Witnessing God

“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me’” (Isaiah 43:10, NIV).

A few days ago, I was listening to Isaiah 43 by audio Bible. I was listening both with my physical ears and my spiritual ears. Suddenly, Holy Spirit breathed on the above verse, Isaiah 43:10, highlighting it to me. He whispered to me, “Your Father God wants to be known! That is what He is expressing here.”

Holy Spirit went on, “He is revealing Himself out of His longing that we would ‘know and believe and understand’ who He is. When He says, ‘You are my witnesses,’ it’s because He wants you to witness Him. He wants you to behold Him. He wants you to see Him, to perceive Him for who He really is; what His nature is like, what His heart is like.”

My spirit was so blessed by what Holy Spirit was communicating to me. I went to make a note of it on my phone. Before I even got it typed, though, I remembered another Holy Spirit inspired nugget that I wanted to email to a friend before I forgot. Pausing to do so, I opened my Gmail app. Immediately, a devo caught my eye there that had been sitting in my inbox for several days. I opened it. To my great joy, I found the following:

“It feels so good to be known. One of the most wonderful feelings we experience happens early in a romantic relationship when chemistry is discovered with the other person. You find the things that you have in common, and that person is captivated by all your unique qualities. You reveal things about yourself and are rewarded with warm feelings of validation. This is the experience of becoming known. 

“Imagine how our infinite God must feel, to know every little thing about us, to love us completely, but we know almost nothing of Him. How great His delight must be to disclose Himself to the one He holds dear, to be discovered and loved by the one He loves. This just might be His favorite thing. To discover Him in the secret place is to give Him exactly what He wants.” *

Wow! How amazing is Holy Spirit, to immediately confirm what He is speaking to us in creative ways like this! I was bubbling with joy, to understand deeper in my heart that our Abba Father longs to disclose Himself to us. The lightbulb was going off inside of me, illuminating His delight in our process of discovering Him. Not only does knowing God enrich us beyond possible human expression, but it also fills His heart up to overflowing.

The above passage in Isaiah goes on:

“‘I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God’” (Isaiah 43:12, NIV).

There it is again. We are His witnesses. He has revealed Himself in our own heart language, that we could come to personally know Him. He has saved us, rescuing us from sin and danger again and again and again, that we would witness for our very own selves how much He treasures us. He has proclaimed to us His identity, His characteristics, His names, the very essence of His being. How He longs for us to know Him more!

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3)

Abba, today may Your joy and ours be deepened by us knowing You even more than yesterday!

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God is so creative in the ways He communicates with each of us personally. Do you have a story to share from a recent occasion when He got His message across to you in a special way?

* “God’s Favorite Thing,” Paul Smith, Global Awakening