We believe that relationship with God is personal. My walk with God will not look like your walk with God. Some of us tend to lean towards the side of emotional connection, what we feel in worship, what we can point to and say that God did in our lives. Others tend to connect with God on an intellectual level, with what we can think through, give an apologetic to, and reason for. Neither of these approaches is wrong, in fact both are essential for a healthy understanding of God.

When we look to the Old Testament prophets, particularly Isaiah or Jeremiah, we see some harsh denunciations of sin. But the prophets are not merely saying to Israel “God is Holy, so be holy,” which seems to appeal more to a head knowledge or doctrinal understanding of right and wrong. Instead they point back to God delivering Israel from Egypt and caring for them in the wilderness.

Jeremiah 2:1-3 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, (2) “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. (3) Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest…

God is depicted as a loving husband who only longs for his wayward bride to return. The appeal of the prophet is to the emotion of the people he speaks to. But notice that underneath the emotional appeal is doctrine. Remember what God did for you (emotional appeal) because of his holiness and grace (doctrinal concepts). Emotional experience should lead us deeper in our understanding of who God is. It should reinforce good doctrine. True worship has an element of the head and the heart, worshiping in Spirit and in Truth (Jn 4:23-24) This is worship that flows out of a heart and life that have been regenerated by the Spirit of God, one that changes the heart to worship and to seek to know the Word of God.

To people on the far end of the emotional spectrum this might seem hard, particularly when all they want to do is “experience God.” However, even a brief survey of the Scriptures shows us that there are certain prerequisites for close communal intimacy with God, one of the chief of these prerequisites being to love what God loves (righteousness) and to hate what God hates (wickedness) Ps 45:7. We cannot know the heart of God without having a good grasp of the Word of God, because the Word of God contains the heart of God.

To people on the far end of the intellectual spectrum, we must also caution seeking after God as a mere intellectual pursuit. It can become very easy to think we have God codified and figured out and forget that he is not a “tame lion,” He is not so easily grasped. Remember that the Pharisees also thought they had God’s system figured out and perfected down to the letter. But while their minds were engaged, their worship was all external and empty of heart emotion that allowed for God to draw them to himself. They were so full of blessed assurance they missed out on the one who would lead them to true worship of God. Their worship was intellectual and lacked a heart regeneration.

What then is the solution to either extreme? Let me start by saying that we may be wired to tend towards one extreme or the other, but those who desire intimacy with God must meet somewhere in the middle, where doctrine informs heartfelt worship, where emotion is tempered by the truth of the Word of God. We must go to the place where pursuit of God is not merely intellectual exercise, but a transforming of the heart to love like God loves, to know who He is and follow him. We must go to the place where when the emotion fades, we still stand strong because we know not only with our feelings, but also in our head what the will of God is because we have learned His Word well enough to know His heart even when we cannot feel Him. When we arrive in this place we have a proper ‘fear of the Lord’ (Ps 11:10). We know Him as not just Savior, but also Lord, and we follow after Him. We follow after Jesus.

It is in the middle, where the head and the heart meet, where worship of God is in Spirit and in Truth, that we find ourselves walking most closely with God. Deviating to either extreme leaves us if not in sin, then at very least in a stunted state of worship. This is why Jesus told his disciples. ‘Abide in me… know my word, do it, and you will be close to me’ (Jn 15:4-10). Those who walk intimately with God (emotion) know God’s Word (doctrine) and do it (obedience.) True worship leads to obedience. Intimacy with Jesus is more than just a feeling, it is also doing what Jesus called us to do.

I leave you with the following Psalm that models this melding of the head and heart. May you find true worship in the Word.

Psalms 111:1-10 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. (2) Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. (3) Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and his righteousness endures forever. (4) He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. (5) He provides food for those who fear Him; he remembers his covenant forever. (6) He has shown his people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. (7) The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; (8) they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. (9) He sent redemption to his people; He has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name! (10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

We cannot do his Word if we do not know it. We cannot know Jesus if we do not let His Word transform us. We can only have intimacy if we have both our heads and our hearts engaged as we run hard after Jesus.

-Pastor Aaron Knapp

Joshua 24: 14a “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.”