Psalm 145.13-20 gives a very descriptive look at God.
One key to understanding why people do not necessarily always see God in this way is to pay particular attention to the qualifiers stated within this passage. Most specifically, verse 18 perhaps qualifies God's blessing on man: "The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth."
Man has two key responsibilities to fulfill in order to realize God's blessing: call on God, and call on Him in truth. It is simply not enough to call on God. No, God requires that we know Him. God requires that we understand Who He Is.
God has revealed all about Himself and His character through His Story and His Story is found in the pages of the Bible. There is no way we will begin to comprehend God unless we study Him - study His Story. Then, when we call to Him, we call to Him with an understanding of Who He Is.
How many of us pray and ask God for things that we are really unsure what God actually thinks about it in the first place? How much better would it be to go to God with every assurance that we know His character and will regarding the matter before we even ask?
The thing is, God has revealed Himself to us. His Story, found in the Bible, is full of characterizations of Him that allow us to understand not only Who He Is, but what He wills.
The human problem is found in our own failure to feast upon the spiritual nourishment of the Bible - God's Story. Instead of getting to know God personally through perusing and personally devouring His Story, humanity has become far too content with a token dose of God and His Story once or twice a week - if even that. And this condition is called religion.
Yes, religion is an outward symptom of the wasting disease of personal ignorance of God. Until humanity recognizes this symptom for what it is, the sickness will be unchecked. Sure, people will call on God, but because they do not call on Him in TRUTH (real knowledge of Him), they will not experience God in fullness.
Father, I want to know You more.
