Intimacy with God
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend” (Ex 33:11)
The question may well be asked, “Why would God almighty leave his high and holy station in heaven to come to earth as a man?” Well, the main reason is, Scripture says that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. “Greater love has no man than this – he would lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) That is astonishing and true! But now how do we continue our incredible spiritual journey once we surrender our lives to Jesus? A devout believer would desire to grow one’s love relationship with God; they would want to take their spiritual journey to the greatest heights possible. We should not choose to deprive ourselves of the greatest treasure in the universe – intimacy with God. We could never wrap our minds around this fact: God’s love extends to the heavens (Psalm 36:5); and that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) God is love…unfathomable, but true. God’s love draws us first to salvation in Christ, and then invites us to pursue an ever-closer walk with him. As the hymn writer says:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
The apostle John says, “See how great a love the father has lavished upon us, that we should be called his children” (1 John 3:1). God’s love knows no bounds, and we can proclaim with the psalmist, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” God’s great love does not stop at the death and resurrection of his Son; it gets more and more wonderful for his children. Once we come to understand that he desires intimacy with his beloved, we can continue our spiritual journey into a much deeper union with our Maker. We are invited to dwell in his presence and to gaze upon his beauty. (Psalm 27:4-5). The psalmist said that he wanted to experience the beauty of the Lord in his temple, and that he anticipated the day he would join God in glory. Until that time, however, nothing but God’s holy presence and nearness would satisfy him. (Psalm 73:24-28)
Do you want this more than anything else in life? It’s exactly the kind of closeness he wants for us. The world, the flesh and the devil will fight for your allegiance and attention. But God will make a way where there seems to be no way.
Jesus calls us friends; are you ready to deepen your friendship with him?
Here are a few keys to fulfilling our objective:
- Spend much time alone with God and his holy word, the bible;
- Speak to God with confidence as the writer to Hebrews says, go with bold assurance because he is your friend and wonderful counselor.
- Worship him often, tell him of your desire to experience his love more deeply. You and I were created to get to know him intimately and to enjoy him personally. He is and will always be our most high God and loving father.
- Confess any known sin and potential barriers standing in the way of intimacy with God.
- And ask God to reveal steps you can take to experience more oneness and closeness with Him. He will answer.