Obviously, God is central to the spiritual journey, both in Exodus and in our own lives. Indeed, without God there is no journey. He is the force that sets us seeking, and He is the destination that awaits us at the end of all our searching. God is freedom’s means as well as its end. But who or what is God?

People often ask, “Do you believe in God?” The answer divides the world into believers, nonbelievers, and the fence-sitters who either aren’t sure or lack the conviction to commit one way or the other. To my mind, however, the question itself is misguided.

God is not a “thing” to be believed in. God is not an entity out there, separate from us, to which we can accord faith or not as we see fit. Nor is God a concept (sorry, John Lennon). God is within us, and, therefore, He is everywhere.

If you know God—if you’ve encountered His Presence, either directly or through miracles—then you know it’s not really a question of belief. Belief is the fallback option, the consolation prize, for those who cannot yet say that they know. . . .

The goal of the Exodus journey is not to bolster a belief in God, but to come to know Him firsthand, to approach Him with open minds and open arms, to encounter Him and experience His Love, and to engage Him in a direct dialogue through Spirit. When we achieve this, we will find that the Promised Land is indeed ours.