She said, “I’m pretty sure that God loves me, but I just don’t think He is particularly interested in my small life.” My heart ached for a moment. It just seemed unbearable to me that such a precious woman should live under such a sad misperception; a misperception which inevitably colored her faith, prayer life and friendship with God.

Later, I landed in these words of Scripture: “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my goings out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:1-5)

The way we move, the places we go, the thoughts we think, the words we are ‘about’ to say – God concerns Himself with it all. Scripture reveals Him to be an impeccably attentive Father and a watchful Shepherd with His hand, heart and thoughts laid on us. As I rejoiced over this treasure in Scripture, I wondered if my dear friend had ever stumbled across this loving passage. I wondered how this biblical truth might reshape her understanding of God’s character.

She imagined a god who was too cosmic-centric and aloof to concern Himself with her life. Others of us imagine an austere, restrictive god who looms over us with an iron rod. Others, paint up a god with very few boundaries and a high tolerance for sin. History is littered with human attempts to erect gods according to need, convenience and pleasure.

Since early civilization, men have been inventing gods and fashioning them with their own hands and imagination. But, we do not worship a god created by force or reason, we worship an eternal God who has revealed Himself in the divinely inspired record called The Holy Bible. We can trust no human-generated philosophy regarding His nature, otherwise we will live with a constantly transient definition of Deity. We must interpret His personality, motives, desires, and will through the medium of His sacrosanct Word. It is the unchanging, immutable source that stands today and forever as the infallible revelation of who He is. “If you wish to know God, you must know His Word.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Our perception of who God is will directly affect the integrity of our faith, the passion of our prayers and the authenticity of our Christian walk. With the Bible so close as a bookshelf in our home, it would be tragic for us to spend entire lifetimes in spiritual delusion. It is imperative that we seek to know the God of the Bible, rather than the god of our imaginations formed in the absence of biblical grounding. We must yearn as Paul yearned: “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly].” (Philippians 3:20, The Amplified Bible)

Our lives will be rocked as our spiritual eyes open to the reality of God’s revealed nature. If we understand that He is truly powerful, we will storm the Throne of His mercy. If we understand that sin truly grieves the Spirit of God, we will sacrifice temporary pleasures. If we understand that He is truly loving, we ourselves will fall truly in love. On earth, we may never fully understand all there is to know about our boundless God, but we can begin to see glimpses of His dear face that will thrill our hearts and bind our souls to His beauty.

I invite you to pray with me: “Holy Lord, I desire to see You clearly. Strip me of every misperception and wash me in Your truth. It is my determined purpose and highest prize to know You and the wonders of Your person. Open my spiritual eyes, cause my heart to hunger your Word and reveal Yourself to me. In Jesus name, Amen.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4, NIV)

Liz Miller lives in Daphne with her husband Matt and son, Logan. She looks forward to responding to your thoughts, prayer requests and guest speaker invitations, please write to millerfam3@hotmail.com.