Loss of appetite over a long period of time is frequently a major sign that something is going wrong within the human body. Eating regularly is a normal, natural part of growth and development; however, when that regular process is interrupted due to a loss of appetite, a flag of concern is often raised. In a spiritual sense, it should be normal for us as Christians to be hungry for God; however, when we begin losing an appetite for Him, this normally suggests that something is out of sync with us as believers. In the fourth installment of the series “Knowing God,” Dr. Evans draws our attention to two instructive passages in the Bible that help us to know when we are developing an intimate relationship with God.
Knowing God leads to a transformed life (Ex. 34:27-35). Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the commandments of God as God said, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”(verse 27). Moses obeyed God by going up to the mountain to receive His Word, but when Moses came down from the mountain, the people saw more than just the tablets Moses held in his hand. They observed that Moses had changed, “…So When Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone…” (verse 30). Moses had spent an extended, uninterrupted period of time with God, listening to His words and communicating with Him. It resulted in a transformed life. Moses allowed God’s thoughts, attitude, and acts to become his thoughts, attitude, and ways. Listening to sermons, singing, and fellowshipping with the saints are all good practices. They have an appropriate place in the process of Christian growth and development, but they can never act as a substitute for developing a personal, intimate time with God. This should always be our ultimate goal. We can conclude that if there is no change in our lives, we have interrupted the process of knowing God. The good news, however, is that it is possible for each of us to as believers to know Him intimately.
Knowing God in an expanded way is possible for every believer today (2 Cor. 3:7-18). Paul picked up the theme of knowing God as Moses experienced Him in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian Church. Paul contended that believers have the ability to develop an even more intimate relationship with God than the one that Moses developed, based upon the fact that Christians have “the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts” (verse 3). In Exodus 34, we find that Moses was the only one allowed to travel up the mountain to talk with God. Moses was the only one with special access and special instructions. Because all of us as believers have been given more than what Moses was afforded (verse 18), we do not have to run up any mountain or worry about limited, diminished access to God’s glory. Because we are in Christ and we have the Spirit of God in us, we can come before God on a regular basis, hiding nothing (unveiled, verse 18) and allowing God to show us who we are based upon who He is. This transparent, open, honest, daily approach to God’s presence affords us the opportunity to experience God’s transformation of our lives into the image of His Son.
We must be jubilant in the good news that as believers it is possible for all of us to know God in a deeper way. As we come before God on a regular basis, hiding nothing, we must seek intimacy with Him, allowing God to show us who we are based upon who He is. Just as we are able to watch an infant grow, develop, and change from a young child to a teenager, others will see a glorious transformation in us as we develop a deep relationship with the Master.
