My Knowledge isn't Knowing (from previous blog)

So I realized that I have all this knowledge about God but I barely know Him. I can recite several verses from the Bible but I just don't seem to apply them to my life. I'm looking forward to a time when I can be in constant communication with God without even having to concentrate on it. For now, I have a really hard time doing that at the same time as anything else. So I guess its gonna take a lot of practice.

I'm generally not a huge fan of Christian literature other than the Bible, but I figured that maybe right now I could use it. So I started reading The God You Can Know since I saw it in my dad's bookcase. It says some really awesome things. Many of the Christian authors I have read sound very pompous and wordy and I have a hard time reading them, but Dan DeHaan puts everything in very simple terms. I can actually relate to the stuff he's saying and its really cool. Forgive me if I sound like an advertisement or something you might read on the back of a book. Here are a couple quotes I came across in the book that really stood out to me.

"Knowing a lot about the Word of God without knowing the God of the Word always produces pride." -So this one explains me pretty well. I know so much more about God than I actually know Him. Taking in knowledge has never been difficult for me but having a real relationship with God has been my biggest struggle. I keep trying to grow by reading the Bible alone and it just doesn't work. All I am doing is expanding my knowledge about God while my personal relationship with Him gets weaker.

"How dare we receive such a gift as total forgiveness of sins and then not be indebted to the One who gave it!" -Wow! In my human understanding of things I cant even seem to grasp the true nature of this gift. This is undoubtedly the reason for my failure to give Him the thanks He deserves. However, because this gift is so huge that it is beyond anything I can fathom, I should thank Him for it all the more. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 says "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

"All the running after spiritual 'highs' will fade during the days of persecution. All that will remain is the stability and contentment that can only be obtained through knowing God." - My November 9th post was entirely about this subject. I was looking forward to facing trials that would bring me a deeper knowledge and understand of God rather than about Him. I was sure that I needed big trials in order to know God more intimately, but I have a hard enough time seeking Him during the small ones. I face trials every day. I have plenty of opportunity to strengthen my relationship with God. I just need to be seeking Him diligently.