~ written by Connie Dunmyer
To Know and Be Known... Is there anything more important in our relationships than to really “know” someone and to truly “be known”?
Sometimes if I haven’t done a task, and I have to be reminded multiple times, I will typically respond … “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I know.”
As a Sunday School teacher, I would ask a question, and kids would reach their hands up and say “Oh I know, I know!!”
Some years ago, at a pastor’s convention, we were approached by a friend from college days. We were pastoring a well known, historic, church in our denomination. He came up to us and kept asking “Who do you know to get that church? Who do you know!” We responded, “Well, God.” And he replied with “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. But seriously, WHO do you KNOW?!” (And if you know us, you know that we knew no one, except God alone!)
But my favorite “I know” phrase comes when I am hurting. When I’m crushed. And someone who has been through what I’m going through, (or maybe worse) – comes over, puts their arms around me and says “I know, I know”, as they comfort me.
This is Da’as in Hebrew. It means knowledge, awareness, or conscious perception. It represents a deep, experiential intimacy rather than just an accumulation of facts.
And so, when I read scripture where God says “I know”… I can be confident that 1) He really does know the facts, and 2) He has a deep, experiential intimacy in knowing how I feel about it. He cares. He really truly does.
Exodus 33:17: I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.
John 10:14 & 17: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me… My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
God knows my heart… my intentions and choices, my feelings and fears (both good and bad):
Genesis 20:6: I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.
Genesis 22:12: Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.
Isaiah 37:28: But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against me.
Ezekiel 11:5: That is what you are saying, but I know what is going through your mind.
God is my Creator. Not just as a piece of the entire human race, but as an individual. He has a plan for my life, a purpose.
Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart.
Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God knows everything I do or do not do… AND everything that is being done TO me. He knows my fidelity, or the lack thereof. It’s not a one-off. He knows every event in my life, and all the people and circumstances surrounding them.
Revelation 2:2: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people...
Revelation 2:9: I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich! I know about the slander...
Revelation 2:13: I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.
Revelation 2:19: I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
Revelation 3:1: I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 3:8: I know your deeds... I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:15: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other.
Being known can be difficult. It is a scary thing to allow myself to be vulnerable to another person. It requires trust. And trust is not always available in me, esp. if I’ve been betrayed in the past.
But Jesus is our Faithful Witness (Revelation 1). He is permanently trustworthy. He cannot lie. He cannot walk away from His own. He IS our covenant. I can literally come to Him with anything, and for anything. He wants me to.
1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Jesus knows all about me, everything going on inside that no one else sees, and everything on the outside that others may be doing to me. AND He cares and comforts and helps me through it.
God wants me to fully know Him, as well. That’s why He gave me Jesus. The more I read His Word, and follow His ways, the more I know Him. The more I love Him. The more vulnerable I can become with Him.
John 14:6-7: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
I may not be able to fully know or understand God on this side of heaven, even with all the bits I am able to grasp now. But I know that there is a day coming when I will not only BE known, but will FULLY know Him – my Abba, my Savior, my Comforter.
1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
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