We must continually strive to grasp the greatness of God truly. The first step is through imagination. Yet this alone is not enough, for it will only produce fantasy. We need to sit quietly at the Lord’s feet to experience the atmosphere of His presence. God is truly magnificent. Even the word majestic is insufficient to describe the glory and majesty of Yahweh Elohim, the Creator of heaven and earth, whose greatness is without limit.
When someone beholds the glory of God, they will realize that no beauty in this world can compare to His splendor. Likewise, no terror can match His awe-inspiring majesty. Sadly, many people do not seek this atmosphere of His presence, and some cannot even believe that God truly exists.
The greatest deception in the Christian life—whether for activists, theologians, or pastors—is assuming that knowing about God intellectually is the same as having encountered Him. This is a deep deception that has persisted for centuries. Many have extensive knowledge about God, but without sensing His heart and holiness, they cannot break free from the beauty of the world. All they possess is information about God, not actual knowledge of Him.
We will deeply regret it if we never truly seek His presence and experience the awe of being before Him. Do not be deceived. We may understand many things about God, even truths delivered by preachers, and think we already know Him. Yet true knowledge can only be gained through a direct encounter with the Lord.
We must seek God’s face in prayer and extended meditation, through nights when others are asleep, while we keep our gaze fixed on Him. Though it may sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, God has promised—and is faithful to His word: “Those who seek Me will find Me.”
We may have sought the Lord. But the question is: how great has our sacrifice been? If our whole life has not yet been offered, then we have not truly found Him. For the cost of knowing God is our entire life. Admittedly, “entire life” can feel abstract because it is situational—sometimes it feels total, other times not. Yet if we persist diligently, God will gradually reveal Himself until we truly know Him. Remember, it is not about how much you have already given or risked for God, but whether there is anything left unoffered. God does not want leftovers—everything must be surrendered completely.
Very few truly seek God’s face. Most people are busy with problems, and will remain occupied with them until the end of their lives—moving from one issue to another, from one need to another. Others, who have no pressing problems, will drift from one pleasure to the next, and this is even more dangerous, for it pulls them deeper into the world and away from God’s presence.
However, if here on earth we have already experienced the awe-inspiring presence of God, then we will have a proper and holy fear of Him. We will carry the appropriate reverence—full of wonder, love, and an inability to live in sin or remain attached to worldly loves.