I read a daily devotional by Dutch Sheets called Give Him 15. In his post on April 29th, he addressed the importance of developing an intimate relationship with God. He said, “Our levels of faith, power, authority, and effectiveness will always be determined by how well we know Him.” Dutch also said, “The more we know His heart and ways, the more authority and responsibility He can trust us with.”

I have prayed not only to truly know Christ myself, but also that others would know him intimately. I agree with Dutch that “an intimate knowledge of Yahweh should be our highest goal in life.”

Pressing in to know God more intimately has long been a prayer of my heart. The last time I was a guest on The NEW, I quoted some of the Bible verses that will be our focus today. In the testimony I gave on that talk show, I talk about the rewards as well as the cost of knowing Christ. We can learn about Jesus by studying scripture and listening to sermons. But I don’t think we can know him intimately enough to experience his resurrection power without first sharing in his sufferings. I can honestly say God reveals himself in profound ways in my darkest moments.

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week's scripture: Philippians 3:7–14