God is not a doctrine to be believed but a Person to be experienced. All the head knowledge we have about God cannot take the place of those moments when we actually experience the reality of His presence in our lives.
Moses and the Israelites had heard that God was almighty. And He was. But one day God miraculously defeated their most bitter enemies. At that point, the Israelite’s knowledge of God’s provision was no longer theoretical, but experiential. They beheld God’s power with their own eyes. Their lives were spared by God’s protection.
As a result, Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord is my banner.” It is significant that after profound encounters with God, people would build an altar to remember that encounter and the attribute of God they had experienced first hand. Over the years, altars would dot the landscape as God’s people had a series of divine experiences. Even years later the people could tell their children and grandchildren about the God they had come to know in a personal way.
What is your knowledge of God like? Is it theoretical or practical? Is it second hand or first hand? What attributes of God have you come to experience as you have walked with Him? How have you commemorated those moments where you experienced God in fresh, new ways? If you were to build an altar to God today, what would you name it?