The book of Galatians, chapter 4, verse 9 says-”But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-…” One thing which has become clear to me is I don’t KNOW God, HE KNOWS ME. I can testify to the fact there are times I don’t know what I want. There are times I can’t say I know myself. Yet, all I have to do is ask Him and He tells me about me. He reveals the hidden pains or motives I could have never known were there. To be KNOWN by Him is simple, all one has to do is accept Jesus Christ as one’s Savior.
Maybe you are objecting and declaring YOU KNOW GOD! Let me explain… I know God, but I don’t KNOW God. To KNOW Him is to understand His nature. To KNOW someone is the same intimate KNOWING mentioned in the Beginning, when Adam KNEW Eve.
If God’s nature is Good, then do I know what Good means? And do I believe it when there is no money in the bank? There is so much about Him I don’t understand. And even if I said I understand, because someone told me of Him, or I read it in the Bible, it is still only theory until I am tested in that area. I am in a process of understanding who He really is. It is not easy to KNOW all of His character. I don’t think I’ll ever know in this world. But I do know I’ll get closer and closer to KNOWING Him.
This idea of not really KNOWING Him is also exemplified in the book of Job. Although Job was a righteous man, he still didn’t KNOW God until after his trials. Job 42:5 says, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” He experienced pain and through that pain He was able to KNOW God closely.
Understanding this, allows me the confidence to know He is God indeed. The Bible says there is not one good person, not even one. Who am I to think I KNOW Him? There is SO much of God and about Him, that I can’t possibly imagine KNOWING Him. When people think they KNOW Him, they stop growing. This very thing happened to me. In my narrow and arrogant human mind, I thought I had gotten to a place where I KNEW Him, only to find out I didn’t.
I am certain He KNOWS me; And, I am certain I am getting to KNOW Him. The more I realize I don’t KNOW Him, the more desire I have to talk to Him, to spend time with Him. I want to get to KNOW Him. I want to be in His Presence. Knowing He KNOWS me, and understanding I am learning to KNOW God, allows me the reality of acknowledging my faults. In each and every circumstance I can say, “Please show me about YOU. I want to KNOW you through this. I want to KNOW who you are, your nature.”
On a recent visit to Savannah, Georgia, I visited Fort Pulaski National Monument. During a short introductory video, I learned of a crucial attack held at the Fort. Confederate soldiers were holding their place and were defending the Fort, meanwhile the Union Army had advanced silently at night and prepared to siege the Fort with a strategic attack, using new weaponry- the rifle cannon.
After holding the Fort, yet not being prepared for the surprise attack, nor the weaponry being used, the reluctant Colonel Olmstead surrendered the Fort in order to save the lives of the men. This decision was based on the fact that the Fort had been breached on one corner and the additional cannonballs shot were within close distance to additional powder being stored inside the Fort. With this said, Colonel Olmstead issued the order to raise the white flag of surrender. He decided to save the lives of the men fighting with him, by surrendering instead. Surrendering didn’t make him a loser. On the contrary, he fought with dignity until he knew it was better to protect the lives of men, rather than to let his pride get in the way.
During the narration, the Holy Spirit moved something in my heart. Inside me arose the questions of “What is the white flag of surrender?” and “Have I raised my white flag?” There are several battles going on. One is within me- my will/my flesh and what God wants for me. The larger battle is that of Good and Evil, and it cannot be fought, with me on Good’s side, until I have surrendered the white flag in my own heart battle.
My heart was moved and God asked me, “Will you surrender your heart? Will you raise the white flag, surrendering to Me?” At that moment, I imagined myself giving up, realizing I can’t fight the greater battle on my own. I have the potential of losing my life, much like the Confederate soldiers had the potential of losing theirs. The cannonballs are falling too close to the gun powder. I am guilty of all my sin. Hence, I surrender what I want. I surrender my dreams, my goals and ask instead to fight the Greater fight. I want to be on God’s side, because He is on mine. I surrender so I can save my life. My life then becomes His to use for the Greater battle.
Life is often about raising the white flag and surrendering. This is one of those circumstances where giving up is a good thing. Giving up actually makes us a winner, rather than a loser. I guess giving up is about who you are giving up to or against. If you give up your life to God, He gives you a bigger, better life. If you give up your life to Satan, he takes it and gives you nothing but misery back. If you give up your dreams to God, He gives you larger dreams, beyond what you can imagine. If you give your dreams to Satan, he not only takes your dreams, but gives you nightmares.
Surrendering and raising the white flag to God makes you a winner. Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Don’t fight against Him who wants to give you LIFE! Let Him take over and give you blessings beyond what you could imagine. Let Him fix your fort and fight for you. Surrender…it’s worth it!
When we think of “education,” our definition of that word is influenced by our past experiences in regards to that which we received. Education to some, triggers memories of school desks, eraser boards, teasing from peers, a bell (which constantly interrupted when you were dedicated to your work), recess and an endless desire of just “passing the class.” The learning that took place is easily defined by having learned the evil of this world. Yes, a crash course in evil…all at once! And without mom or dad to help or teach along the process. When we finally saw mom or dad after school, it was too late to talk about it, because we had learned that being a “snitch” is a bad thing…it makes us less accepted- hence rejected.
Some of the worst experiences we ever had happened in school- name calling, fights, rejection, discouragement, peer pressure, contributions to low self-esteem…and to some maybe even sexual abuse. These events repeated themselves not only in a real and physical life, but over and over in our heads.
Success coaches today teach that we must associate pain to events we want to avoid… Interestingly, most of us associated pain to learning. Precisely because of the experiences we lived, learning was and still may be PAINFUL. Our minds associated learning with pain and because of our God’s perfect design, we avoid the pain at all cost. We run away from the pain. Learning becomes something we avoid. In fact, we may even avoid the TEACHING that comes with the learning. Teaching causes us pain too. Because those two words- TEACHING and LEARNING are so closely associated we simply and subconsciously want to avoid them both.
Do you dread to have to teach?
How do you react when your children resist learning?
What lies do you believe when there is no academic progress?
If you answered yes to any of those questions and you can actively recall painful events in your early educational process, I believe the solution lies in the secret of forgiveness. The simple process of remembering those deep and forgotten events, activates the emotions we once felt. At that moment, choose to forgive those whom hurt you. Then ask God HIS truth. The key lies in letting Him redo those events in your mind. Let Him teach you what joyful and pleasant education is. Think of how he educates you. Think of how he romances you to learn about Him and His creation.
You will begin to experience learning in a new way. You will begin to teach in a new way. Out of all the darkness you may have experienced, new life will emerge…a redeemed life of learning and teaching!
If you want to learn more about all the bad things you learned in school through the public and private academic system, I highly recommend you read DUMBING US DOWN by John Taylor Gatto.
