WHAT IS IT TO BE IN INTIMATE WITH GOD AND HOW DO I SEEK IT?
What is it to be in intimacy with God?
Did you know that the purpose of life is to seek and live in an intimate relationship with God? Salvation is our rescue from the death sentence because of sin, but intimacy with God is defining our life with Him.
However, when we consider seeking intimacy with God, our human nature allows for misconceptions and vacillations.
In intimacy with God, because intimacy with Him is available
IN INTIMATE WITH GOD: THE HEART OF INTIMACY
To talk about being in intimacy with God, let’s first talk about the heart of intimacy.
Intimacy is what we call the experience of really knowing and being known by another person. We often use spatial language when describing this experience. A close friend is someone with whom we feel very close; he knows us on a deep level. If something happens that damages the intimacy with our friend, he feels distant from us. A person who does not know us intimately knows us on a superficial level.
In intimacy with God: Intimacy is not spatial but relational
But of course, intimacy is not spatial but relational. We all know what it’s like to sit next to someone we feel distant from, and we can feel close to someone four thousand miles away.
What makes us feel intimate with another person?
While there are many ingredients for intimacy, and each intimate relationship we have has a different recipe, the one common to all of them is trust. We cannot be intimate with a person we do not trust.
Trust is at the heart of intimacy. The more we trust someone, the closer we let them get to us. The degree to which trust is compromised in a relationship is the degree to which intimacy evaporates.
THE HEART OF INTIMACY WITH GOD
Our experience as a church in intimacy with God
This is as true in our relationship with God as it is in our relationships with other human beings. Our experience of God’s closeness or distance is not a description of his actual proximity to us, but of our experience of intimacy with him.
Being in intimacy with God is for those who trust him
The Scriptures show us that God is intimate with those who trust him. The more we trust in God, the more intimately we come to know him. A felt distance from God is often due to a break in trust, such as sin or disappointment. Trust in God leads us to be intimate with God.
It is vitally important to understand this reality. As Christians, we want to experience intimacy with God. As the psalmist said: “andAs for me, drawing near to God is good” (Psalm 73:28). And we want to heed James’ exhortation and fulfill his promise: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4: 8). But we can seek that closeness in ways that do not produce it.
BEING IN INTIMATE WITH GOD IS MORE THAN KNOWLEDGE
intimacy with God
A common mistake is to think that closeness or intimacy with God can be achieved through the accumulation of knowledge. Now, of course, to know God intimately, we must also know crucial things about God. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32) and pointed out that many worship what they do not know (John 4:22).
Knowledge is not synonymous with trust nor does it imply being in intimacy with God.
But never in the history of the Christian church has so much theological knowledge been available to so many people as it is today. The American church enjoys perhaps the greatest amount of this abundance. We are packed with Bible translations, good books, interesting articles, recorded sermons, interviews, movies, documentaries, music, and more. And much of it very good. It is right that we are very grateful.
Enoch, an example of walking in intimacy with God
But America does not abound in Enochs (Who walked with God and disappeared because God took him), saints who walk with God in a deeply intimate way, saints in intimacy with God (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). Because? Because knowledge is not synonymous with confidence. This is why Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, some who possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the Scriptures:
“Search the scriptures; because it seems to you that in them you have eternal life; and they are the ones that bear witness to me; and you do not want to come to me so that you may have life” (John 5:39–40)
If knowledge feeds our trust in God, then it feeds our intimacy with God.
Biblical knowledge is much better than gold when it feeds our trust in God, because it feeds our intimacy with God (Psalm 19:10). But when biblical knowledge replaces our trust in God, it only feeds our pride (1 Corinthians 8:1).
