In I Kings 20:13 one of God’s prophets approached Ahab the king and told him that God was going to deliver him from an oppressive army that day, “and you shall know that I am the LORD.” This is just what Elijah had said when he prayed to God on Mount Carmel, that He would answer by fire “that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God …”. We see phrases like this repeatedly in scripture: “and you shall know that I am the LORD (literally “Yahweh”). Thus we see that this is the ultimate purpose for everything God does — it is that we may know that He is God!

Knowing Him is the ultimate purpose in life, and it is the end of all His acts towards us. We can look through this scriptural lens at every situation we encounter in life, and know that at least part of His purpose for it was that we might know Him better:

— if we have prosperity, it is that we might know Him as a generous provider
— if we experience His miraculous work, it is that we might know His power
— if we go through the fire of trials, it is that we might know Him better through that fire
— if we are reproved or chastened, it is that we might know Him as our Heavenly Father

The Apostle Paul could say in Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him” was the end purpose for which he worked and served and sacrificed. It is our great end too. If it is, then we should ask ourselves of whatever current situation we find ourselves in: “Am I coming to know Him better as a result of this?” If not, then we need to re-direct our focus. For God’s purpose in everything is that we might know Him.