
we will talk to others about God based on what we have both read and heard, trusting
by faith, and are experiencing in our walk with Him. There is a big difference
between the two. We can tell others that God loves us, but never know what God’s
love really looks like. We can claim that God provides, but be so busy taking
care of ourselves, that we never learn what God taking care of us really looks
like. There are many things we can claim about who God is, but never know it
ourselves up close and personal, by experience; opening the door to doubt in
our own minds, even though we may proclaim His goodness to others. Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, all knew God’s Name, Jehovah (God Eternal; Self Existent). They
believed His promises to them, because they believed He had the power to, and
was faithful to, fulfill His promises to them; thereby knowing Him as
El-shaddai (God Almighty). Hebrews 11:13 tells us, “These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth.” Yes, they did know His Name, but had not yet experienced the
fulfillment of His promise, even though by faith, they did. In Genesis 17:1, we
read, ‘When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord (Jehovah) appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God (El-shaddai); walk before Me and be
blameless.”’ So, we are told that Jehovah (God Eternal) appeared
unto Abram, but identifies Himself as El-shaddai (God Almighty), because he
(Abraham) would know Him, by faith, as the God who is Almighty, who has the
power to fulfill His promises. Now, God speaks to Moses as Jehovah because he
will see the fulfillment of what God promised Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14, ‘Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be
strangers in a land that is not
theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And
also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out
with great possessions.”’ So it is in our lives, if we are truly
walking with the Lord, that we will know Him, both as the Lord God Almighty and
the Lord God who is eternal who keeps His promises. The ultimate promise that
we will be with Him for eternity we will not see fulfilled until we are either
with Him after death, or Jesus returns while we yet live (2 Corinthians 5:8; John
14:1-6). In the meanwhile, we can experience the fulfillment of some of God’s
promises now, but that means that we have to trust His Word, and live by faith.
It is no secret that in this world we will face all kinds of tribulation. Jesus
warned us of that in John 16:33. However, in the same verse, He also promised
that we will have peace in Him. There will be those times when we will be in
need. However, He promised that He would fulfill those needs (Matthew 6:25-34).
Sadly, there are far too many born again Christians who have called upon Jesus
as Savior, but have yet to experience much of the promises God has made to us
in His Word; mostly because they are struggling or refusing to allow Him to
also be Lord in their lives. We must not only know Him as God Almighty, by
faith, who has the power to fulfill His promises, but also live in submission
and surrender to Him, allowing Him to show us that He is God Eternal, actually
fulfilling His promises to us. This is the kind of thing that real testimonies
are made of.
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