Learning to See God
God is not hiding. Nature, Scripture, providence, and daily life all invite us to know His character and hear His voice.
"Search the scriptures... they are they which testify of me."
John 5:39You could memorize a celebrity's entire Wikipedia page. Birthday, hometown, every award, the name of their childhood pet, and still, if they walked right past you on the street, you'd be complete strangers.
You'd know a thousand facts about them and not know them at all. Knowing about someone and knowing someone are two different things, and no pile of the first ever adds up to the second.
Knowing God works the same way. It isn't collecting information about Him; it's time actually spent with Him, in creation, in Scripture, in the quiet.
God is easier to find than you think
"Nature speaks to our senses without ceasing. The open heart will be impressed with the love and glory of God as revealed through the works of His hands." Trees, rain, a sunset, "the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without fear". Creation is one of the channels God uses to reach you. Step outside and pay attention, and He's already talking.
He speaks loudest in Scripture
Nature hints; the Bible spells it out. "God speaks to us in His word. Here we have in clearer lines the revelation of His character." And here's the key that unlocks the whole book: "the whole Bible tells of Christ." If you want to actually know God, not just facts about Him. Read His book, looking for Jesus on every page.
The green fields, the lofty trees, the buds and flowers... speak to our hearts, and invite us to become acquainted with Him who made them all.
Steps to Christ, chapter 10
Slow down; don't just skim
This might change how you read. "There is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures." Speed-running chapters to check a box does almost nothing. "One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind... is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view." Better to sit with one verse until it opens up than to rush past fifty.
As the miner discovers veins of precious metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who perseveringly searches the word of God as for hid treasure find truths of the greatest value.
Steps to Christ, chapter 10
Read with prayer, not just brainpower
"Never should the Bible be studied without prayer." Before you read, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand, "and it will be given." And don't be intimidated: the Bible "was not written for the scholar alone." "The great truths necessary for salvation are made as clear as noonday." You don't need a theology degree. You need an open heart and a little time.
It's the difference between reading the menu and eating the meal. You can study the descriptions, admire the photos, even quote them to friends, and still walk away hungry. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." At some point you have to stop reading about Him and take an actual bite.
Texting a friend versus actually being in the room with them. You can stay updated entirely by text. Facts, news, headlines, but there's a closeness that only comes from showing up in person. Nature and Scripture aren't just data downloads; they're God saying, "Come sit with Me a while."
Put the phone down
Your attention is the most fought-over thing you own. Every app is engineered to keep you scrolling, and it's genuinely hard to hear God over that much noise. The irony is that He's constantly speaking. We're just rarely quiet enough to notice.
Try two things. First, get outside without your phone sometimes and actually look. Let the sky and trees do what chapter 10 says they do. Second, when you read the Bible, treat it like a message from Someone who loves you, not a textbook to power through. Take one verse. Read it slowly. Ask God what it means. Sit with it. One verse you actually chew on beats ten chapters you forget by lunch.
Three questions
- When did you last go somewhere quiet, without a screen, and just pay attention?
- Do you read the Bible to check a box, or to actually meet God? What would change the second way?
- What's one verse you could sit with. Slowly, prayerfully. This week?
Father, quiet me down enough to hear You. Open my eyes to see You in the world around me, and open the Bible to me so I meet Jesus there, not just information. Teach me to slow down and listen. I want to actually know You, not just know about You.
Next: Talk to God as a Friend
Keep moving through the journey in order. Step 11 builds on what you have just read.
Continue to Step 11