Doing Great Exploits

The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.. Daniel 11:32 (NKJV)

This verse has such an exciting sound to it. It tells us that we are capable of doing great exploits. Some translations say act valiantly. We have the ability to do great things by God and for God. We all love to lay claim to this verse, but there is an important piece that many people miss. In order to do great exploits, we must KNOW our God.

It is one thing to know about God. It is another thing to actually know Him. We can even accept Him as our Savior without really getting to know Him. Knowing God means to know Him in an up close and personal way; to be tight with Him. The Hebrew word in this verse that is translated as know can be translated in many ways, but one of the meanings is to know as a familiar friend.

Most of us have had friends. Occasionally, we may even find someone that we consider a close friend, or someone we might call a familiar friend. Familiar means that they have become close enough that they are more familiar with our feelings, likes, dislikes, and attitudes than most people. A familiar friend is one with whom we have developed a close bond and we are privy to each other’s inner desires and thoughts. It is someone with whom we have spent considerable time and someone for whom we have lowered walls of protection to allow them to see into our innermost feelings and expectations. This is not a casual acquaintance.

If we are to know our God as our familiar Friend, we must spend time with Him, get to know Him, and allow Him into the places where no one else is permitted to go. The key to developing an intimate, close relationship with God is time. We have to give Him our time. When we use our time on other things, we miss out on the best Friend we could ever have. We must prioritize time with Him. It has to come before other things, and it has to be consistent. We have to make a quality decision, a firm commitment, to spend time with our heavenly Father, with Jesus, and with our Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

When we have a close, vibrant relationship with our God, a byproduct of our time with Him is the ability to do amazing things. With God as our familiar Friend, we definitely can do great exploits.