Knowing God
Scripture Reading: Psalm 148; Daniel 11-12; Hosea 1, Revelation 5-6
The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.
Daniel 11:32
A phrase which has gained popularity in our times goes something like this:
Hard times create strong men.
Strong men create good times.
Good times create weak men.
Weak men create hard times.
While there might be some truth to it, Daniel 11:32 gives us a better understanding of what creates strong men, or at least the right kind of strong men. I think it is true that societal decline and change for the worse can create strong men. We are in the midst of hard times. It is political, moral, and social. But more so it is spiritual.
A lot of people are waking up to the fact that there is something afoot that isn’t going to end well. We are in hard times. There are strong men being created. But what kind? Because we can end up with strong men who are the cure that is no better than the disease.
Daniel points us to a better way to strength and a better kind strong men – strong men that will create genuinely good times.
Spurgeon wrote, “The knowledge of God makes men strong, makes nations strong.”
This knowledge of God affects the heart and will of a man. It gives him moral courage to stand and it the will do something. If you ask yourself why the apostles of the early church were able to do so much while undergoing intense persecution, this is the answer. They knew their God in the person of Jesus Christ.
It is not a question of IQ or educational status we are concerned with here. The abilities to know God are not primarily intellectual but moral and spiritual. While some kinds of knowledge takes a lifetime of study and experience, the knowledge of God can be found in youth as well as old-age. Daniel and his three friends were able to stand and take action as mere boys because they knew their God.
This knowledge comes to us through humility and faith. Yes, we can and should study to know God. But study apart from prayer and faith produces only snobbery and pride.
Seek to know God. Pray to know Him. Believe what He reveals about Himself in Jesus Christ. Then, you will be able to stand and take action. Then, you will become a strong man – and the right sort of strong man.
