What We Know

The word advent is derived from the Latin adventus, which means "the approach" or " the arrival." The verb is advenio: "I arrive. I come. I am coming." -Walter Wangerin, Jr.

"Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10 NASB

As we enter the Advent season, I want to take time every day to reflect on the amazing fact that God Almighty has arrived among us, and makes Himself known.

Sometimes I get bogged down with doubts and fears. When I feel that way, the best place to go is God’s word. The recorded Scriptures lead me back to truths that I can depend upon. A couple weeks ago, I came across the repeated phrase “we know” in I John 4. Those two words boosted my faith. I do know some things, and I can count on what we know.

The first assertion that caught my attention was this: “…we know and rely on the love God has for us.” (1 John 4:16 NIV) Not only can we know God’s love for us, we can rely on it! If you go back and read the whole chapter, this statement summarizes John’s assertions about God’s love. The other thing we can know is this: “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13 NIV)

We know that God loves us. We know that we are partakers of His Spirit through Jesus Christ. We know that we can come to Him boldly with our requests. Let’s walk in that knowledge today.