Why Believers Fall Apart
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." — 2 Timothy 1:12
Sound Teaching Is Not Enough
A well-known devotional writer of the last century observed something about the churches of his day that has only become more true:
"There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives... Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. However, it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth."
Read the middle of that again: it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself.
The Bible is not an end in itself. It is the means by which we are brought to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God — that we may enter into Him, delight in His presence, and know the inner sweetness of God Himself at the center of our hearts.
What Happens When the Storm Comes
Here is the practical consequence, and it is severe.
The majority of Christians are satisfied with no personal relationship with the Lord at all.
Therefore, when the storms of life come, they fall apart. They begin to doubt their salvation. Some begin to doubt whether God is real at all, or whether Jesus Christ is real.
Why? Because they never talked with God personally or came to know Him personally.
They had correct information about a Person they had never met. And information does not hold a human being up under real weight.
The Difference It Makes
Compare that with Paul, writing from prison with execution ahead of him:
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Timothy 1:12)
Not I know what I have believed. Whom.
That is the difference between a doctrine and a relationship, and it is the difference between composure and collapse.
This Is Not Anti-Doctrine
Be careful not to overcorrect. Sound teaching is an absolute necessity, and everything in this study depends on Scripture being true and rightly handled.
The point is not that doctrine is unnecessary. It is that doctrine is a means and we have treated it as the destination.
You can memorize a map without ever making the journey.
Point to Ponder
Paul did not write "I know what I have believed." He wrote "I know whom."
Verse to Remember
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." — 2 Timothy 1:12
Question to Consider
Do I know God, or do I know accurate things about God?
Today's Practice
Test yourself with a simple, uncomfortable exercise.
Write down ten things that are true about God. Most believers can do this quickly.
Now write down ten occasions on which you personally experienced any one of them. When did He actually speak, provide, correct, protect, or comfort you — specifically, with dates or circumstances you can name?
Compare the two lists.
If the first is easy and the second is hard, that is the diagnosis, and it is the ordinary condition of the Western church rather than a peculiar failure of yours.
Then begin to close the gap. Take the next lessons in this section seriously — they are entirely about how God speaks and how to hear Him. And start today by asking simply:
"Father, I have known about You for years. I want to know You. Make Yourself known to me."
Prayer
Father, I have been well taught and poorly acquainted.
I can state the doctrines. I can defend them. I have heard the fundamentals of the faith explained every year for as long as I can remember. And I have almost nothing to say if someone asks me what You have actually done in my life.
I have memorized the map and never made the journey.
Forgive me for being satisfied with that. And forgive me for the times I have hidden behind correct information because a real relationship would have required something of me.
Let me know whom I have believed. Not what — whom.
Make Yourself known to me, Father, so that when the storm comes I am not standing on words but on You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Information does not hold a human being up under real weight. Only a Person does.