Noverim Te, Noverim Me

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

By David Chang, Director of Ministry Support

I was having a conversation with one of my spiritual mentors. The topic was: “How can I know God more? How can I hear him better?” He reminded me that God is ever-present with me and is always trying to communicate with me. It is on me to pay attention. I need to be quiet and listen more. I need to think less and feel more. I need to remember that communication is not just exchanging data; it is also exchanging feelings. 

“Don’t think too much” was another thing he said.

Wait, you’re talking to an Asian male raised by parents, one of whom is an immigrant from the old country. A land where emotions are not openly demonstrated or verbalized. You’re talking to someone who admires the ever-stoic Mr. Spock from Star Trek. You’re talking to someone who has been trained to be a computer engineer, a bank executive, and a healthcare insurance executive.

My mentor explained to me that since I was born, people and the world have changed me. He said that I need to try and discover the person that God has created. 

In the Psalms it says:

Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank You, High God—You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know Me inside and out, You know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. (Psalm 139:14, The Message)

I need to rediscover that I am not just body, I also have soul. I am not just thought, I also am feeling. In order to more fully know God, I need to not just think about God, I need to know how I feel about God. Throughout Scripture, we read about people dealing with their feelings about God and with God. St. Augustine said, “Noverim Te, noverim me,” which is Latin for “May I know God, may I know me.” John Calvin’s opening phrase in his “Institutes” is “Our wisdom… consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” 

So I’m going to try and know my feelings when I’m reading the Bible, when I’m praying, when I’m reviewing my day. Am I feeling cared for, loved, frustrated, or angry. I am going to trust that God already knows my feelings, and He wants me to know His.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the way You’ve made me with both thoughts and feelings. Help me to know more about Your feelings. Help me to know the person that You have wonderfully created me to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

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