Getting to Know the Father

Psalm 117

“Praise the Lord, all you nations;

extol him, all you people.

For great is his love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the

Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.”

If you spend enough time with someone, you get to know them. You begin to finish each other’s sentences and predict their actions. This close relationship does not happen overnight, but it is a gradual process. If I only saw my wife once a week for an hour, I would not get to know her very quickly. In spite of my desire to know her, the time I spend with her would not be enough to accomplish the goal of truly knowing her. A friendship can be the same way. Your best friend is the one you spend the most time with. Naturally, you know them better than any of your other friends. It is all about spending the right amount of time the right way, and you can become really close to anyone.

Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible, I think. It only has two verses. Inside those two verses is God’s way of getting to know Him. It tells us to “praise the Lord” three times before the short chapter is done. You see, praising the Lord happens to be the best way to get to know the Lord.

By Psalm 117, a common theme is clear, it is to praise the Lord and remind ourselves of His loving nature and His faithfulness. If you spend more time doing that, you will get to know the Lord better. The more time you spend doing this, the more you will understand His love and not misrepresent what you think it should be.

You see, many of us think we know the Lord, so we mark our own path and tell God to bless it. That is backward thinking. Even though you may walk through the valley, He is still with you (Psalm 23). He will crown His righteous with a shield of protection (Psalm 5:12). The better you know the Lord, the more you will understand how to start and finish every day. It is like predicting your close friend and their actions, you will be able to walk in the light of His presence, and He will direct your footsteps. Today, take a little time to get to know Him.

Prayer: Father, help us to take time to get to know You and to meditate on all Your promises and Your holy Word. I pray that we will dive deep into Your Word and that the Holy Spirit will enlighten what we need to pay close attention to. In Jesus’ name, amen.