Recognizing Who God Is (GG)
RECOGNIZING WHO GOD IS
We have ample evidence that the Lord is able to guide. The promises cover every imaginable situation. All we need to do is take the hand He stretches out. But it is here that the hardest question arises for me. How, exactly, do I take His hand? Isn’t this an extreme oversimplification of the conditions of the promises?
I know He has said over and over, “I will guide you.” I know the words, “It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed (Deut. 31:8 RSV). But there are so many promises with conditions attached, conditions that seem impossible to fulfill for us who are not far along the road to sainthood. Often I have prayed to God for light, and He has shown me some promise in the Bible that indicates He will certainly give me the light I am asking for, if—and then I have found, to my despair, that a great deal is asked of me in exchange. Who does God think I am, that I can meet such demands before He will answer my prayer?
The first condition is the recognition of God Himself. It is not who does He think I am, but who do I think He is. I confess that after many years I am still having to go back often to this, to Lesson One in the school of faith. I forget what I learned. I started out on false premises: who I am, what I need, why my case is special, what I’m hoping for, what I pray for, or something—anything but the thing that matters most: who God is.
I have called this—the recognition of who God is—the first condition. Perhaps it would be better to call it the primary com dition, for it is not one we can fulfill once and for all and then move beyond. The recognition of who God is is a lifetime process. Nor does it end with our earthly life. “This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 173 RSV).