Whether we allow ourselves to admit it or not, a lot of what we know is learned passively. We rarely actively go out and seek knowledge. A primary example of this is our knowledge of God. We know sections of the Bible that others use to catch our attention. We might know Bible stories or popular verses in the Bible but not the vast array of knowledge that is available to us. Knowledge of God's commitment to us, knowledge of God's steadfast love of us, knowledge of God being with us through difficult times, even though He is at times silent. Alongside the promises, consequences for actions are also detailed. When we allow others to build our knowledge, they control the narrative. Our pursuit of God allows us to get to know Him in His entirety. When we don't know Him, others can manipulate our understanding of Him. For example, they can get our attention by making us think that if you pray hard enough you will get whatever you are praying for when what we might want to think about is what is in accordance with the will of God for us. Sometimes when things don't go the way we want, we become disillusioned and never look back. Without personally studying Him, there will be times when you need His words, that you will not have them. When life hits you and you cannot "google" His words, you need to have them in your heart so that you can draw upon them with thought only. You might not even have the strength to go to the Bible, or pray, but your mind and heart pull forth the words that you need to take you through. I challenge you, learn more than popular sections, you also need to know the verses above and below so that you will be reading in context. Anything can be manipulated if taken out of context. Remember, the Bible taken out of context was and is still used to enslave minds.
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