Whether it is, “I love you,” “te amo,” “je t’aime,” or other words, expressing our love is one of the most often said phrases around the world, especially on Valentine’s Day. But there sure are lots of different kinds of love, aren’t there?! I love coffee, books, and my next-door-neighbor, but not in the same way that I love my husband! There is a special kind of love that comes with deeper intimacy.
When someone says they love us but don’t really know us very well, it doesn’t mean as much as being loved my someone who knows us intimately. When someone knows even our faults and weaknesses, yet still loves us, THAT is a love that makes us feel valued and secure.
My husband knows me intimately. He can finish my sentences. He could order my food at a restaurant because he knows what I like. I will pick up the phone to call him, only to find that he is calling me at that moment, as if our hearts and thoughts are connected. Being loved by him is a lot like being loved by God because I can be vulnerable and know that I am fully known, yet fully loved.
When describing our relationship with God, Scripture uses an interesting word in the Hebrew. It’s the word “yada.” We find it first in Genesis 4:1. “Now Adam knew (yada) Eve his wife, and she conceived.” The type of knowing that results in children is more than just a casual knowing! It means to know intimately. It encompasses a cherished relationship, a special type of communion with total transparency.
5 WAYS IT AFFECTS OUR LIVES THAT GOD KNOWS (YADA) US:
- WE CAN BE SECURE IN GOD’S LOVE BECAUSE HE FULLY KNOWS US AND FULLY LOVES US.
“He knows (yada) the secrets of the heart,” (Psalm 44:21).
Yet you know (yada) me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts,” (Jeremiah 12:3).
Even though God knows everything about us, including the worst things, He still loves us:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness,”
(Jeremiah 31:3).
Everlasting love means love that has no end. Even when He knows the yucky stuff.
2. GOD DOESN’T JUST KNOW US INTIMATELY. WE CAN KNOW HIM INTIMATELY, TOO.
“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know
(yada) that I am the Lord…” (Isaiah 45:3).
“You are my witnesses…and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know (yada)
and believe me and understand that I am He,” (Isaiah 43:10).
“I will give them a heart to know (yada) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I
will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart,” (Jeremiah 24:7).
God knows (yada) us and CHOOSES us so that we can know (yada) Him! I think of those
sports teams back in middle school where the captains chose the team members, and that
last person was chosen by default because they weren’t really wanted on the team. Friend,
God CHOSE you because He wanted you on His team! He gave you a heart to know (yada)
Him, to declare that He is Lord, and to direct your heart and affections to live out His truths!
3. BECAUSE GOD KNOWS US FULLY, HE FULLY UNDERSTANDS OUR SORROWS.
“I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out…and I
am concerned about their suffering,” (Exodus 3:7).
“For you saw my affliction and knew (yada) the anguish of my soul,” (Psalm 31:7).
“Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll— are they not in your record?” (Psalm 56:8).
Sometimes even our closest friends and family can’t understand how we feel. God
understands us better than our closest soulmate can. He understands the deepest pain
of our heart.
4. BECAUSE OF OUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WE CAN KNOW HIS WILL AND
HIS PATH FOR US
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths,” (Psalm 25:4).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and
perfect will,” (Romans 12:2).
5. BECAUSE OF OUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, IT CHANGES HOW WE LIVE SO
THAT OTHERS CAN SEE HIM IN OUR LIVES.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge (yada) him, and he will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:5,6). Yada Him
in all your ways. Let Him be an intimate part of every aspect of your life, and He will help you
live a holy life.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,”
(Galatians 2:20a).
“I want to know Christ…” (Philippians 3:10). The Greek word used for know here is
“ginosko,” which is similar to the Hebrew “yada” in that it means to know deeply. It means
to know from personal experience, not just secondhand. I love that! Like Paul, I want to
know Christ deeply through personal experience. Faith can never be secondhand. I don’t
know Him because I read about Him. I know Him because He lives in me, and I live for Him
through the Holy Spirit He has given me. I want to be like Paul, to “press on toward the
goal to win the prize…” (Philippians 3:14). He is our prize. He is the reward.
Paul’s Passion
Forget what’s behind; press on toward the goal.
Take hold that for which Christ took hold of my soul.
How I long for Paul’s passion- such a deep inward burning,
That I may gain Christ Himself and lose all other yearning.
Oh, Lord, please just teach me all things are a loss
Compared to the gain that I find at the cross.
For the little I know Him convinces me more
That He is worth any sacrifice there might be in store.
And what little I know of His glory and grace…
To think someday, intimate, I’ll gaze in His face!
In the meantime, I’m driven! This one thing I do-
Strain toward what’s ahead- there’s a prize I pursue.
For I want to know Christ. That’s the goal I run toward.
Christ in me, hope of glory- He is my reward.
c. Bobbie Perkins