Plenty of evidence points to God's existence, especially creation itself, but so many do not believe in God at all (even though he has placed knowledge of his existence in the hearts of all people). With all the obvious evidence, still many do not believe. We try all kinds of proofs, all kinds of brain exercises to logically infer God, and yet those techniques still do not work. I read CS Lewis' Mere Christianity and was convinced of the truth of the Christian God, but I know of many who have read the same book and were not convinced at all. What we need is not a brain-knowledge of God but a heart-knowledge. Striving to understand God's essence is not effective, but contemplating him in his works is very effective. God will seem true and near to us when we study his deeds. This is why the Bible is mostly about what God DOES in history, and even what he SAYS is about what he DOES.
David tells us that we should meditate on his works in Psalm 145. God is too vast to adequately grasp, but if we look upon his works, we will grasp him sufficiently for salvation. We can look at creation itself, the impossibility of all this happening by accident. We can look at the miracles of the Old Testament: the flood and rescue of Noah, the Tower of Babel, the providence of Joseph, the exodus from Egypt, the preservation in the wilderness. We can look at the miracles of the New Testament: the incarnation and wonders of Christ, the resurrection, the salvation of Paul. We can look at the deeds of God in history, like the reformation. Finally, we can look at the wonders of God in our own lives, like the healing of my daughter's eyes, or his saving even me from destruction.
What does such knowledge do? This heart knowledge of God's works leads us to worship and hope of the future life. All of his works on earth point to something greater to come after this world passes away. The persecution and suffering of the pious and the success and prosperity of the wicked also points to an afterlife of perfect justice, where the pious are rewarded and the wicked get their just desserts. So, in the end, we cannot look at each of God's works individually and then stop looking. We must look at ALL of his works as a whole, as if looking at a massive painting, to see where they all fit together. When we focus on one thing, like say the conquest of the promised land, we tend to get mired down in God's essence again: who is God at his core? When we look at all of his works together, we see God's work in the salvation of his people, the righteousness, goodness, justice, and mercy for his people. We see an heroic epic.
In Psalm 40, David says that evils beyond number surround him, and even his own sins have gotten the better of him, and he is unable to see his savior clearly. The heart love that he has for his Lord seems empty and insufficient. God is far away. But he looks at the big picture. He looks at the way God has saved his church from destruction. He has saved the bride of Christ by saving Christ from destruction. His church is wed to him, and so the church gets saved, too. We are in Christ and Christ in us.
See the big picture. See the salvation of the Lord. Are you hung up on trying to understand a presence more vast than all of humanity put together? Are you nitpicking God's individual deeds in order to find fault with him? Or are you looking at the big picture, seeing the face of the Son who died to save us all? Are you looking at the fullness of time and seeing God's intercession in history through Christ the savior, who saves his people from their sins by his death on the cross? Do you see in all the Old Testament the foreshadowing of the big picture? Do you see in the New Testament the description of the big picture itself? Is knowledge of the Lord present in your heart by meditation on his mighty works?
