BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Originally published in FEB 1998 One of the first articles by Vikki Burke to appear in BVOV Some believers will never be content with just a miracle or an experience. These hungry believers share a common need—a search for the most priceless treasure and most highly valued goal in life. With Moses and Paul, they share the cry... That I Might Know Him by Vikki Burke It is the heart cry of every spiritually hungry believer to know the Lord. Just as Moses cried out to God saying, “let me know Your ways that I may know You...” (Exodus 33:13, "New American Standard Bible"), so too, these believers want to experience more than just the acts of God. Their hearts’ desire is to know the ways of God. Of course, there are those who are not hungry for the things of God. They are satisfied to experience an occasional miracle or deliverance from God. But those who are hungry desire more than just “a touch”—they want to know God Himself. In Exodus 33:14, God answered the cry of Moses saying, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Moses had discovered that to know God’s ways was to know God, and he refused to settle for less. In fact, he told God, “...If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here!” (verse 15, "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). In other words, he had made a decision to remain where the presence of God was. And if His presence didn’t go anywhere, then Moses didn’t either. But Psalm 103:7 reveals how God responded to Moses’ spiritual hunger: “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” That’s how spiritual hunger works—it moves you closer to God. Eventually, the longing in Moses’ heart drove him to take an even bigger step. He cried, “...I beseech You, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18, "AMPC"). Those who are hungry to know will, sooner or later, run into the glory of God, because the glory of God is God’s presence manifested—the glory of God is God Himself. Paul revealed this same desire when he wrote to the Philippian church: "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him..." (Philippians 3:7-10). To Know Christ Paul didn’t ask the Lord for ease from his discomfort or for release from prison. Instead, he cried out to know Christ. The "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition" says it this way: “[that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person...]” (verse 10). Paul did not place significance on his own achievements, which were many, but rather counted them as rubbish. His attitude exhibited that he placed the highest value in life on knowing Christ. BVOV : 19

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