“And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, ‘How long are ye slack (tardy) to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?'” Joshua 18:3
The picture of Israel as a people, whom the Lord God had delivered from the tyranny of Egypt, to bring them into a land of promise where the promises of God would be realized in great measure, is similar to the Christian’s objective of possessing spiritual ground, that of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. The promised land of Canaan was declared by God to be that place where He would manifest His glory, specifically and eventually, in Jerusalem, in the temple. By this revelation the people would come to know God, as they would learn His ways, and see Him work in answer to faith. The believer in Christ today lives in much the same way as he beholds Christ in the Scriptures, realizing that he is called upon to know Him in fullest measure. So, as Moses was in pursuit of God, to know Him, by asking Him to not only reveal His ways to him, but His glory, so the Apostle Paul was in great pursuit of God also, to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection. The question or issue then is not so much having the mandate to know Him, but the taking of measures that God has given in order to do so. The land promised to Israel was a land given to her by the word of the Lord. Christ is that promised land of the believer today, this also by the word of the Lord. Essential to know the God of the Old Testament, and the God of the New in the Lord Jesus Christ, is a knowledge of His ways, and then trusting Him to reveal Himself to the heart and life. The objective truth of His ways is essential for the revelation of Himself, His presence. Who then will pursue Christ by the study the Scriptures, seeking to know His way, in order to know the power of his resurrection?
When John the Baptist came on the scene of history during the time of Jesus, he was “…the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'” (Luke 3:4) John understood that there is a path to knowing God, but only one. He spoke of preparing the way of the Lord, and making His paths straight. What does this mean? The way of the Lord is that which has been designate by God, is authentic, and true, absolutely reliable to take in one’s pursuit of God. “Straight paths” are those truths which are not added to worldly wisdom or ideas, but the direct, and simple knowledge of the specific steps to take with certainty in order to find Christ and know God.
Christ’s way and paths find their whole revelation and meaning in Him. He is the author of them, and thus, only by them can one truly know God. Christianity is a religion of power, not in order to dominate others, but to know the Spirit’s strengthening of the soul to pursue God by faith, according to the truth. By walking on the two feet of surrendering to Christ at every point, and then believing Him for all that he has promised, there is the blessed revelation of God to the soul.
The question then becomes, “How much can we know God?” Certainly, a part of the answer to the question is found in Paul the Apostle’s words, “according to the power that works in us.” At the new birth comes by the intervention of God strengthening the heart to repent and believe. The “much more” of His work, and blessing, comes when Christ in response to faith and obedience, reveals Himself to and through the life in power and love. The measure, or limits of knowing him, and His power and presence are dictated by the willingness, and whole-hearted, pursuit of Christ in His word, trusting the Holy Spirit.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to pursue. In Jesus’ name, Amen.