A Knowledge That Transforms
By Jennifer Slattery
“We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.” 1 John 2:3
I’m where I am after a series I don’t want tos—circumstances that felt beyond my control and left me wrestling with God. And yet, through each event, I came to know and trust Him a little more and learned to rest more fully in His grace. Through it all, one truth became clear—my vision is faulty and shortsighted, but God knows all, sees all, and is working in and through all to bring about His very best.
Whether or not I see or understand His plan.
Quite frankly, most times I don’t. In those moments, surrender doesn’t come easily. I may even resist God’s leading, until I remember:
He’s good, even when life’s hard.
He’s true and unchanging, even when everything else shifts beneath me.
He’s loving and attentive, even when I feel alone.
Through difficult times and painful circumstances, God revealed the surety of each of these truths. When my life felt chaotic and uncertain, but God remained and carried me through.
This almost always followed a particular pattern. Something unpleasant would hit, such as an illness or financial difficulty. I’d initially get upset, would complain to God and tell Him all the ways He could and should fix the situation. But after my prayer rant, His gentle whisper broke through, reminding me of what I most needed to hear—that He loved me, heard me, and was sovereign.
That He was God and I wasn’t.
This understanding leads me to surrender.
Today’s verse says if we know God, we’ll obey Him.
This makes sense. What logical reason could I have for resisting the One smart enough to craft entire galaxies, powerful enough to ignite every star within them, yet compelled, by love, to die for you and for me.
Lord, our knowledge of who You are at Your core, spurs our obedience. Therefore, when we struggle to obey, help us to know You more.
Jennifer Slattery is a writer, editor, speaker, and the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries. She writes for Crosswalk, is the author of eight contemporary novels, and helped write Wholly Loved’s Bible study based on the life of Sarai (Gen. 12-23) titled Becoming His Princess, available for free (in ebook form) from Wholly Loved Ministries. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall outings with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband. Visit her online at jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com.
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Originally published Friday, 12 April 2024.
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