Knowing Him Daily

01.May.2026

There’s a profound difference between knowing about God’s love and knowing God’s love intimately. One is information, the other is foundation. And when God calls you into purpose, when He invites you to step into something that will cost you, something that will require you to stand alone or stand against the current, you need more than a theological concept. You need intimacy. You need to know, bone-deep, that you are beloved.

Here’s what changes everything: when you know you’re intimately loved by God, your entire focus shifts. A carnal church says, “Bless me. What blessings can I get?” A spiritual church says, “Thank you for blessing me so I can be a blessing.” The carnal church always asks, “What’s in it for me?” The spiritual church always asks, “What responsibility do I have? What do you want me to do?” Because just like Jesus, you are here to do His will. When you got saved, His will became your will. And if His will is not your will, He’s not Lord. You decide if you’re going to be carnal or spiritual.

That’s the choice, and a small one, but a defining one.

Marilyn Hickey made that choice early. She understood what it meant to surrender her will to God’s will, to shift from asking “What’s in it for me?” to asking “What responsibility do I have? What does God want me to do?” And that choice, that spiritual focus, sustained her through every hard season. When she stepped in front of that radio microphone in Denver and was told she didn’t have a voice for radio, she didn’t ask what was in it for her to keep trying. She asked what God wanted her to do. And when the answer was go, she went, not because she was confident in herself, but because she was confident in God’s will for her life and she had already surrendered her will to His.

God promises this in Jeremiah: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 His thoughts toward you are always toward your good, always toward purpose, always toward an expected end. Not chaos, not accident, but purpose.

Paul built on this when he wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 You were created for purpose, not as an afterthought. God ordained your good works before you were even born. He knew what He was making you for, and He made you for it on purpose.

Marilyn understood this intimately. When she stood in nations that didn’t honor women, she didn’t go in her own strength or her own confidence. She went knowing that she was beloved by God and that she had already surrendered her will to His will. She went knowing that her purpose wasn’t dependent on human approval, it was dependent on God’s love for her and God’s design for her life. People got saved, healed, and delivered, not because Marilyn had conquered her doubts or finally become acceptable to everyone, but because she knew intimately that she was loved and she had committed to doing His will, not her own.

Romans tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 All things. Not just the easy things or the celebrated things. All things work together for your good when you’re walking in your purpose and you’re rooted in the intimate knowing that you’re loved by God and committed to His will above your own.

Think about this: what would shift in your life if you made the same choice Marilyn made? If you stopped asking “What’s in it for me?” and started asking “What responsibility do I have? What does God want me to do?” What if you woke up every morning and said, “Good morning, Father, good morning Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit, this is your beloved [your name],” and then surrendered your will to His will and stepped into your day knowing that your purpose is secure because your identity in God’s love is secure and His will is now your will?

If you’ve never invited Jesus into your heart, today is the day. Pray this: 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the Cross just for me. I admit that I have sinned, and I repent. I ask You to forgive me. I believe that He died and rose again. Right now, I make Him the Lord of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. My sins are washed away, my past is forgiven, and my future is bright. Help me to live like the beloved that I already am in Christ. Thank you for saving me. 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Make today count and see you tomorrow.