I found a place. It’s east of San Diego, not far from my home in El Cajon. Forgive me for not being more specific, but that little desolate spot in East County is sacred to me and I treasure its privacy.

During trying moments of my life, I go there to be alone with God. During a difficult period some years ago, I spent a lot of time there, meditating and thinking, praying and sorting out my attitudes and decisions.

It was holy ground where I could be alone – yet not alone, for the Lord always met me there. As I walked the rugged trails, I sensed His footsteps beside me. When we talked together, He reminded me of His Word. I pondered Scriptures stored up in my mind, and I told Him what was on my heart and cast my burdens on Him.

I felt a kinship with the writer of Psalm 62, who said, “My soul finds rest in God alone.”

I’ve spent my life being overwhelmed with the wonder of the person of God. Some say the greatest question in life is: Does God exist? I say the greatest question is: Do I know the God who does exist? Do I know about Him, and do I know Him personally?

You may not know God as well as you think, for He is as far above us as the heavens are above the earth. The Bible says His greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3). His judgments are unsearchable (Romans 11:33). His riches are unsearchable (Ephesians 3:8).

Nevertheless He is knowable. In fact, God seeks to be known. He desires to be worshiped, and He has revealed aspects of Himself in both nature and in Scripture. We can know Him who is unsearchable.

Not only are we equipped to know God, our very purpose is to know God – to know about Him and to know Him personally, as a Father, as a Friend, and as our Creator and Sustainer. When we don’t know God, we don’t really know anything. Our lives are as incomplete without Him as a sky without a sun.

The most important thing in life is not what we do, where we go, who we’re with, how high we rise, how long we live, or how influential we become. The most important thing in life is Him.

Nothing compares with getting to know the God who knows us. Though our finite minds can never comprehend all there is of God, our souls find rest in Him. When everything around us fails, He will never falter. When the foundations tremble, He is changeless, immovable – eternal in the heavens. When our hearts are overwhelmed, He is a rock that is higher than we.

Knowing implies we are growing in knowledge. When the apostle Peter was nearing martyrdom, he wrote a final note to his friends and ended with these words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

Peter’s final letter consists of only three chapters, yet he used the word knowledge seven times. He began 2 Peter by saying, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God” (2 Peter 1:2).

To me, the study of the person of God is like plunging into a bottomless sea. I can never plumb its depths, but I cannot ignore its relevance. And, oh, how it refreshes the mind and restores the soul. We may not be able to fathom every aspect of God’s character this side of eternity, but the Bible encourages us to try.

I can’t go hiking in East County every single day. We can’t always run to the backside of the desert, but I hope to never let a day pass without drawing nearer to Him and coming to know Him better.

This is an adaptation from Dr. Jeremiah’s new book, “The God You May Not Know.”