Suppose you receive two hand-written notes in the mail, each expressing care and concern for you, and making you special promises.  One note comes from an acquaintance you’ve met only briefly; the other is from a close friend.  Which message would you more readily accept as true and “from the heart”?

Believing someone’s promises and accepting a person’s word is only possible when you have a close relationship with them.

That’s how it is with God and us.  God is reaching out to us in love, seeking to draw us closer to Him.  If we respond to His invitation, we will begin to know Him and eventually learn to trust Him.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10

Another word for trust is faith. Relationship is a vital key to developing faith, and faith is what will enable us to receive God’s promises.

How To Break God’s Heart

We can learn much from the example of the ancient Israelites.  They often missed out on God’s best because they only knew Him from a distance.  They did not personally know either God or His ways.  God said they were “a people who err in their heart” (Psalm 95:10; Jeremiah 4:22).

From the outside, it appeared that the Israelites worshipped God.  God had a different view.  He saw inside their hearts.

Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote. Isaiah 29:13

Scripture records that the Israelites received no benefit from the word they heard.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard…and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter [God’s rest] because of disobedience. Hebrews 4:2,6

The Only Way To Begin

Anyone can know about God just by observing the world He created.  But if you want to know Him personally, that revelation can only come by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and through reading and studying the Bible, which is His Word.  Only the truth of Scripture can break down false perceptions of God that would hinder you from coming to Him.  Scripture can point you to the only door by which you may enter into a true personal relationship with God.  The door is His Son Jesus Christ.

How Do I Build My Relationship With God?

An excellent way to develop and nurture your relationship with God is to read daily from the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament).  Jesus Himself is God and “one” with the Father (Col. 1:15-19; John 10:30).  As you study the Bible accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, you will learn about your heavenly Father as well.

The Gospels describe how Jesus related to the different people around Him: how He treated the crowds drawn by His miracles, what His attitude toward repentant sinners and self-righteous religious leaders was, and how He felt about His close disciples who failed Him.  No matter where you stand in your relationship with God, these verses will help you see the truth about His heart toward you.  This will free you to come closer to Him.

God wants you to know Him, and He is pleased when you have faith.  By investing in your relationship with Him, you will see Him more clearly.  Your faith will grow and you will experience more of His power in your life.

You can deepen your understanding of God by meditating on the verse below, which is a description God gave of Himself as He passed by Moses.  This is recorded for us in the Old Testament.

The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Exodus 34:6,7

What’s Next?

You can know about God by observing His Creation. If you want to know Him personally and receive His promises, you must accept Christ’s sacrifice for sin and read and study the Bible.

Learn more about what it means to have a relationship with God. Visit the God tab on our website.

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