"Secondhand God"

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord." 1 Chronicles 28:20 

In David's exhortation to his son Solomon, he told him that his God would be with him and that He would not fail him or forsake him but would stay with him until the task was finished. What David said about his God was all true. But Solomon needed to know how true it was for himself. He needed for David's God to be his God.

 

It is not enough to know about God through secondhand knowledge. It is not enough that He is your mother's God, or your father's God, or even the pastor's God. That does you no good spiritually. It is not until you know Him for yourself that you can have the confidence and trust in Him that you need to have. 

 

Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" What others say about Him is not what is most important. "But whom do you say I am?" That was the heart of the matter that Jesus was getting to. Who do you say He is? Who is He to you personally? Is He someone else's God or your God? Do you know Him for yourself? Ruth knew about Naomi's God through all that Naomi had told her about Him. But that wasn't enough. She needed Him for her own self. We should be like Ruth to Naomi-- your God shall be my God. 

 

Have a great day. It is not about having a secondhand knowledge of who God is, it is about having a personal experience with Him. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 16:13-16

Ruth 1:16