Knowing trumps believing

Psalm 84:5 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
      whose lives become roads you travel;

 

Recently I heard a former Prisoner of War from the Viet Nam war speak.  Retired Admiral Jeremiah Denton shared insights and memories linking back to his 8 years as a prisoner in Hanoi.  The first thing he said was: "I no longer believe in God...I know God!"  He went on to tell how God had given him strength when his mind and body could take no more torture and when he was forced to live in a four-foot square closet for over 2 and 1/2 years of solitary confinement.   He shared that it was the most serene and wonderful time of his life because he felt the Lord with him continually.  This morning, as I read through several Psalms, I was struck by the difference between "believing" and "knowing".  By the wonderful love of God, our eyes were opened to grasp His reality and our absolute need for deliverance from the sin that is embedded in our nature.  We responded to that love and opened our heart to Him, and we felt the deliverance from sin that we needed.  But we don't always move past the gateway of salvation into the courts of relationship.  I was reminded from Psalm 84:5, above, that God now lives in me and my life is one of the roads He travels.  He knows me and I know Him...we've moved well beyond the question of believing!

 

blessings, with encouragement to walk in awareness of the One we believe in!

Rob Smith