If You Don’t Know Him, You Won’t Believe Him This is the second post in the series, “The Basics,” which goes through the basic things we believe as Christians. Today I wanted to talk more about why it is important to know God. In the last post, “Getting To Know God,” I talked about why it is important to know what the bible is, how to use it, and why we all need to let our relationship with the Lord get way more serious. I quoted many bible verses. The next thing we need to talk about is trusting God. As a Christian there are certain perks (or advantages) that we have, because we know Someone that has inside information into everything. God knows everything that has happened in the past, and He knows everything that will happen in the future. He is all knowing (or omnipotent). In fact He created everything, so He knows exactly how things are supposed to work. Not only does He know, but He gave us the bible, which is a love letter that contains details about how everything in our lives should be approached for maximum joy, growth, and fruitfulness. Can you imagine what your life would be like if you had a friend that knew literally everything (let’s also try to imagine that this person isn’t extremely arrogant. I know, unlikely, but stay with me). Wouldn’t you ask their advice before you made decisions? Wouldn’t the fact that you knew someone with access to any type of information change the way you live your life? Let me throw one more factor into this hypothetical situation. Imagine you have not known this person for very long and you don’t know if you can trust them. Wouldn’t your ability to trust that person shape the way you behave when they give you advice or information? Trust is something that determines all the different aspects of your relationship with someone else. The same is true about your relationship with God. And if you don’t know Him, how will you be able to trust Him? God makes so many wonderful promises to us. These promises are supposed to help us live in victory, knowing our Father in heaven cares for us and will take care of us. But if we don’t trust God, these promises cannot be the tools for victory and confidence that God created them to be. I lived under a cloud of doubt for many years, even as a Christian. Even though I believed that God was telling the truth in His word, I wasn’t trusting Him that those truths applied to me. I didn’t believe God when He told me about His hope filled plans for my future. In my heart I said things like, “Well I know that is true for everyone else, but surely not for me.” Lies, lies, lies! There were reasons why I didn’t want to believe that I should trust God with my life. Maybe they will sound familiar. I Was Afraid I didn’t believe that God knew the best thing for me. I wanted certain things, and if God didn’t want to give them to me, well I was not going to go along with His plan. I was afraid that if I didn’t fulfill my future goals, or become successful that my life would be wasted. I cared more about what other people thought of me, and I wanted to prove myself. I was afraid that God would somehow let me down if I surrendered everything in my life to Him. Obviously, I didn’t know God very well!! God doesn’t let people down! That isn’t to say that as followers of Jesus that everything will be flowery and easy. No, I am not saying that. But if we trust God and surrender everything to Him, He will give us the best possible life according to His plans to allow us to take part in furthering His kingdom (helping others understand how to join us in heaven). I Cared Too Much About People’s Opinions I can’t overemphasize this point enough. I feared man (I cared more about what others thought about my life) and my own opinion of myself more than I feared God. As a result I did stupid things. Looking back, I understand why. The bible is very clear on this issue. Do you want to make smart decisions? Do you want wisdom? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,