How we approach God
The secret to drawing closer to God, to being intimate with God, and to having him draw closer to us is clearly revealed in the Bible: We draw near to God through faith in Christ, the only one who gives us access to him (Hebrews 4: 14–16; 7:25; Philippians 3:9), and we place our trust in all his great and precious promises that find their Yes for us in Christ (2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
In intimacy with God… Intimacy with God is impossible if we do not have faith
God waits for our faith to be activated, because faith leads us to intimacy with God, it is not impressed with our knowledge. Where faith is lacking, it is not pleased with the amount of our knowledge. “But without faith it is impossible to please God; for he who draws near to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11: 6)
When God sees someone whose heart fully trusts in his promises and lives by them, God comes to strongly support that saint (2 Chronicles 16:9) and manifests himself to him:
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
HOW DO I PREPARE TO BE IN INTIMATE WITH GOD?
Our experience of intimacy with God is unique, like being in greater intimacy with God
Each person’s experience of intimacy with God is unique. In my years of searching for him, there have been words of love released into my heart: dreams, visions, and revelations of his power, glory, and love from him.
He has given me secret insights that open up the roots of my besetting sins while illuminating and strengthening the path of escape. He has given me warnings and encouragements; healing and transformation; deeper understanding of his Word; and much more.
“But those who wait for Jehovah will have new strength; they will lift wings like eagles; they will run, and will not get tired; they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
What we must do to be in intimacy with God
Although minor details vary, these fundamentals apply:
1. To enter into intimacy with God, one must admit genuine repentance.
This is fundamental to beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ, (Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3; Acts 2:21, 4:12; Romans 6:23, 10:9), but it must be characterized by genuine, sincere sorrow for sin and serious and continuous attempts to turn away from it (2 Corinthians 7:10) to achieve intimacy with God.
2. To enter into intimacy with God we must truly desire the appropriation of God’s power.
Many people are not aware that God wants to impart the power to resist sin. However, we need to maintain a genuine desire both to receive it and to use it once given. This is a “transformation of the will” that can only be accomplished through a revelation of God’s grace and love (Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:13, 4:13; Galatians 2:20; Romans 2 :4, 5 :17, 8:5, 28; 2 Corinthians 1:21, 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:3).
3. To enter into intimacy with God we must discern if love is our motivation
What motivates you to obey God is vital. If it is love that compels you (2 Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 2:4, 16:20; John 14:23; 1 John 5:3-4), then the power of God will be manifested in your life. to keep you from falling and from losing intimacy with God (Jude 24; Romans 6:15-18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 Peter 1:13-16; 2 John 6).
4. To be in intimacy with God renew and govern your mind.
It is not just God “to keep us from falling” (assuming we have faith in His promise to do so). We must also do our part by following his instructions (James 4:7-10). The Christian walk is a partnership: God does His part and you and I do ours, it is the only way to achieve intimacy with God (Romans 8:5, 12:1-2; Galatians 6:7-9; Ephesians 4 :22-24; Philippians 4:7-8; Colossians 3:1-10; 1 Peter 1:13-16).
5. To be in intimacy with God we must be dead to sin
The Bible tells us that sin is not to be our master (Romans 6:8-14). We are to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
6. To be in communion with God we must live in the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-18 tells us that if we live by the Spirit, we will not indulge the desires of the flesh. 2 Peter 1:3-10 tells us that as believers, God’s divine power has already given us everything we need for godliness (see also Romans 8:4-15).
WHAT ARE THE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BEING INTIMACY WITH GOD?
Misconception #1: Being intimate with God is similar to sex.
First, in a world that regularly defines “intimacy” as sexual, it’s a difficult concept to grasp when it comes to God. However, God is spirit, so there is nothing sexual about being intimate with Him. Isn’t it like the evil one to take a word that describes something so vital and be uncomfortably confused about how it relates to our search for God? ?
Misconception #2: Being intimate with God should be easy.
Intimacy with God requires a lot of effort. Many believers will not take the time it requires. After all, He might demand too much attention from you, or He might ask you to do something you don’t want to do.
We want our ticket to heaven but we want to maintain a daily life separate from God. Many are blinded by their own selfish independence, they don’t know what they are missing.