Head Knowledge
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.” Psalm 9: 9-10 (NASB)
If I told you that I’ve read a thousand books on the designs of airplanes and how to fly one, but have never actually seen or set foot on a plane, would you board a flight I was about to pilot? Probably not! (If you would- I’d question your sanity.) Knowing about something and knowing something personally are two very different things. A lot of people who claim to know Christ can, unfortunately, be separated into two groups because of this very same concept: true believers and the deceived. The Bible says:
“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” James 2: 19 (NASB)
We may be able to retain and spout facts about God until we’re blue in the face, but until we meet Him heart to heart we cannot truly know Him.
Looking back at Psalm 9: 9-10 again, we see reference to the people who “know God’s name”. For those individuals, it’s a no-brainer that they would put every ounce of their trust and life into His hands. If you KNOW Him, you ARE GOING to trust Him! For the rest of the world- it’s foolishness. Head knowledge does not always lead to heart understanding. There is a disconnect there that only the Holy Spirit can sauder together. To the deceived, who think they are saved simply because they know about God, it just doesn’t make sense how a “faithful” God could:
-let bad things happen to good people
-send good people to hell “just” for not believing in Him
-condemn certain sins that feel justifiable
-answer some prayers while refusing to answer others
-allow people to suffer harsh consequences for things that others get away with
-(the list can go on forever)
Even believers will occasionally have doubts such as these, and we certainly don’t have all the answers, but we will quickly back up our sold-out trust in a God who does know. We do not do this because we use Him as a crutch or because we live in some fantasy land, we trust because we know His name. More than just a recitation of facts and events, we can vouch for the Power behind every fact and event and would willingly lay our lives down for it because it’s something we KNOW and our hearts understand.
We can argue, bicker, or get all “apologetics-ninja” on unbelievers all day long but in the end, if the Holy Spirit has not opened the eyes of the person we’re talking to, all they will hear are facts. When we share the Gospel with others we have to be willing to see deeper through the information, as important as it is to know, and pray for the heart to understand. As soon as that switch flips on in someone, we have the promise of the Father that He will “never forsake those who seek Him” (vs.10). It’s comforting to realize that we truly can KNOW our Creator and that He truly knows us as well.
