God, the Creator of all that we survey, the all-mighty, all-powerful, One True Living God, desires to have a relationship with each of us. He wanted to be so near to us that He has made our bodies the temple of His Holy Spirit. God lives in all those who love and honor Him and believe in His resurrection power. This demonstrates His desire for intimacy with us. It’s phenomenal to realize that we can talk with our Heavenly Father, and that our earnest prayers bring us into His presence where we experience Him and His power profoundly. There is nothing in all of life and eternity that compares to having an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. It should be our greatest desire, and we should consider it the most admirable and supreme pursuit of our entire existence.
You might ask, “Well, how do we express this intimacy towards God?” Intimacy requires commitment, and there is no intimacy without it. We must also realize that commitment works both ways. It is demonstrated first from God to us. 2Corinthians 5:21(NLT) tells us, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Long before we were born, God knew that we would come into the world. He included us in His plan for the entire universe. Given His omnipotence and omniscience, He also knew that His children would need a Savior. He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to complete this mission and save us from eternal death and damnation. God loved us so much that He did not spare His powerful and precious Son but gave him up for us all. This is what our merciful Heavenly Father who is full of grace and love has done to show His commitment to us. What will we do to demonstrate our commitment to Him?
Have faith in God
The way that we demonstrate our commitment to God is through our fully persuaded and sold-out faith in Him. This is also the way we establish intimacy with God. It’s how we express our love, honor, and adoration toward our beloved Heavenly Father. He tells us in Hebrews 11:6(NLT), “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” We must believe that God is who He says He is in His Word and have no doubt of that.
Seek God first
Seeking Him first, as Jesus Christ commands in Matthew 6:33, is also very important to maintaining intimacy in our relationship with God. For instance, in marriage, we understand on a very fundamental level that the more we demonstrate commitment towards the other person, the closer we become. Communicating, shared experiences, and doing things to show that we value our partners and genuinely care for and support them will cause the bond to be strengthened. This must be present in our relationship with God even more so.
We must remember that God is the One who established the institution of marriage, and through it, He teaches us lessons about intimacy that will aid our relationship with Him. So, we must have this one central truth etched in our minds and hearts, and it is the reality that everything, from the smallest to the greatest detail of life, is all about our relationship with God. He must be first in our hearts and minds, and we must demonstrate this by spending quality time with Him. We do this by reading and studying His Word, meditating on His goodness, and praying often.
Philippians 4:6-7(NLT) says, “6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Living this way, free of worry and doubt, and praying always to our Heavenly Father with gratitude and faith, this is the lifestyle that keeps our intimate relationship with Him strong. When our commitment is to remain close to God in this way, He will guard our hearts and minds with His peace, and we will be continually blessed as we live by the example of Jesus Christ and keep God first in all that we do. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“There’s no Intimacy without Commitment”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.